WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/27/forward-party-new-centrist-third/ Most third parties have failed. Here’s why ours won’t. By David Jolly, Christine Todd Whitman and Andrew Yang July 27, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. EDT David Jolly is a former Republican congressman from Florida and is executive chairman of the Serve America Movement. Christine Todd Whitman is a former Republican governor of New Jersey and co-founder of the Renew America Movement. Andrew Yang is a former Democratic presidential candidate and is co-chair of the Forward Party. Political extremism is ripping our nation apart, and the two major parties have failed to remedy the crisis. Last week, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol led us to relive one of the darkest days in U.S. history. The chilling culmination of an attempted electoral coup in the United States was the strongest evidence yet that we are facing the potential demise of our democracy. Polarization is fueling a spike in political intimidation. In the past two years, we’ve seen death threats and assassination plots against members of Congress, governors, Supreme Court justices and even the vice president of the United States. If nothing is done, the United States will not reach its 300th birthday this century in recognizable form. That’s why we are coming together — Democrats, Republicans and independents — to build a new, unifying political party for the majority of Americans who want to move past divisiveness and reject extremism. Americans have lost faith in government. Nearly 8 in 10 say the countryis headed in the wrong direction, according to a recent survey, and two-thirds of voters think neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have the right priorities. Shockingly, roughly 30 million Americans believe violence against the current government is justified. The same number want to forcibly return former president Donald Trump to the White House. This is what happens when democracies fail: People feel their voices are not heard and radicalize to take up arms, leading to mainstream talk about “civil war.” How do you remedy such a crisis? In a system torn apart by two increasingly divided extremes, you must reintroduce choice and competition. The United States badly needs a new political party — one that reflects the moderate, common-sense majority. Today’s outdated parties have failed by catering to the fringes. As a result, most Americans feel they aren’t represented. Most third parties in U.S. history failed to take off, either because they were ideologically too narrow or the population was uninterested. But voters are calling for a new party now more than ever. For the first time in modern history, roughly half of Americans consider themselves “independents,” and two-thirds say a new party is needed (and would vote for it). Surprisingly, a majority of Democrats and Republicans say they want another option, too. As leaders and former elected officials, we’re tired of just talking about a third way. So this month, we’re merging our three national organizations — which represent the left, right, and center of the political spectrum — to build the launchpad for a new political party called Forward. The two major parties have hollowed out the sensible center of our political system — even though that’s where most voters want to see them move. A new party must stake out the space in between. On every issue facing this nation — from the controversial to the mundane — we can find a reasonable approach most Americans agree on. On guns, for instance, most Americans don’t agree with calls from the far left to confiscate all guns and repeal the Second Amendment, but they’re also rightfully worried by the far right’s insistence on eliminating gun laws. On climate change, most Americans don’t agree with calls from the far left to completely upend our economy and way of life, but they also reject the far right’s denial that there is even a problem. On abortion, most Americans don’t agree with the far left’s extreme views on late-term abortions, but they also are alarmed by the far right’s quest to make a woman’s choice a criminal offense. To succeed, a new party must break down the barriers that stand between voters and more political choices. Accordingly, we will passionately advocate electoral changes such as ranked-choice voting and open primaries; for the end of gerrymandering; and for the nationwide protection of voting rights and a push to make voting remarkably easy for anyone and incredibly secure for everyone. Without such systemic changes, Americans will be left with a closed system and fewer options on the ballot. These reforms go hand in hand with a new party. Some call third parties “spoilers,” but the system is already spoiled. There are more than 500,000 elected positions in the United States, but a recent study found more than 70 percent of races on ballots in 2020 were unopposed or uncontested. A tiny sliver of U.S. congressional seats will have close races this November. The two major parties have shut out competition, and America is suffering as a result. That’s why we’re proposing the first “open” party. Americans of all stripes — Democrats, Republicans and independents — are invited to be a part of the process, without abandoning their existing political affiliations, by joining us to discuss building an optimistic and inclusive home for the politically homeless majority. Our merged organizations are just the starting point, the launchpad for this movement. We are planning liftoff at a national convention next summer and will soon seek state-by-state ballot access to run candidates in 2024 and beyond. We are actively recruiting former U.S. representatives, governors, entrepreneurs, top political operatives and community leaders to make it happen. America’s founders warned about the dangers of a two-party system. Today, we’re living with the dire consequences. Giving Americans more choices is important not just for restoring civility. Our lives, our livelihoods and our way of life depend on it.
https://theweek.com/andrew-yang/101...s-form-forward-a-new-centrist-political-party Ex-Republicans and Democrats form Forward, a new centrist political party by Catherine Garcia Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, and onetime Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang have joined with several dozen other political officials to start Forward, a new national political third party. This centrist party will officially launch on Thursday, Reuters reports. Organizers say they think Forward will appeal to Americans who find the two-party system doesn't work for them. Their goal is to gain enough traction to be a viable alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties. The two pillars of the party's platform are to "reinvigorate a fair, flourishing economy" and to "give Americans more choices in elections, more confidence in a government that works, and more say in our future," Reuters reports. Yang and Todd Whitman will be the initial co-chairs of the party, and a launch event will be held in Houston on Sept. 24. Then, party members will hit the road, stopping in two dozen cities to spread their message and platform. Forward doesn't have any specific policies yet. Miles Taylor, a former Homeland Security official during the Trump administration, helped create Forward, and told Reuters while third parties have failed in the past, "the fundamentals have changed. When other third party movements have emerged in the past it's largely been inside a system where the American people aren't asking for an alternative. The difference here is we are seeing an historic number of Americans saying they want one."
