Modern Whig Party

Modern Whig Party
Chairman	Andrew Evans
Founded	2009 (2009)
Headquarters	2020 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 616, Washington, DC 20006
Ideology	Modern Whig philosophy: Transpartisanship Pragmatism Classical liberalism States' rights Fiscal responsibility
Political position	Fiscal: Centrist to Center-right Syncretic Social: Centrist to Center-left Syncretic
International affiliation	None
Official colors	Blue and Buff
Seats in the Senate	0 / 100
Seats in the House	0 / 435
Website
www.modernwhig.org
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

The Modern Whig Party is a United States political party whose stated intention is to be a "party for the rest of us."^[1] The Modern Whig Party describes itself as a mainstream, middle-of-the-road grassroots movement that caters to those voters who believe in various Republican issues but also believe in various other Democratic issues.^[1][2]

Founded by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the party claims some 30,000 supporters, many of them affiliated with the American military.^[3][4]

The general platform of the Modern Whig Party relates to fiscal responsibility, strong national defense, and social progression.^[5][6]

History

According to The News & Observer: "The national Modern Whig Party, as it calls itself, was started in the most unlikely of locations—the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan by U.S. troops."^[7] The Modern Whig Party was organized as a grassroots movement in the beginning of 2008. The Florida Whig Party was created two years earlier with a similar goal at the state level but is not affiliated in any way.^[8][9] Among the national Modern Whig Party's founding members were military veterans who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq and become dissatisfied with the deep ideological divide between the Republican and Democratic parties.^[10] Other media outlets have touted the Modern Whig Party's moderate platform and its viable appeal during a time of ideological fragmentation within the Republican and Democratic parties.^[11]

The grassroots movement of the Whigs has a national headquarters in Washington, D.C. and an executive committee.^[12] The Modern Whig Party claims about 20,000 members nationally, although that number is known to primarily count those who register on the party's web site.^{[13] [14]} Various Modern Whig chapters, such as in California, also gather and tally members through their state registrations. ^[15]The party currently has a national executive committee composed of individuals in Texas, Missouri, New York, and Georgia.

The Modern Whig Party announced their first electoral victory when one of its members, Ken Belcher^[16], won election as Constable of Lee County, Alabama on the Democratic ticket (Belcher cited difficulty with third parties qualifying to appear on ballots in the state and affirmed his Modern Whig affiliation).^[17] In its first authentic electoral test, Gene L. Baldassari sought a seat in the New Jersey Assembly, representing its Fourteenth District, in the November 2, 2009 general election. He received 738 votes, for just over 0.6 percent of the vote.^[18]

Immediately after the election of November 4, 2008, a push began to attract moderate/conservative Democrats and members of the Republican Party who felt disenchanted with both the GOP's failings and its perception as moving further to the right.^[19] In fact, those seeking a non-ideological political movement reportedly began joining the Modern Whig Party as soon as the election results came in.^[20]

On December 12–13, 2009, the Modern Whig Party held the first national leadership council meeting in Washington DC.^[13] The party's bylaws and charter were made public shortly after, with the document listing its official name as the Modern Whig Party of the United States of America and being approved by a national council.^[21]

In 2010, the Modern Whig Party endorsed Jeffrey Vanke, who ran as an independent in the race for Virginia's 6th electoral district against incumbent Republican Bob Goodlatte, winning just under 13% of the vote.^[22]

Media coverage

In the Spring of 2010, Time Magazine rated the Modern Whig Party along with the U.S. Marijuana Party, the Pirate Party, the Tea Party movement, and the American Secessionists as one of the "top 10 most popular alternative political movements worldwide".^[23] An editorial in one newspaper referred to the Modern Whig Party as the "fastest-growing mainstream political movement in the nation."^[24] Other opinion columns have been highly favorable toward the party.^[7]

Political platform

The MWP follows a six-tenet philosophy that the party does not specifically associate with centrism. It is instead denoted as "Modern Whig philosophy" and "Methodology over Ideology" by the Modern Whigs themselves^{[25][26][27][28]} and also by others, as the movement takes stands on issues across the political spectrum.^[29][30]

