My background - by Douglas Wentz
- My first speech in 1978. On August 23-24, 1978, while a Mechanicsburg, PA resident and a 19-year-old junior at Cornell University, I attempted a Guiness World Record for the longest continuous political speech and succeeded in speaking for 31 continuous hours on the front steps of the Pennsylvania capitol building in Harrisburg, PA with the topic: “Pennsylvania’s Corrupt State Government: Why Don’t You Care?” A registered Republican at the time, my speech included a list of 238 public officials who had been indicated or convicted of corruption-related charges during the preceding eight years.
- In the years that followed my speech, I was determined to do something about the problem of corruption in Pennsylvania. I completed my BA at Cornell, earned an MA in public policy analysis at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a law degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. While in law school, I worked at the American Bar Association on its Model Procurement Code Project, which would enable states and cities to modernize and professionalize their procurement practices and minimize the opportunities for favoritism and corruption. I also drafted several chapters of the ABA’s guide on “Identifying and Prosecuting Fraud and Abuse in State and Local Contracting.” And finally, I promoted adoption of the ABA’s Model Procurement Code and other anti-corruption measures in opinion pieces published in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Harrisburg Patriot and Evening News.
- After completing my education, I pursued a career as a corporate and securities lawyer, initially with one of the oldest and largest law firms in Philadelphia and later with several Fortune 500 corporations headquartered in Florida, where among other things I assisted in developing ethics and compliance programs.
- Now, at the age of 66 and a registered independent, I am recently retired and thought that my speaking days were long behind me. Until now! The Presidential election to be held on November 5, 2024, will likely be the most consequential election in my lifetime, and the candidates - Donald Trump and Kamala Harris - offer starkly different visions for America.
- And for better or for worse, I’ve found that I cannot sit still. The same love of democracy and passion for good government that drove me to speak for 31 hours against corruption in Pennsylvania in 1978 still resides within me 46 years later.
- My second speech in 2024. As such, on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, I returned to the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol to reprise my anti-corruption message and delivered a second speech with the topic: "Donald Trump's January 6th Insurrection and Endless Corruption: Why Don't You Care?" The speech included important sections from the House Select Committee January 6 Report, reminding listeners of the nearly successful attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 Presidential election, and a "Donald Trump Corruption Timeline." In addition, I endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for President, and Democrat Janelle Stelson for Congress over Republican Scott Perry in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District where Perry is the incumbent. Some press coverage of the speech, my follow-up Op-ed entitled "Trump and Perry are not patriots. My grandmother was," and a copy of the full text of my speech is included on this website under "Speech on Sep. 25, 2024."
Make Moderates Matter ™
- I consider myself to be a political moderate, but there is nothing moderate about Donald Trump. There was nothing moderate about the January 6 insurrection or Trump's 50-year legacy of corruption.
- But in the longer term, we must ask how can we combat the extremism that has become a hallmark of our politics, and that likely will continue beyond the November election?
- And with that in mind, I have started building this website at MakeModeratesMatter.com.
- Now more than ever, Democracy needs moderates. We not only must preserve an aversion to extremism but also foster a sense of humility in dealing with our neighbors. We must work together respectfully with people of different viewpoints and make decisions that are based on proven facts and science, not political rhetoric and conspiracy theories.
- I am not alone in this view. A Gallop poll in January 2022 found that 37% of Americans identified themselves as moderate, which exceeded the percentage that considered themselves either conservative or liberal.
- But despite this, the moderate movement in America seems to have foundered. The political organization “No Labels” was formed with the stated mission to support centrism, but they declined to run a bipartisan “unity ticket” in the 2024 presidential election, vowing not be a “spoiler” for either party.
- A similar effort emerged when a group of former Republican and Democratic officials created the "Forward Party," to appeal to what they call the “moderate, common-sense majority.” But to date, their efforts appear to have gained limited traction.
- And a "Moderate Party" in New Jersey is attempting to reinstate "fusion voting" that would allow a candidate to appear on a ballot multiple times for multiple parties, so voters could support a candidate even if they disagree with their major party affiliation. The effort is stuck in the courts.
- But despite the relative lack of success of these centrist groups to date, I am sympathetic to their cause, and to other efforts to promote moderation in American politics.
- So with that in mind, I am building this website. It is my hope to create a resource for information about moderates. I will investigate who they are and what they believe. I will explore why we need moderation in politics and how to encourage it. I will follow the third-party moderate movements and examine structural initiatives such as Ranked Choice Voting and measures to combat gerrymandering. And all this will be done with two main aims: first, to empower moderation in American politics, and second, to seek common ground for a more productive government.
- I know this is easier said than done. And please understand that my website is a work in progress that will take some time to develop. I have advanced degrees in law and public policy analysis but never had a course in website building! Nevertheless, that is my goal. I encourage you to please subscribe so I can keep you updated as I make further progress.