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brie...rges-with-groups-led-by-former-gop-officials/ Yang’s Forward party merges with groups led by former GOP officials BY SARAH POLUS - 07/27/22 11:03 PM ET Former Democratic New York City mayoral candidate and presidential candidate Andrew Yang has joined forces with former Republicans, Democrats and independents on the Forward Party, Yang announced Wednesday. The political party, initially formed in October, is now a merger of three organizations: Yang's Forward Party, the Renew America Movement, consisting of former Republicans led by former Trump White House official Miles Taylor, and the Serve America Movement, made up of Democrats, independents and Republicans, and founded by former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) Forward Party leaders are billing it as the biggest third party in the country, saying it will reject political extremes and pursue common ground. "Not Left. Not Right. Forward," reads a slogan on the party's website. Yang, who left the Democratic party in October, echoed similar sentiments in his own announcement. "I knew the country needed a new kind of party to help realign our politics and reverse the polarization that is tearing our country apart," he wrote. In a Wednesday op-ed in The Washington Post, Yang, Jolly and former Gov. (R-N.J.) Christine Todd Whitman said Forward will unite Americans. "The United States badly needs a new political party — one that reflects the moderate, common-sense majority," they wrote. According to Yang's announcement, the Forward Party is currently on the ballot in several states. The Hill has reached out to Yang and the Forward Party for comment.
I think strategically/practically the only way you're going to affect change with a 3rd party is if it is explicitly non-partisan. The idea should be to create a coalition of folks who are dedicated to fixing foundational problems with our politics that sidesteps the typical partisan guardrails and gatekeeping. "Forward Democrats" and "Forward Republicans". Once you get a critical mass, you can break down all the barriers to third party success and then become a partisan entity if you so choose. At present if you force people to renounce their R/D affiliation, although you expand the scope of your project, you also completely handicap your growth potential.
I wish this group well, but I have doubts about it. Mainly because I think the biggest proponents of Rs or Ds are stupid as ****. This party will be hit with "but this is just throwing away your vote" / "they stand no chance to win" / "this will only serve to help the ________s win!"
If he’s going to actually go through with this he needs to basically be a Republican and at the very least be as much of a sh$t talker of liberalism as a Glenn Greenwald or Tulsi Gabbard. He has to be a bit rascist too on border and immigration issues because nearly all Republicans are unified on that. Roe v Wade… he better be laying out a case that it might have been right to overturn it. Otherwise he will be basically another Democrat on the ballot splitting the vote. Yang’s narcissism is the real issue here I fear. It’s not about creating a true viable third party. You can’t do that unless you agree with some fundamental Republican positions which he doesn’t. The fact is he’s a Democrat who can’t win elections himself so he’s pulling this stunt to get attention. I can only hope that when it comes to elections that he does the right thing. Otherwise he’ll just help an extremist right wing Christian nationalist win races they shouldn’t win. In ranked choice elections I have no problem with him or his teammates being on the ballot though. Otherwise in every other election every single damn Republican voter will walk into that voting booth and and vote for an actual Republican and see “The Forward Party” and recall that Andrew Yang wanted to implement one of the most socialist policy positions ever floated in American politics and remember that Yang is 100% a Democrat.
Hopefully AOC joins, @Sweet Lou 4 2 has convinced me she is not a Dem and is leaning towards a middle ground....
I don't think Yang is a closer or a marathon runner but I do think he can play well in groups. Hopefully they become a group that speaks up for poor forgotten demos/classes rather than sick jockeying and gaslighting found in both major parties.
As much as I would love another option, I just don't see it.......its like the XFL competing with the NFL, you hope it does well but it ends up falling flat. Were stuck with D&R for now, I don't think either side can afford anyone splitting off and diluting there side
I could tell that this “new party” was a bunch of BS the moment they attribute a blatant straw man to the Democrats (the left wants to collect all guns and eliminate the 2nd Amendment). While there are certainly those of us on the left who think this should be under consideration, the official stance of the Democrat party is one of improved background checks and greater efforts to keep guns out of violent perpetrators. I found this via Google in under a minute: https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/the-issues/preventing-gun-violence/ As has been observed by many of us here, the idea that “middle of the road” is always the wisest and most practical course is ludicrous and lazy. And this new party further perpetuates the myth that the Democrats haven’t been willing to compromise, when the Democrats have done nothing but compromise their most leftward positions. If this party starts by fielding candidates at the local level, then I might change my mind, but I suspect this merely a means to fulfill Yang’s desire to make it to the final presidential debates.
The Forward party just seems like the Democratic party, but with a focus on issues for which there is significant or potentially significant bipartisan support and ignoring issues for which there isn't such support.
I think it's even more difficult than XFL vs NFL. The NFL doesn't care about the XFL and will just let it do whatever it does. Whereas the Ds and Rs actively go out of their way to rig the system against a 3rd party, and when a 3rd party somehow gets through when playing by rules set by the Rs and Ds, then the Rs and Ds change the rules to to **** over the 3rd parties anyway.
