A  new coalition of moderate, centrist third parties called the Centrist  Alliance is aiming to fill the void that separates  Republicans and Democrats.  Following  on the heels of organizations such as No Labels and GOOH, the Centrist  Alliance is the most recent in a series of newly formed political groups  emphasizing moderatism, centrism and a pragmatic approach  to politics.

With the official launch of the organization’s website on Independence Day, the Centrist Alliance is working to organize the  moderate center by coordinating the efforts of the numerous centrist  parties that are active in the country.  Currently, there are two member  parties in the organization: America’s Third Party and the National  Centrist Party.

Alan  Hyman, a lead organizer with America’s Third Party who also does  outreach to other parties and organizations for the Alliance, became  involved with the two groups out of disillusionment with the Democrats  and Republicans.

“The  reason I joined America’s Third Party and help progress this alliance  is because I realized the two-party system wasn’t working and something  had to be done,” he said in an e-interview with CAIVN. The sentiment is seconded by David Jon Sponheim, the presidential candidate of America’s Third Party.

“The  two  parties have engaged in this back and forth hostility that  is of no value to the American people,” said the presidential hopeful.

On  the issues, the Centrist Alliance is currently maintaining a relatively  open platform emphasizing a strong national defense, immigration  reform, a sensible and pragmatic foreign policy, energy independence and  electoral reforms that would encourage civic participation and provide  an equal place at the table for alternative parties and Independent  voters. The influence of other relatively new moderate, centrist  political groups is apparent in the Centrist Alliance’s statement of  principles, which echoes the motto of the No Labels organization – i.e.  “Not left. Not right. Forward.” – in its concluding lines.

“We  support a pragmatic approach that looks forward. Not to the left or to  the right of the political spectrum. We support independent political  thinking and independent political action,” states the group on its  website.

“We  have kept some of our principles purposely open so that individual  parties can expand on them as they like,” said Hyman, who personally  emphasizes the importance of ballot access reform.

“Simply passing a  federal law that says the state  laws must be the same  for any candidate for the same office would be a huge step in the right  direction,” he said.

The parties in the Alliance are currently working  together to obtain ballot access in the 2012 elections and  cross-endorsing one another’s candidates.  Sarah Hart of America’s Third  Party has been organizing the group’s ballot access effort and has  already made petitions available for signature gatherers in seven  states, including California.

The  Centrist Alliance has been in the works since earlier this year, when  Scott Ehredt, a co-founder of the National Centrist Party, began  reaching out to other centrist political parties and organizations in  the country such as America’s Third Party, the Modern Whig Party, the  Reform Party and the American Centrist Association.  The pragmatic  approach of the National Centrist Party is apparent in its attitude  toward parties that would otherwise be considered potential rivals. Its  website encourages visitors to inform themselves about the many centrist third  parties that are active in the country and support the one they find  best suited to the “monumental task” of taking on the Democrats and  Republicans.

The  primary criticism leveled against any third party political effort by  the partisans of the Republican and Democratic parties is, of course,  that third party candidates act as “spoilers” by splitting the votes of  like-minded citizens and indirectly aiding in the election of the  candidates they favor least.  The National Centrist Party takes a  pragmatic position in this regard as well.  “We don’t want to enter a  three-way race between an extremist on one side of the isle and a  moderate on the other,” says the organization on its website.

In addition to the coalition itself, the organization has also registered the Centrist  Alliance PAC with the Federal Elections Commission.  However, at  present, the Alliance is not accepting any donations but rather urging  supporters to donate to the parties themselves and become involved with  the group.

Given  the deep frustration and discontent with Republican-Democrat party  politics and the steady growth in the number  of declared Independents nationwide, groups like the Centrist Alliance  are effectively wagering that it is but a matter of time before we  witness a mass exodus from the major parties and the fracturing of the  reigning two-party state.  It couldn’t happen too soon.