Fed up with the two main political parties? I am. One party seems to be hell bent on driving off the leftward end of the political spectrum and bankrupting the country with insane programs that can not be afforded whilst telling everyone how to live their lives. The other seems to have fallen under the control of a cabal of neo-con Protestant Evangelical theocrats, and tin foil hat conspiracy kranks. Oh, and it seems they are just as determined to drive the country into bankruptcy in pursuit of their own agenda (endless tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% and empire building in places we have no business being). Both parties have no compunction about trampling constitutional liberties and doing whatever it takes to stay in power. And both have sold their souls to the various special interest lobbies.So what is a self described (constitutional) monarchist with moderately libertarian sympathies living in a republic to do?
Well, this situation has existed before. In Britain when government was perceived to be getting out of control it was the Whigs who stood up for a sensible middle ground and who refuted absolutist rule. In the United States when Andrew Jackson sought to massively expand executive power, even going so far as to defy the Supreme Court, the Whigs once again stood firm for constitutionally restrained government and legislative superiority. Men like George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln were affiliated with the Whigs.
And then they died out, being effectively extinct by the end of the Civil War. Until now.
It appears that I am not the only one revolted by what is going on in our country's polity. A few years ago a number of US military veterans of our various recent wars got together and after expressing their shared disgust with the state of American politics, decided to revive the Whig Party. Although still small it is gaining traction and favorable press. In the two years since the Whig revival began it has become the fastest growing political third party in the country of whom several thousand members are current or former military. Unfortunately electoral laws in most states are designed to make it extremely difficult to register as a member of any political party other than Republican or Democrat (what a surprise). But around 30,000 have registered their support on the Modern Whig's official website.
So what do the Modern Whigs stand for? You may view many of their positions here.
Their policy proposals appear to stake out a position as the party of the radical center. They take what they see as the best ideas of the GOP and the Democrats (which they do not consider to be mutually exclusive) and build on them. While disdaining the hyper-partisanship of the last couple of decades they see nothing wrong or incoherent in a party that is fiscally conservative, socially libertarian, strong on national defense, but disinclined to meddle where we have no clearly defined interests. They support policies on the environment, taxes and business regulation, immigration, the 2nd amendment and many other issues that seem almost calculated to make hard core right wingers foam at the mouth and cause the radical left to start spinning their heads and regurgitating pea soup.
In short, I like them.
Do I agree with all of their positions? No. But I agree substantively with probably a majority of them. And even on the points where I don't agree; their positions are non-extremist with little I would call a deal breaker.
There are practical problems of course. Political centrists don't get excited the way the angry right or left tends to. That can create problems. Their very moderation and non-vitriolic approach to politics is likely to be a massive handicap in winning elections. Great and successful political campaigns are all about marshaling a visceral hatred for "the other." Successful political parties also need a hard core of "purists" that they can count on come election day. The GOP and the Dems have them in spades. The Libertarians are notorious for their armchair political theorists who disdain getting their hands dirty with the actual business of running for office and governing but who routinely look for the slightest hint of heresy among would be libertarian sympathizers. By contrast the Whigs are almost the anti-purist party.
Another problem is their size. However impressive their growth rate; they are still only the fastest growing party in the lower tier of third parties. OK OK. They have only been around for two years. And yes they are getting a lot of attention for a new (old) minor third party. But they are going to have to actually break through the legal barriers designed to obstruct and cripple third parties that have been erected by the Democrats and Republicans in most states. In short they need to start registering a lot of voters and getting their party on the ballot. They also need to get people to run for office.
And finally, they need money. Sad as it is, no political party can hope to compete without a serious pile of dead presidents.
For now, I am impressed with what they have accomplished in two years. But that was the easy part. I will be keeping an eye on the Whigs and may even lend my support where I can.
