Mugwumpery

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The aloof, independent-minded stance of someone who refuses to commit to either side of a political contest
2. Political detachment practiced by those who hold themselves above partisan loyalties and refuse party affiliation
3. The condition of standing apart from established political parties, often viewed as smug or fence-sitting behavior

Etymology: Mugwumpery is a compound of "mugwump" and the suffix "-ery", which in English forms nouns meaning a practice, behaviour or collective condition, as in "snobbery" or "gallantry". The word therefore names the conduct or attitude associated with a mugwump, rather than a separate concept of its own. The base word has a more colourful story. "Mugwump" was an American term, first used in the 1830s to mean a self-important person, and it later became the name for Republicans who broke ranks to support the Democratic candidate in the 1884 presidential election. Its origin lies in an Algonquian-derived word for a chief or leader, and the sense of a self-regarding bigwig is what carried it into political satire. Mugwumpery, then, is the attitude of the independent-minded voter who refuses to follow party loyalty, often with a hint of the self-satisfaction the original word implied.