The Road Ahead

BY Kevin J. Rogers

“People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.”
― Bob Dylan

When we first thought of creating the Institute, our idea was to do something fairly simple: put up a basic website for the new entity with the legacy content of the political party which preceded it, include a blog, and then begin the long, slow process of building a traditional think tank. And that’s exactly what we started to do.

But — and this is pure serendipity — a funny thing happened before we got too far. We ran into some technical problems launching the new site and had to reach out to an old friend, Taylor Valley, for help. He’s the consultant the Modern Whig Party worked with at NationBuilder during the 2015 reboot, and was instrumental back then in guiding us through the process of revamping the MWP website, reorienting our digital presence and rebuilding the party base.

Our initial ask this time was for assistance in creating a new site using the legacy materials from the old one as a starting point, just like before. But it just so happens this particular individual is an expert in creating and building membership organizations. His efforts for the MWP had been largely responsible for the greatest growth phase the party ever experienced, outside of its founding.

And he had an idea . . .

"Storm clouds over Highway 97 near Valentine, Nebraska" by diana_robinson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

It didn’t take very long for us to see he was right. We needed to do more than take the easy road. We would be wasting the best of what Modern Whigs have to offer by being just another organization of experts (although we’ll have plenty of those around). We wouldn’t be honoring our core value of civic participation by being insular, remote and aloof.

We needed to do more. We needed to build a community.

We of course had a head start on that. When the MWP Executive Committee agreed to the merger which formed the Alliance Party, they also voted to transfer the remaining party assets (the domains, trademarks, national social media accounts, etc.) to the Institute. Along with that bundle came the old database of MWP members and officers, plus all the people on the mailing list or still following on social media.

It took exactly no time at all to see the potential of what we had in our hands. As a movement we had never had trouble coalescing around our principles and our ideas. But as a party we were just never able to create the right vehicle to carry the movement. We never truly found a way to overcome the roadblocks and transfer our Great Conversation into the electoral sphere.

That conversation never really stopped, though. And we’ve now created a new opportunity for ourselves in the policy sphere. There are no barriers to entry into public discourse. No one can establish, say, a signature requirement for ordinary Americans to gather around a table — figuratively or literally — and come up with ideas to better the lives of their fellow citizens.

And not only is there nothing to stop like-minded citizens from creating, in the grandest of American traditions, a voluntary association; for us Whigs it’s practically an obligation.

So where are we now?

Let’s start with some basic themes. Our goal, as a community, is to bridge the gap between expertise and common sense, and eliminate the gulf between principle and pragmatism. Our mission, as a movement, is to build our Institute — together — from the grassroots up. Our purpose, as individuals, is first and foremost to serve as citizen participants in the governance of our Republic.

To weave those three strands — community, movement, and the individual — together, we use two primary tools: the Forums and the Roundtables. We’ll have more details on those in our next post.

For now, the important thing to keep in mind is how unique this effort is -- and how familiar. As usual, we Whigs are thinking outside the box, taking the best of what we already know and using our imaginations to come up with a way of doing things better. 

In the case of the Institute, that means applying our values of participation and inclusiveness. Unlike almost all other think tanks, our methodology relies on the participation of our membership rather than experts alone to create much of the actual work product. Our process is largely communal, seeking to unite Main Street and the Ivory Tower in the spirit of patriotism and the common good.   

And unlike almost all other think tanks, our membership is included in the governance of the Institute through two key areas: the Forums, where discussion is member-driven and moderated, and where there is a Suggestion Box category to provide a formal channel for member input; and, eventually, in the election of our first permanent Board of Directors. (We’re in the process of forming an Interim Board to provide oversight through our initial development phase.)   

We also have some long standing plans for a formal leadership development initiative, a national media property, additional outreach programs and added member benefits. We’ll be rolling them out as we build them. 

In the meantime, our immediate goal is to create the kind of content the public is used to seeing from other similar organizations. We’re starting essentially from scratch, which is both challenging and exciting; our success will ultimately depend on those who step up to pitch in.

But we’re confident, given all we’ve experienced over the last decade or so, our community is more than up to the task. If there’s one thing in which all Americans can have faith, it’s the ability of our people -- as a People -- to find a way. 

Kevin J. Rogers is the executive director of the Modern Whig Institute. He can be reached at director@modernwhig.org.