WHAT IS 1787?
1787 is a new American political party.
When an organization “nominates qualified candidates for president and various congressional offices in numerous states” as 1787 will, the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) automatically classifies it as a national party committee. But that is where the “political party” distinction ends.
In his farewell address to the nation, President George Washington praised our system’s ability to represent individual differences. But, even way back then, he identified political parties as a specific threat to our union:
Washington went on to say that, if these factions are tolerated, “cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government.” George’s prediction proved 1000% correct. This is exactly what has happened.
1787 is a new and improved brand of leadership that will never, as George Washington warned, “serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party.” In fact, with 1787 it’s virtually impossible for the will of the party to overshadow the will of the people because 1787 members are in complete control of its direction. Think of 1787 like a democracy within the U.S. democracy, where every outcome is a majority rule of the members.
You can also think of 1787 as a modern-day Constitutional Convention, where committed citizens engage in respectful, nonpartisan conversation not to change the U.S. Constitution in any way, but to enhance and strengthen the extraordinary freedoms that our country was founded on.
One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations.” He further warned that parties “serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party.
SO, HOW WILL YOUR VOICE BE HEARD?
At the annual 1787 convention — which features productive conversation, enlightening policy presentations, intelligent debate and super fun parties galore — 1787 members will vote on each policy issue to define the prevailing policy direction and platform. Also, members will nominate candidates for president of the United States, vice president of the United States, and congressional candidates. Those members unable to attend the convention in person can submit their votes, analysis, presentations and comments virtually, or via email, text or the 1787 website.
There are almost 200 policy issues addressed throughout this website. Our goal is to provide unfiltered, unbiased information that is exhaustively researched. This way, we can actually have the knowledge necessary to make an intelligent decision rather than make up our minds based on 280 characters!! : )
Armed with knowledge, we bad ass Americans will be fully equipped to solve our problems and save our country! Doesn’t this sound like a total blast? We can actually solve our problems, America! And it’s not even that hard!
Will we all agree on everything? Of course not, but that’s the point. Every policy deserves its own evaluation outside the context of misguided labels and political maneuvering …and the more qualified, diverse and experienced input, the better the outcome will be. Walt Whitman said it best, “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.” It is our variety of opinions and experiences that will stimulate colorful debate on our nation’s most pressing issues. Only then can we expect sustainable solutions.
There will always be a certain amount of disagreement, but we think we’ll all be shocked by how straightforward the answers actually are when we drown out the noise of special interest groups, ideological labels, and the paralyzing backlash of a hard-core base. In many cases, it literally comes down to just doing the math.
This has never been tried before. Sure, there are existing political movements and other third parties, but the political movements are usually born out of frustration and anger and the third parties are generally based on a singular issue (Green Party) or just a severe extension of one of the two major parties (Libertarian Party).
This is one of the main reasons third parties have never really caught on. Previous efforts haven’t worked because the outsiders were practically identical to one of the major party candidates. At that point, why take the chance? It’s the better the devil you know than the devil you don’t syndrome. The revolutionary course we describe here will only work if the motivation behind it transcends single issues, individual egos, and just one election cycle.
We assure you this one does. 1787 is motivated by one thing and one thing only: To cultivate the greatest version of the United States of America.