It’s hard to believe that only a year ago most of us were celebrating Barack Obama’s inauguration, hopeful that against all odds he would overcome the petty factionalism that divides Republicans from Democrats, and unite this country behind fundamental changes we’ve long known we need, by appealing to deeper truths the vast majority of us could agree on.

Alas, what a difference a year makes. Factionalism has actually intensified, as Republicans just vote No on every proposal, hoping the public blames the Democrats when nothing gets done. And Obama himself has turned from inspirational leader into bungling pragmatist, ready to give away the store to the usual special interests in the name of political expediency.

Last night, even liberal Massachusetts elected their first Republican Senator since the Great Depression, to block health care legislation that reforms little, and gives away way too much to the insurance industry, not to mention the State of Nebraska. Why should Massachusetts – which already funds its own universal healthcare system at the State level – help pay Nebraska’s entire Medicaid tab to get a bill passed? Some compromises are not worth making.

And so I’ve decided to restart here a project I put on hold almost two years ago, when Obama’s emergence made me think it was more important to help get him elected first, than to distract myself and others with something much less assured of success. This project had been percolating on my back burner since early 2006, when I proposed it on the website/contest SinceSlicedBread.com – another promising initiative in beneficial social transformation that came to nought in the end.

In the words of that original proposal, here’s the kind of thing I’m launching today on this website, however unlikely the outcome may be:

Found a “99% of Americans” Movement

Graft and corruption are rampant at the highest echlons of American society – witness Enron, congressman Randy Cunningham, the “millionaires club” coddled by lobbyists that our government has become.

Found a “99% of Americans” movement to strike at the root cause of this corruption – emulative materialism run amok. Its fundamental tenet would be that in a democracy like ours, no one deserves to make more income, or accumulate more wealth, than 99% of their fellow Americans.

Membership would be open only to people whose household income and net worth puts them among the “moral supermajority” of all but the top 1% of Americans – or who are willing to donate the excess either to the movement itself, or to other non-profit causes.

This movement would elaborate a platform focused on achieving economic fairness in America, and support candidates for office that pledge to support this platform.

In default of such candidates, it would field its own.

I’d rephrase that today to moderate the populist anger I felt when Bush was in charge – or maybe not, since such anger has now become general, even if I personally don’t indulge it anymore. And I’d defer the conclusion that no American should enjoy more wealth or income than 99% of us do until we can all agree that it really does represent our best interest (too many of us have been bamboozled by widespread denunciations of “communism” and “socialism,” I think, to realize that it might be, at least for now). But I think the fundamental principle remains sound:

Life has not improved economically for the vast majority of Americans – 99% of us – over the last decade (or two, or three). In fact, we’re doing worse.

Meanwhile the rich – the top 1%, households with incomes over about $400,000 a year, who now take in over 20% of all income – are making out like bandits. Probably because they’re increasingly acting like bandits, seizing all the spoils they can.

It’s long past time for the vast majority of us to unite in a political movement that keeps its focus on something we can all agree on: It’s time to take political power back from the 1% at the top, and use it in the service of the 99% of us who don’t have, and for the most part don’t even want to have so much – and refuse to let the many other contentious issues we don’t agree on distract us from making substantial progress on this one now.

This website, unveiled today, represents the first small step toward the creation of what may one day become a powerful political movement that helps guide the nation out of the morass we currently find ourselves mired in.

I invite 99% of Americans to join it and help determine its agenda – and even those in the top 1% who agree that their needs should take a back seat to everyone else’s.