Who Are The Modern Whigs?

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 in 2007 by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, this grassroots movement has quickly attracted thousands of new members. We represent politically moderate and independent-minded voters from all walks of life that are committed to finding pragmatic solutions to the problems facing our country by putting methodology above ideology and using rational thinking instead of partisan dogma.

Modern Whigs are citizen-legislators with a deep respect for the vocation of public service who clearly distinguish themselves from other parties in the following ways:

• Whigs are the only mainstream party whose agenda includes fundamental political reforms without which nothing else will change.
• Whigs are not interested in power, they are interested in governing and public service.
• Whigs do not argue about whether government should be “big” or “small”, but whether it is doing its job.
• Whigs seek public office in order to solve problems and not in order to impose their ideological, religious or other views on their fellow citizens.
• When solving problems, Whigs rely on fact instead of fiction, use reason instead of dogma, and judge solutions based on evidence instead of slogans.
• Whigs do not accept undisclosed money from corporations, lobbyists, unions or special-interest groups, and prefer to limit themselves to public financing and individual donations.
• Whigs practice what they preach: they do not say one thing when running for office and do another thing once they are in office.
• Whigs are committed to an ethical approach to politics based on the principles of meritocracy and integrity, the cornerstones of the Whig Philosophy.
• Whig elected officials who abandon these practices will be held accountable: by expulsion from the Party and by becoming subject to recall efforts launched by the Whig Party leadership.

Whigs who betrayed voters in the past were held accountable by the Party. Consider the story of John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States: elected Vice-President in 1840 on a popular Whig platform, he assumed the Presidency upon the death of President William Henry Harrison just one month after his inauguration.

Once in office, Tyler proceeded to veto Whig legislation and pursued his own agenda. Sound familiar? This being the Whigs, however, accountability was swift: in September 1841 he was expelled from the Party and in 1845, thanks to Whig members of Congress, became the first President ever whose veto was overridden. Needless to say, Tyler was not re-elected.

Can you imagine Republicans or Democrats expelling their own President from the party or voting to override his veto? The Whigs did it in the past and, if necessary, the Modern Whigs will do it in the future.

If you find yourself in the political middle, independent and unrepresented by the current political structure, fiscally responsible yet socially tolerant, the Modern Whig Party needs you. We encourage citizen participation and offer leadership positions to all qualified members.

The Modern Whig Party is not just another ephemeral “third party”. Our mission is to build a viable and permanent alternative to the current two-party system. American Liberalism and Conservatism are exhausted ideologies. An incorruptible new pragmatic, common sense and centrist oriented force with a bold vision for America is needed to break the logjam and put an end to the existing duopoly. The Modern Whig Party is that force. Join us!