The six tenets of the Modern Whig philosophy are:^[31]

• Fiscal responsibility – "The Modern Whig philosophy is to empower the states with the resources to handle their unique affairs."
• Energy independence – "Reduce dependence on foreign oil by developing practical sources of alternative energy. This will have the simultaneous effect of changing the national security dynamic."
• Education/Scientific advancement – "Increased public and private emphasis on fields such as space, oceanic, medical and nanotechnology. Also, providing common-sense solutions to enhance our educational system from pre-school to university-level studies."
• States' rights – "Each state can determine its course of action based on local values and unique needs."
• Social progression – "Government should refrain from legislating morality."
• Veterans' affairs – "Vigilant advocacy relating to the medical, financial, and overall well-being of our military families and veterans."

There are also self-described "General Principles" of Modern Whig philosophy that are included along with the tenets: "This includes general principles of fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and bold social progression."^[32]

Logo

For its logo, the Modern Whig Party uses an owl, the symbol of the original Whig Party. As with the logos for the Democrats and the Republicans, a red, white, and blue color scheme is used, but with different meaning. Reportedly, the blue represents Democrats and the red, Republicans; the two colors are divided by a white band and four white stars. The party believes that the United States' future lies in "meeting in the middle," thus the placement of the stars in the middle of the owl.^[33]

State and territorial affiliates with ballot access

• New Jersey Chapter^[34]
• Modern Whig Party of Florida^[35]

State affiliates officially known to be registered with their respective states

• California Chapter^[36][37]
• Florida Chapter^[38]
• New Jersey Chapter^[39]
• Texas Chapter^[40]
• Virginia Chapter^[41]

State affiliates

As of February 11, 2011, the party has official chapters in the following 38 states:^[42][43]

Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado[44] Connecticut Delaware Florida

Georgia Illinois[45] Indiana[46][47] Iowa Kansas Kentucky Maine

Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota[48] Mississippi Missouri[49] Montana Nebraska

Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York[50] North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma

