My name is Kip Meacham, and I am not a politician. I am by profession a product strategist, international technology marketer, and public relations expert. I have a wife, a family, a cat, a dog, a day job and a mortgage.
Like the name of the blog implies, I believe a lot more of us agree on a lot more than either of our two parties can imagine. You, me, and the majority of Americans are, in fact, The Wide Middle.
I believe both parties have been “co-opted” by extreme elements from within and that it is time to take back our parties from the extreme fringes, and this is my effort at so doing.
I believe we can band together on the things we CAN agree on about America and its direction and save ourselves from the rapidly approaching fiscal and other policy trainwrecks brought forth by the current cast of characters. This blog’s purpose is to serve as a gathering place for ideas and commentary on policy at the city (Orem, Utah), state (Utah-duh) and national levels.
Politically speaking, I am not a “liberal.” I am not a Democrat, I am not a “RINO.” (Let’s lose the labels. They don’t further the discussion, and in most instances they are used by people who are usually short on their ability to defend their own positions on the issues.)
What I am is first an American, second a conservative, and third a registered Republican. I am the Precinct Chair for Orem Precinct 27 (OR27), and previously served as Precinct Chair for the former Orem Precinct 54 (since consolidated into OR27).
You may contact me either by commenting on posts, or by e-mail me at “kip dot meacham at comcast dot net.”
It seems to me that both major parties are all over “The Wide Middle.” That’s the nature of a 2 party system, which for most practical purposes is what we have. Whenever the middle shifts, so do both parties in order to maximise support.
The middle is why we’re in this mess and it is happening regardless of which party is in power. The fundamental problem is that our representatives have forgotten or never learned about the principles of good government. The pressure is high to go with whatever the party leadership says, what will keep campaign contributors happy, or whatever the mostly ignorant wide middle can be inflamed to demand.
What we need is a return to the basic principles of good government described in the Constitution. The wide middle doesn’t have a clue about this, so education is the answer.