PRINCIPLE.
DISCOVERY.
COMMUNITY.
Taking its name from a centuries-old Anglo-American political philosophy, the Modern Whig Institute fosters American public life by cultivating the timeless and traditional Whig passion for the common good.
We believe Americans are at our best, and can achieve the most, when we come together in a spirit of mutual respect, comity and cooperation. We embrace principled compromise. We are devoted to reasoned discourse and civilized debate.
We also believe in the power of community and in the inherent value of our social, political and cultural institutions. We are dedicated to serving as an independent and unifying voice for all Americans of goodwill. And we are committed to shaping a brighter, more prosperous and more secure future for the generations to come.
In that mission we are driven by our central animating conviction: The ideal government is a government of the People, by the People and for the People, energetically exercising its legitimate grant of authority from the People, and whose power is ultimately limited by the Constitution which created it.
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The Modern Whig Institute is a 501(c)(3) civic research and education foundation dedicated to promoting the fundamental American principles of representative government, ordered liberty, capitalism, due process and the rule of law.
“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”
— Henry Clay
WHIG VALUES
INTEGRITY.
To us, integrity means basic honesty and a commitment to the ethical practice of politics in both thought and action. We believe technical obedience to the strict letter of the law isn’t enough. The spirit of the law should also be honored. We also believe in universal accountability; no one is above the law and everyone should live by the same rules.
VIRTUE.
Modern Whigs believe society should reward effort, intelligence, individual talent, competence and hard work. The chief determinants of a person’s financial and social success should be their educational achievements, professional accomplishments, commitment to excellence and personal character. There is no inherent merit in accidents of birth.
INDEPENDENCE.
The Whig habit of mind is built on independent thinking. We depend on reflection rather than reflexive dogma as the source of our ideology. We believe in the informed challenge of assumptions, and we are absolutely confident an informed, independent-minded citizenry willing to embrace boldness and ingenuity can achieve anything.
OUR LETTER
For the Republic: Our Letter to the American People
“Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.”
― Alexander Hamilton
Throughout the centuries, Whigs of all stripes – including Modern Whigs – have shared one trait in common: our fierce opposition to any abuse of power, whether in the form of the random and arbitrary expression of an autocrat’s will, or in the hulking threat of an agitated mob. We despise both tyranny and terrorism.
At the same time, we insist government do its duty and serve the interests of the People, as determined by the People in free and fair elections, and within the boundaries our Constitution has established. In other words, we believe in the vigorous exercise of legitimate authority, while at the same time we embrace the limitations placed on that authority by our natural rights.
True liberty, our Founding Fathers understood, lies in the proper balance between the opposing forces of freedom and order.
But history has proven it is often a difficult balance to strike, and even more difficult to maintain. While we believe the United States of America to be an exceptional country in virtually every way, we also know we are by no means immune to the fate of those democracies which have failed before. Nothing is guaranteed. The future of our Republic is always and forever to be determined.
We created the Modern Whig Institute with those realities in mind. The political party which preceded us was the first attempt of our movement to take a hand, as patriotic Americans, in defending not only the Constitution but all the traditions of representative government surrounding it. This is the second, with the same mission and the same motive: to serve our country by promoting our nation’s most fundamental principles, and thereby do our part to continue the work the Framers began.
To that end we enthusiastically make certain promises to our fellow Americans, and indeed to the world.
We pledge to neither court controversy nor shy away from it. We don’t exist to be an outrage machine and make the cash register ring. But we likewise are completely unafraid to tackle the thorniest and most vexing issues. We have the courage of our convictions.
We pledge to tell the truth. We have no interest in twisting facts to produce a desired outcome, hiding or shading data which may be uncomfortable, or withholding information which runs counter to our conclusions. If we’re wrong, we’ll say so.
We pledge to always be fair and fair-minded. As many a wag has noted, there are two sides to every story, and then there’s the truth. Often there are many more than two sides. While we refuse to indulge the obviously ridiculous, malicious or absurd, we promise to give all reasonable viewpoints the hearing they deserve.
We pledge to operate in good faith and demand others do the same. We don’t use sophistry, deflection or rhetorical tricks in order to simply score points and win arguments, and we won’t allow anyone to use them against us. We’ll gladly debate any point with anybody at any time. But we engage for the learning -- and teaching – experience. No one benefits from smoke and mirrors.
One final thing: Whigs relentlessly emphasize sincerity, authenticity and humility in public service. We believe the people we choose to govern us should be worthy of our trust; the use of public office for self-serving ends rather than as an instrument of the common good is, for us, intolerable. While we are prohibited by law from endorsing, opposing or lending support to any candidate for elective office, we will not hesitate to promote our ethical standards and, when necessary, hold those who fall short of them to account.
We believe Americans should demand the best of those who claim to be the best among us.
But ultimately, our faith is in each other. We are convinced the strength of our nation is not to be found in any political party, nor any organization, nor even in our military, economic and social institutions, as important as they are. The real strength of America is in our people: the ordinary citizens who dutifully go about their business, leading productive lives, caring for their families and friends and communities and striving to leave the world a slightly better place than they found it.
In the end, they are who we truly serve. We hope you will join us.
-- The Citizens of The Modern Whig Institute
OUR PRINCIPLES
To a Modern Whig, most questions of policy deserve to be viewed more broadly, and more deeply, than through the typical two sides of liberal and conservative. We believe instead in adherence to timeless principles, applied to each issue afresh as we deal with questions on their own merits.
OUR STORY
Rooted in over 200 years of history, but always looking forward. Our predecessor, The Modern Whig Party, was first organized in late 2007 by veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who were dismayed by their nation's deepening ideological divide. But that proved to be just the beginning of our journey.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Kevin J. Rogers
Executive Director
Kevin J. Rogers is the founding executive director of the Modern Whig Institute.
After studying political science at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. he embarked on a varied career in public advocacy, banking and the hospitality industry before becoming a fulltime writer and journalist in 2004.
He is the former managing editor, business editor and editorial writer of The Ballston Journal, a weekly community newspaper which covered the towns of Milton, Malta and Ballston Spa, N.Y.
From December 2014 through May 2016 Kevin proudly served as the national vice-chair of the Modern Whig Party. In that role he was responsible for the daily operations of the party during a period of historic growth.
Born in Brooklyn, he currently resides in Saratoga County, N.Y.
Gene Chaas
Treasurer
Gene Chaas is the remaining Veteran charter member of the initial formation of the Modern Whig Party (MWP) in 2008. He served as New York Chair and New York Treasurer, and was the MWP national treasurer from the inception of the party.
Gene continues to serve the Modern Whig movement as an operations officer and Treasurer of the Institute.
He is a native of Western New York, and was schooled at both University of Rochester and Syracuse University. His first job out of school was with the Port Authority of NY and NJ, stationed at World Trade Center, Tower 1 55th floor.
Gene served with distinction in the US Army Intelligence Corps from 1985-1989. He has been an investment advisor since he left the military in 1990, and also teaches finance at Buffalo State College.
Gene is married, with two children and a dingo dog.
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