Oregon Pennsylvania[51] South Carolina Tennessee[52] Texas[53] Virginia[54] Washington Wisconsin[55]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "The Modern Whig Party". Modernwhig.info. http://www.modernwhig.info. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
2. ^ Albuquerque Journal Article by Sean Olson, "Revived Whigs," published July 30, 2009
3. ^ On Lincoln’s 200th birthday the "Modern Whig" Party makes a comeback http://www.richmond-dailynews.com/news.php?id=2674
4. ^ Modern Whigs Gain Political Momentum http://www.mvtelegraph.com/index.php/news/1732-Modern-Whigs-Gain-Political-Momentum-in-N.M..html
5. ^ "> Archives > Front > UA sophomore leads Whigs in Columbus". The Other Paper. 2008-09-24. http://www.theotherpaper.com/articles/2008/09/25/front/doc48daacb5a71fc951019104.txt. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
6. ^ Ryan, Jack (2009-01-13). "Washington Missouri - Whig Party Up and Running in State". Emissourian.com. http://www.emissourian.com/site/news.cfm?dept_id=544418&newsid=20240322. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
7. ^ ^{a b} [1]^{[dead link]}
8. ^ http://election.dos.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/ComHtml.exe?account=45020 Florida Department of State website confirming Florida Whig Party was ballot approved in 2007.
9. ^ "Modern Whig Party has Appeal to Some Troops: No Candidates Yet, but with Moderate Stance, it's Starting to Catch On" as published in the Marine Corps Times, Army Times and Air Force Times newspapers in June 2008
10. ^ WTFK 107.1 FM "Viewpoints with Lockwood Phillips http://www.wtkf107.com/images/002VPWEBCAST%20%20DAILY%20HR%202.mp3
11. ^ http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/article/2009/12/modern_whig_partymoderates_new_ally_
12. ^ WKOB Eyewitness News 4http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1065236.shtml?cat=504
13. ^ ^{a b} http://www.slate.com/id/2238557/
14. ^ See Whig register from their site, Wikipedia prevented direct link
15. ^ http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ccrov/pdf/2009/july/09112da.pdf
16. ^ "Ken Belcher website". Kcbelcher.com. http://www.kcbelcher.com/index.html. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
17. ^ "A new party with an old name elects its first candidate for office". Independent Political Report. http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/11/a-new-party-with-an-old-name-elects-its-first-candidate-for-office/. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
18. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
19. ^ "Republicans are Bald, Put on your Whigs" by Kyle Munzenrieder on Nov. 7, 2008 in Miami New Times
20. ^ See Miami New Times article
21. ^ http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2009/12/modern-whig-party-charter-and-bylaws-posted/
22. ^ https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2010/EB24720D-F5C6-4880-8DC5-12AE4D0C3772/official/6_s.shtml/
23. ^ "Top 10 Alternative Political Movements". Time. 2010-03-29. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1975807_1975805_1976014,00.html. 
24. ^ [3]^{[dead link]}
25. ^ California Modern Whig Party, Who Are Modern Whigs
26. ^ The Modern Whig Party blog
27. ^ Home (Illinois Modern Whig Party), WHO ARE MODERN WHIGS?
28. ^ Here comes Modern Whigs!, YouTube
29. ^ Wikinews interviews Mike Lebowitz, Chairman of the Modern Whig Party, Wikinews, the free news source you can write!, Monday, October 13, 2008, third question
30. ^ Modern Whig Party update, February 11th, 2009, Independent Political Report, third paragraph
31. ^ [4]^{[dead link]}
32. ^ http://www.modernwhig.org/oldindex.html#about
33. ^ "Top 10 USA Political Party Logos" by Logo Design Works http://www.logodesignworks.com/blog/top-10-usa-political-party-logos/
34. ^ Gene Baldassari ran as a Modern Whig
35. ^ http://election.dos.state.fl.us/committees/ComDetail.asp?account=55067
36. ^ "California Whig Party" http://www.cawhigparty.org/
37. ^ See also http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ccrov/pdf/2009/july/09112da.pdf
38. ^ http://www.flmodernwhig.org/
39. ^ Gene Baldassari ran as a Modern Whig
40. ^ Statement from Melinda Nickless of Texas Elections Commissions: The Modern Whig Party has registered with the state as a party but has not done anything thus far to obtain ballot access and in fact, they can not start circulating petitions for ballot access until March 3, 2010
41. ^ See Modern Whig Party of Virginia http://www.vpap.org/committees/profile/home/2991
42. ^ [5]
43. ^ [6]
44. ^ "Modern Whig Party adds two new state chapters". Independent Political Report. 2008-09-13. http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/09/modern-whig-party-adds-two-new-state-chapters/. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
45. ^ "Home (Illinois Modern Whig Party)". Illinoiswhig.org. 2009-04-30. http://www.illinoiswhig.org. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
46. ^ "Whig Party of Indiana". www.indianawhig.org. http://www.indianawhig.org. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 
47. ^ "Hoosier Whigs PAC". www.hoosierwhigs.org. http://www.hoosierwhigs.org. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 
48. ^ http://modernwhigmn.org
49. ^ "Modern Whig Party in Missouri". Missouriwhigs.org. http://www.missouriwhigs.org. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
50. ^ Whig Party of New York. "Whig Party of New York". nywhig.org. http://www.nywhig.org. 
51. ^ [http://www.pennwhig.org/
52. ^ [7]
53. ^ "Welcome to the website of Modern WHIG PARTY". Texaswhig.org. http://www.texaswhig.org/. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
54. ^ "The Modern Whig Party". Modernwhig.org. http://www.modernwhig.org/states.html. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
55. ^ "Modern Whig Party adds Michigan Chapter". Independent Political Report. http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/08/modern-whig-party-adds-michigan-chapter/. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 

External links

• Official site