Who are we?
A little bit of History
The “Bull Moose Party” was the nickname for the Progressive Party, formed in 1912 by former president Theodore Roosevelt. The party emerged after Roosevelt lost the Republican presidential nomination to the incumbent, William Howard Taft, his former protégé turned political rival.
The nickname “Bull Moose” originated from Roosevelt’s declaration that he felt “strong as a bull moose” following his defeat at the Republican convention in June of that year. His defeat at the convention, despite overwhelmingly winning the primaries, ultimately lead to a rupture in the Republican party and the creation of The Progressive Party.
The association with the Bull Moose gained further significance when, after surviving an assassination attempt, Roosevelt famously delivered a speech and proclaimed, “It takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”
What is this Incarnation of the Bull Moose Party?
We’re borrowing the century-old nickname of Teddy Roosevelt’s party as a placeholder for a completely new kind of political party. Our mission is simple: remove the corrupting influence of money from politics and elect the honest, hard-working leaders we need. This is, of course, easier said than done, which is why we need new ideas and mechanisms. This overview explains our approach.
- We’re a non-ideological party—the first of its kind in American history.
- Our goal is 100% member funding through small monthly donations, from $1 to $100. Think of it as the NPR funding model, but for politics. This allows our candidates to refuse money from special interest groups, lobbyists, wealthy donors, dark money PACs, and the like.
- We’ll act as a self-regulatory organization, establishing high ethical standards for our candidates and the infrastructure to ensure compliance.
- While all parties recruit, name recognition and fundraising ability often take priority over ethical standards. Not with us. We seek electable candidates willing to live by the highest ethical standards and driven by a commitment to community service.
- We envision a rigorous process to assess candidates’ qualifications, ethical track record, and commitment to our core principles. The specifics will be developed collaboratively, but our goal is to champion candidates who prioritize their communities’ needs and are dedicated to serving with honor and distinction.
- To further this mission, we must address the systemic issues that discourage good people from running for office and hinder effective governance. We’re committed to exploring and potentially advocating for some of these reforms in key areas:
- Electoral Reform: Proportional representation, ranked-choice voting, and non-partisan primaries to ensure fairer elections and broader representation.
- Accountability and Transparency: Term limits, campaign finance reform, and non-partisan redistricting to reduce corruption and increase accountability.
- Empowering Voters: Direct presidential elections and proportional Senate representation to give citizens a greater voice in their government.
We need your help
Building a political system that can deliver on the promise of America is going to take a lot of time and effort. If you can help in any way please get in touch.