My background - by Doug Wentz
- My political story. You can learn more about my political background by watching here, but in a nutshell, I am both a political moderate and registered independent. In addition:
- My first speech. On August 23-24, 1978, while a junior at Cornell University, I attempted a Guiness World Record for the longest continuous political speech and spoke for 31 continuous hours on the front steps of the Pennsylvania state capitol building in Harrisburg with the topic: “Pennsylvania’s Corrupt State Government: Why Don’t You Care?” The speech included a list of 239 public officials indicated for crimes against the public trust. I was a registered Republican at the time and most of the officials on my list were Democrats.
- My second speech. 46 years later, after I had changed my registration to independent, relocated to Florida and retired from a career as an attorney, I delivered a second speech. On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, just before the Presidential election, I returned to the front steps of the Pennsylvania state capitol to reprise my anti-corruption message with the topic: "Donald Trump's January 6th Insurrection and Endless Corruption: Why Don't You Care?" As a political moderate, I had plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, but the alternative in Donald Trump was simply in my view untenable. As such, I endorsed Harris for President, and Democrat Janelle Stelson for Congress over Republican Scott Perry in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District that included my original hometown of Mechanicsburg, PA. My speech was covered in an article in PennLive Patriot-News on September 25, 2025, entitled: "Former Pa. resident gets on his soapbox on Capitol steps to criticize Trump, Perry." I also published an Op-ed opinion piece with PennLive Patriot-News on September 30, 2024, entitled: "Trump and Perry are not patriots. My grandmother was."
- Next steps. The 2024 Presidential election did not turn out as I had hoped, but I now am aiming to "Make Moderates Matter."
Goals of Make Moderates Matter
- My aim is to empower moderate and independent voters. Now more than ever, Democracy needs moderates. We must reject the extremism and irresponsible rhetoric or all too many of our political leaders and find a way for the moderate and independent voices in America to be heard. And to that effect, I have created this website and channels for "Make Moderates Matter" on YouTube, Substack and Reddit.
- Three main goals. You can learn more about my objectives by watching here, but in short, I have three main goals:
- First, I will explore what it means to be a "political moderate."
- Second, I will consider how we can "make moderates matter," whether through political parties and organizations (including not only the moderate factions within the existing Democratic and Republican parties, but also moderate political parties and organizations like the Forward Party, No Labels®, Third Way and the moderate parties emerging in some states like the New Jersey Moderate Party and United Kansas), or by changing the structure and mechanics of the voting process (through proportional representation, ranked choice voting, fusion voting, open primaries, independent redistricting commissions to combat gerrymandering, or a combination of the above, such as the Fair Representation Act).
- And finally, my third goal is to provide general news and updates for moderates and independent voters through my weekly Sunday morning video series "Moderate News Matters."
- I know this is easier said than done. My website and social media channels are works in progress. I have advanced degrees in law and public policy analysis but never had a course in content creation or website building! Nevertheless, I am giving this my best shot. I encourage you to please check back as I make further progress and consider subscribing to this website or my YouTube channel to be notified when I post a new video.