A THIRD PARTY WORTH WATCHING
Slate had an intriguing article (by writer Andrew Dubbins) about a new third party with a historic name: The Modern Whig Party.
The Whig Party was an anti-Jacksonian political party from the 1830s to about 1860. There were several Whig Presidents: William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor were elected, John Tyler and Millard Fillmore succeeded Harrison and Taylor when they died in office.
The original Whigs opposed Jacksonian increases in presidential power. However, they also supported the Second Bank of the United States, internal improvements and unsound money according to both Wikipedia and Thomas DiLorenzo, noted scholar on Abraham Lincoln (who was a Whig member of Congress) in one of his great books about the Sixteenth President.
Hardly a libertarian party. But the Modern Whig Party might have potential for libertarians. Slate reports their positions supports states rights, fiscal responsibility and eschewing the legislation of morality:
They resurrected the old Whigs’ symbol, the owl, and chiseled out a platform centered on fiscal responsibility, energy independence, education, states’ rights, separation of church and state, and support for veterans. In other words, a Republican head with a Democratic heart.
I am not endorsing any third party. But I will keep an eye on the Modern Whig Party. Any third party needs two things: Credibility and lots of money. It could raise money through money bombs and through the support of Ron Paul type policies. That would give the Modern Whig Party immediate credibility. It will need ballot access and a lawyer or two (Not an ad for me! I am an attorney but not in election law) to ensure that access. it also needs solid candidates. Finally a third party needs a national crisis to cause voters to consider an alternative. We may well have that.
