A few articles ago I suggested independent voters vote Libertarian in the elections of 2010. While you might still wish to do so, I feel obligated, as a member of the slightly less biased than mainstream media, to inform the masses of yet another option. Of all the third parties out there, including the three big ones-Libertarian, Green and Constitution-there is a smaller, more recent party I think is just for you.
Therefore I present the Modern Whig Party, viewable at modernwhig.org. Whether you’re a moderate Republican or a moderate Democrat, this party is for you, because that’s exactly what it is – moderate. As its Web site states, “We represent moderate voters from all walks of life who cherry-pick between traditional Democratic and Republican ideals in what has been called the Modern Whig Philosophy.”
Now, a brief history lesson, because it may offer some prospective. The original Whig party existed about 100 hundred years ago. Abraham Lincoln and other early Republicans came from this party, which slowly declined to extinction after the Republicans gathered steam. This new party is much more recent, and smaller, with state chapters in only 28 states, Michigan included. In other words, they’re just one of the many smaller third parties trying to get its platform heard and enacted.
However, its moderate views and platform seem to be exactly what this country needs. With more people registered as Independents, and with the extremes of each major party drowning out the more moderate members, the Modern Whigs could be the new voice for those people, especially considering the civil war between the moderate and extremely conservative Republicans. With the extremists having the benefit of yelling nonsensical gibberish to scare their voting base into supporting them, the moderates now have a new place to go if they believe their party will never properly recover. Poetic justice, irony, or the cycle of history, I’ll leave that up to you.
A little bit more about the party itself. The party was begun by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and they advocate “… general principles of fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and educational/scientific advancement,” according to its Web site. It also advocates for state’s rights, and longtime readers of my semi-sensible ramblings might remember how big a fan of state’s rights I am, especially with the national government force-feeding Michigan Canada’s garbage because Canada pays us for it. We have Granholm, we don’t need more Canadian trash, thank you.
So if, like me, you’re tired of the Republican civil war, the Democratic fragmentation resulting in nothing getting done, and the extremists of both parties drowning out those in the middle, or if you are a moderate Republican and believe the war is lost or will be lost for your side, then the Modern Whigs might be for you. Progress can come from small beginnings, but only if those who believe the need for the progress take action. The question then is, “Is there a need for progress?”
