An Ordinary Person
The Modern Whigs: Methodology Over Ideology
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I recently got a chance to exchange emails with Drew Scholtens, Chairman of the Georgia Modern Whig Party and member of the Modern Whigs National Executive Committee. The Modern Whigs is a revival of the previously defunct political party which was last active in the 1800s. Prominent Whigs included Abraham Lincoln, John Quincy Adams, and Millard Filmore.
From their web site:
Established in 1833, the Whigs are one of America’s oldest mainstream political parties. We were the original party of Abraham Lincoln and four other U.S. Presidents. Revived by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the grassroots movement has quickly [attracted] new members. We represent the moderate voters from all walks of life who cherry-pick between traditional Republican or Democratic ideals in what has been called the Modern Whig Philosophy. This Washington DC-based national movement values common sense, rational solutions ahead of ideology and partisan bickering. This includes general principles of fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and educational/scientific advancement.
Curious about what makes the Modern Whigs different from other third party and grassroots protest and political movements, I sent a few questions to them and was fortunate enough to get a response from their leadership.
The Political Outsiders Part III: FairVote
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Political reform is a dicey matter. There are many who clamor for and demand reform of the political system. I’ve been an observer of the American political scene for a long time and I have seen anti-establishment reform movements and efforts come and go through the years. Many of these efforts generate a lot of activity and even media attention but eventually fizzle out and end up not reforming anything.
One organization’s reform efforts, however, stuck out to me like a sore thumb—an organization called FairVote. This organization’s efforts stuck out because they actually are succeeding in implementing crucial reforms. Not only are the reforms the type of actions designed to promote democratic participation among ordinary people and those who are outsiders to the two major parties—which I thoroughly support—FairVote actually has a record of concrete results in implementing reform on the local and even the state and national level.
Analyzing How the Independent Went Left by Going Right
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I just checked out an interesting video at the Independent Voting web site titled “How the Independent Movement Went Left by Going Right.” It is an hour-long documentary of a speech political strategist Jackie Salit gave at the Committee for a Unified Independent Party (CUIP) conference in January 2009.
Tags: Committee for a Unified Independent Party, cuip, Democratic Leadership Council, DLC, Fairvote, Instant Runoff Voting, Jackie Salit, national popular vote, Netroots, Progressive Democrats
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So You Want to Change the System (Part 2)
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This is a list of actions to take and organizations to join if one is interested in transforming American politics from two-party dominance. This list is pretty much one individual’s perspective—mine. I am sure others will have points to disagree with and will have items to add or subtract. I made this list primarily as a mental exercise to help myself think through some of the issues one faces as a citizen interested in participatory democracy and who finds the current political choices in mainstream American politics lacking.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive or comprehensive. It is designed as a starting point for discussion on answering the question “What can an individual DO about it?”
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Tags: cuip, Democrats, Republicans, Democracy for America, Committee for a Unified Independent Party, Working Families Party, Fairvote, MoveOn, Green Party, Libertarian Party, Socialist Party, Democratic Socialists of America, labor unions, AFL-CIO, Change to Win, United Professionals, Working America, Free and Equal Elections, Ballot Access News