mugwump (noun): 1. a bolter from the Republican party in 1884; 2. a person who is independent (as in politics) or who remains undecided or neutral.
According to, well, everyone on the planet via Wikipedia:
Mugwump: The Mugwumps were Republican political activists who supported Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the US presidential election of 1884. The Mugwumps made the difference for Cleveland in the state of New York, eventually resulting in his victory.
Dictionaries report "mugguomp" was an Algonquain word meaning person of importance or war leader. Editor of the New York Sun Charles Anderson Dana is credited with giving the Mugwumps their political moniker. Dana derided the Mugwumps as amateurs and public moralists.
The Mugwumps were portrayed as "fence-sitters" during the 1884 election (their "mug" on one side of the fence and their "wump" on the other).
See the complete Wikipedia entry here
So what is a Modern Mugwump? That would be a twenty-something young woman who has toted the nickname "Mugwump" since childhood, bestowed upon her by her dad before anyone could realize how fitting the nickname would be as she grew into a fiercely independent and politically-minded opinion bomb.
Here you can enjoy my adventures as a self-proclaimed Modern Mugwump, and more so I hope you enjoy the misadventures, because honestly, those are funnier.
