Clarification – Directly From The Chairman Of The Florida Whig Party

Needless to say I was surprised to log in this morning and find a message from Paul Truesdell, the current Chairman of the Florida Whig Party.

If you read this Paul, thanks for taking the time to clear up any questions concerning the FWP and MWP personally. We’re excited and looking forward to hearing more from your party in the very near future.

Is it possible that our nation will find it’s much sought after (yet so many times failed) third party in this renewed party of old?

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As Chairman of the second administration of the Florida Whig Party, I would like to correct a few items. The Florida Whig Party is a political party that is recognized as such by the Secretary of State and Division of Elections in the State of Florida. The FWP began in 2006 and achieved formal party status in 2007. The FWP was voluntarily associated with the Modern Whig (party) Movement which began approximately one year after the FWP. The FWP Executive Board voted in August to terminate its affiliation with the Moderns but the action was vetoed by me as Chairman. Subsequent discussions resulted in a second vote which was unanimous. In October of 2009, the founding Chairman of the Moderns resigned and the second administration of the Moderns began. The day after the second administration, the new Chair was informed of the decision to separate. Since December 2009, the third administration of the Moderns has been without a Chairperson and the FWP remains an independent political party that must follow the laws, rules, and regulations of the State of Florida; which includes not permitting outside parties or movements calling the shots as to tenants, platform, or party positions. The FWP is a political party based upon Classical Liberal policies rather than Modern Liberal or Modern Conservative tenants. We are also certainly not supportive of Classical Conservative policies. These terms have specific meanings; however, most people are poorly educated or versed on said-same. As such, the founding fathers (a term coined by President Coolidge during a Republican Convention) were Whigs. History books have been altered over the years to diminish the British Whigs (Whiggamore Raid) of the 1600s, our American Revolutionary Whigs of the 1700s, and the political party Whigs of the 1800s. The demise of the Whigs of the 1800s has been fodder for political humor; however, history reflects that the national debt was eliminated when the Whigs controlled Washington and that the civil war would have begun ten years earlier had it not been for the Daniel Webster, Horrace Greeley, General Winfield Scott, and Henry Clay. While many will read this without a tad bit of knowledge as to who these Whigs were of the 1800s, the fact remains that four Whigs served as President, the Party collapsed as a result of Cotton Whigs becoming Democrats and Confederates while northern Whigs like Abraham Lincoln formed, joined, and became the Republican Party following their first meeting in Ripon Wisconsin. All of this activity of stems from the Whigs of the 1600s who fought successfully for the same rights our Whigs of the 1700s, 1800s, and now the FWP fights for in the 2000s. While I personally appreciate what each and every Whig in the nation is doing to foster the growth of a true third party that will complete a needed trilogy of political parties (a three legged stool stands solid while a tow leg stool will fall to one side or the other) we do not believe in tenants of the Moderns as a replacement for a traditional platform, In addition, and to repeat, we are Classical Liberals who are very concerned with the Imperial Presidency of both Democrats and Republicans. We do not believe in talk without action but rather our motto is Acta no Vebra (Deeds not Words).

We have been fortunate to have a strong team on our executive board such as Professor Wendell Griffith, Executive Vice Chairman and District Director. Dr. Griffith is a former Marine who was stationed at several embassies (such as Russia and Spain) and has taught college in the Florida State University system for several decades. Dr. Griffith is an expert at Constitutional Law, American Government, and Political History. Our Vice Chairman, Henry DeGeneste, Vice President of Global Security at Prudential Financial for fifteen years. In that capacity he was the senior executive responsible for developing and managing the strategy and policies that addressed security for the firm and its subsidiary companies. He was a member of the firm’s Crisis Management Committee. Prior to joining Prudential Financial, Mr. DeGeneste had a distinguished twenty three year career at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey where he rose through the ranks and retired as the Director of Public Safety and Superintendent of Police. Our Secretary is Kellean Kai Truesdell, J.D., LL.M. is a practicing attorney in the State of Florida and owner of Kellean K. Truesdell, P.A. Kellean graduated from the University of Akron (J.D.) and the University of Miami (LL.M. – Masters in Law in Estate Planning). Kellean’s estate planning, elder law, probate and trust administration, and asset protection practice has approximately 10,000 clients from across the state, with a concentration in North Central Florida.

As you can see from these three examples, these are real people, who have real experience, and who are truly committed to developing a true third party to challenge the duopoly.

Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Detective John Annarumma is running for Congress as a Florida Whig. Retired CFO Steve Bacon is running for Congress as a Florida Whig. Assembly Line Worker Steve Gerritzen is running for Congress as a Florida Whig, Computer Programmer Clayton Schock is running for Congress as a Florida Whig, General Building Contractor Craig Porter is running for Congress as a Florida Whig, and Dr. Douglass Shearer, a veterinarian is running for a seat on the Marion County Commission as a Florida Whig. From all walks of life, these men have stepped forward to place their names before the people of Florida to restore We the People to elected office. Non is a professional politician. Each has made many mistakes because of a lack of political experience. Each is true in their belief in the majority of the planks of the platform of the Florida Whig Party and accepts the differences that exist among each other with mutual tolerance and cooperation. As a state that is based upon open primary laws, we do not pick our candidates, the people do. Each became a candidate on their own rather than handpicked and placed into a running position. We do not believe in “The Party’s Candidates” approach and will never engage in telling a candidate how to run, what to do, and how to say it. We will assist and offer guidance and counsel, but each candidate and coalition leader is expected to stand on his or her own feet and fight the fight for We the People on a united in spirit but individual footing.

While politics always has, is, and will continue to be a blood sport that wears thin the skin of even those with the thickest of hide from time to time, the fact that internal political posturing for personal gain in the name of who is more akin to what is or is not a Republican, Democrat, or Whig is not a game we seek to be a part of for our goal is simple, clear, and concise: Build the foundation to support a growing Whig Party that will elect office holders who will return the nation to is fundamental roots of Classical Liberalism while effectively handling the issues of the day.

We live not in the past but in the present. We plan for the future rather than despair in what was. And we are grounded in our history and belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness today, tomorrow, and forever.

-Paul Truesdell, Florida Whig Party