I was looking for a gif of a mugwump which lead me to discover a complete rewrite of my memory.
Back in the day it was taught, at least in some schools, that mugwumps were weak willed, on the outside looking in persons without courage or conviction. They were graphically depicted in political cartoons as a man looking over a solid fence, grasping by the fingertips and only his nose, eyes, ear tops and forehead visible. Only looking but not attempting to climb over, the opposite of what is now found in the dictionary.
The above behind a fence.
Mugwump -
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/?mugwump
Definition of MUGWUMP. 1: a bolter from the Republican party in 1884 . 2: a person who is independent (as in politics) or who remains undecided or neutral
Mugwump en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwumps
Mugwumps were a group of Republican activists who supported Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the United States presidential election of 1884. Mugwump may …
Urban Dictionary: mugwump
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php??term=mugwump
1. Mugwump A politically un-enslaved man. A man with high, definite principles. A man who does not ask for office; nor accept office. A man who votes for the best man ..
Oh yeah, I could not find one image of the historic mugwump.