Unite America: Bridging the Nation's Political Chasm?

This special lecture will explain the background and mission of a grassroots organization founded and chaired by Dartmouth economist Charlie Wheelan with the goal of overcoming political gridlock by electing centrist independents to state and federal offices. The Centrist project, recently renamed "Unite America," aims to reform the political system, not as a traditional third party, but as the first "Unparty," appealing to Republicans, Democrats and independents who feel left behind by traditional parties and who want leaders to work together to get things done. Charlie Wheelan is a senior lecturer and policy fellow at Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center. A Dartmouth grad ('88), he holds a Master's degree in Public Affairs from Princeton and a PhD in public policy from the University of Chicago. He formerly worked as Midwest correspondent for The Economist and is the author of several popular books on economics – The Naked Economist: Undressing the Dismal Science, among them – as well as The Centrist Manifesto. If time permits during the discussion period, Charlie will relate a few key experiences from (a) a year-long world tour he, his wife Leah and their three school-age children had last year and (b) a more recent trip to Liberia with a class of Dartmouth students.