Because Whigs value differences of opinion and independent thought, we do not necessarily take a position on every particular issue that may be fashionable for the moment.  Instead, we propose a program of broad reforms that we believe will strengthen our country as it faces the challenges of the 21^st century. 

Political System Reform: we believe all citizens have equal rights and duties to participate and be represented in the democratic process and oppose all attempts to limit participation or distort representation.  We also believe that our political system as it is today contains certain unrepresentative and, frankly undemocratic, features that restrict political competition and undermine citizens’ ability to properly exercise their political rights and duties.  These problems include, but are not limited to:

• the overwhelming influence of money in political campaigns; Whig Solution: campaign finance reform in the direction of public financing, along with free and equal access to the airwaves.

• lobbying, a.k.a. corruption; Whig Solution: no “special access” to government officials for lobbyists, and a ban on politicians working as lobbyists for five years after leaving office.

• the Electoral College, which only serves to thwart the will of the people in presidential elections; Whig Solution: either make the allocation of electors proportional to the popular vote in each state or abolish it altogether.

• gerrymandering, the cynical practice in which partisan hacks redraw boundaries after every census in order to creates “safe” electoral districts for the benefit of their own party; Whig Solution: place redistricting in the hands of non-partisan citizens committees.

• a plurality-based electoral system where a candidate can win with a minority of the vote and ballots cast for other candidates end up being wasted; Whig Solution: use Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in which voters can rank multiple candidates based on preference, and 2nd choice candidates receive votes cast for candidates who placed last; also known as Alternative Voting, this method is used in other democracies such as Ireland and Australia; in 2010 it was also used to select Oscar winners; if Hollywood can do it, surely so can the rest of us!

• Tuesday elections that only make it hard for voters to get the polls; Whig solution: hold elections on weekends.

Fiscal Responsibility: government cannot be exempt from the basic rules of accounting.  Revenues should match or exceed expenditures, excessive debt should be avoided, and some funds should be kept in reserve for future “rainy days”.  Deficit spending is acceptable only in times of economic crisis.  Practices such as unfunded mandates, pork-barrel spending, or cutting taxes while fighting wars are unacceptable. Financial institutions that are “too big to fail” should be split up so that no one entity can bring down our entire economy unless bailed out by taxpayer money.  A properly-functioning market economy should not require taxpayer bailouts of private companies in the first place!

Energy Independence: our country’s addiction to oil is well documented.  Our political class has allowed our dependence on Middle Eastern oil to continually increase, thereby showing it learned nothing from the Oil Shocks of the 1970s.  Following the 9/11 attacks, it became clear that energy independence is a matter of national security.  Regardless of any arguments about global warming or climate change, Whigs believe our country MUST develop alternative sources of energy (wind, solar, nuclear, etc).  Otherwise our security will remain hostage to events in the volatile Middle East and we will be forced to continue supporting corrupt and autocratic regimes whose oil we need to power our economy.  This situation is utterly unsustainable.

National Defense and Veterans Affairs: as a patriotic party founded by American veterans, Modern Whigs are committed to a strong national defense.  America will act to defend its national interest multilaterally if possible and unilaterally if necessary.  Whigs reject isolationism and favor strong alliances with reliable partners who are willing to share the burden in the fight against common enemies.  A vibrant and robust NATO is and will remain the bedrock of America’s security for the foreseeable future. America is currently at war with Al-Qaeda and its allies such as the Taliban, and this war will not end until the enemy is defeated.  Whigs believe America must honor its war veterans and should provide them with access to the highest possible quality of care and services through a well-funded Veterans Administration. 

Social Toleration: in keeping with its meritocratic philosophy, Whigs oppose all sorts of favoritism or discrimination based on arbitrary factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, etc.

Education Reform and Scientific Advancement: to compete in today’s global economy, America must have the best schools and universities in the world.  America cannot afford to let China take the lead in math, engineering and space exploration while we argue about the merits of evolution and ponder whether to teach creationism in science class.  Whigs believe such debates are out of place in the 21^st century and only distract from the task of fixing our public schools. We favor the ideas of school choice, merit-based pay for teachers and charter schools, as well as a stronger emphasis on science and math in academic curricula.  We also favor reforming the onerous practice of funding public schools through property taxes, which effectively condemns the poorest areas to having the worst schools.