Third party group, Americans Elect, abandons effort to run third-party candidate for president

[Valin]

Washington Post:

Associated Press

May 15 2012

 

WASHINGTON — A private organization established to run a third-party candidate in this year’s presidential elections has thrown in the towel, saying no one mustered sufficient support for such an effort.

 

Kahlil Byrd, chief executive officer of Americans Elect, said in a statement that under the rules his group approved for an online primary, the process was ending Tuesday.

 

(Snip)

 

The group was counting on a flood of candidates to compete for its valuable ballot space. To ensure someone credible emerged in the end, the group’s bylaws required prospective nominees to demonstrate support up front.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

The death of a dubious idea

 

(Snip)

 

I never fully understood the appeal of this enterprise. Voters were supposed to gravitate towards Americans Elect out of a desire to see a presidential campaign committed to centrist, compromise-focused policymaking. Americans Elect did not, however, have a candidate. Or a platform. Or a policy agenda. Or even vague positions on any issue. It had money, a slot on 27 state ballots, and the admiration of some moderate-minded newspaper columnists, but nothing else.

 

So what, exactly, was the point? Apparently, the entity's organizers intended to hold an online convention, in which "the people" would nominate a ticket with two candidates: one from each party. What would be the value of this? No one ever got around to explaining that.

 

(Snip)