Let's have a party
A short and amusing piece on why we need the Whig Party back (link via Boudicca). Any takers?
posted by Joshua @ 8:01 PM
A short and amusing piece on why we need the Whig Party back (link via Boudicca). Any takers?
posted by Joshua @ 8:01 PM
9 Comments:
Well, I was a big fan of the original flavor whigs from england, but that might simply be because they are given a rather positive spin in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. It seems to me like the fellow who wrote this article was doing more than a little projecting of his own policy preferences onto a theoretical modern whig party. Now there is nothing wrong with laying out an independant, and coherent platform (in fact, it is to be encouraged!), but I do think he might have stretched a little to fit his ideas into the whig mold.
I liked some of his ideas, limiting donations to 100$ each for instance. Say what you will about Howard Dean, but he managed to hold his own in fundraising with an average donation amount of around $77, as compared with well over $1000 for Kerry/Bush. Now, that would only be a partial solution and would require further reform regarding candidates' access to political advertising, but it would be a start. Opposing power creep to the executive branch is also a good idea, but harder to put into practice than to talk about.
However, he seems to imbue the Whigs with a magic wand, the presence of which would cause THIS to be plausible:
"When we break the hold of the religious right on government, we will save public education, science, moderate Christianity, medicine and the environment by giving them the respect they deserve."
Sorry, but punching Fallwell in the face will not automatically usher in a golden age of non politicized science, and enlightened education policy. Teachers unions are just as much a threat to school reform (those who know more, please elaborate or disagree) as religious fundamentalism is.
I'm out of time, so a point by point review will have to be forgone. Lunch it is!
Let's push all of the power to the appelate courts. C'mon! Who's with me?
Also, I was not a fan of the Nativist wing of the whigs. The whole point of the United States is that no one is a native. Becoming a citizen is not about your past, but rather your aims for the future.
Soc, I think you're not giving the original Whigs a fair shake with your charges of 'Nativism.'
The Democratic machine of the age had pretty much locked up the votes of Irish and German immigrants, and often not by the most legal means. Why wouldn't they be upset about corrupt machine politics like that? It was more anti-demogogue than anti-immigrant. This is not a distinction without a difference.
You're not entirely wrong that there were 'native' sympathies in the party, but the rump party was about industrial growth (which needed immigrant labor) and internal improvements. Above all, it thought the presidency should be as limited as possible.
And I disagree about 'the point' of the United States. The point isn't "no one is a native," but rather anyone born here - regardless of parentage or ethnicity- is a native.
Oh, and lest you think I didn't notice, I loved the "I was a fan/I wasn't a fan..." construction employed in both comments. So, what was life like back in those days?
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Nice colors. Keep up the good work. thnx!
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Your are Nice. And so is your site! Maybe you need some more pictures. Will return in the near future.
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