On Thursday, former 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful and NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang and former New Jersey Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman launched the Forward Party. It is a merger of Yang's Forward movement, the Renew America Movement founded by former Republicans as well as the Serve America Movement founded by former Republican Congressman David Jolly.
Their three priorities are a free people, thriving communities and a vibrant democracy. By a free people they mean to "revitalize a culture that celebrates difference and individual choice, rejects hate, and removes barriers so that each of us can rise to our full potential." Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't add sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.
To the extent the Forward Party has a political platform it concentrates exclusively on electoral reform - ranked choice voting, nonpartisan primaries and independent redistricting commissions. Well, New York City has ranked choice voting as it does here in Cambridge, Massachusetts. California has nonpartisan primaries along with an independent redistricting commission along with six other states for federal elections and eight for state level elections. Taking these things to the national level could be helpful but it hardly guarantees us a better quality of candidate.
At this point, the Forward Party does not have policies where it concerns the economy, health care, defense and foreign affairs. As the Forward Party consists of both former Democrats and Republicans it is ostensibly a centrist party. For its part they claim, "The Forward Party will welcome new ideas and fearless conversations around the issues of the day. We won’t silence debate or refuse to adapt to the modern world." This is all well and good, but we still need to know where they stand on the issues of the day. After all, the devil is in the details.
I don't oppose the establishment of the Forward Party but I suspect would be more successful in a parliamentary system. When I lived in Canada, I was a card carrying member of the NDP for many years. Currently, it holds the balance of power in the Liberal minority government of Justin Trudeau.
While I don't think either Democrats nor Republicans are entitled to our vote, we now have a Republican Party which now openly embraces authoritarianism and has abandoned the acceptance of the peaceful transfer of power. Should it gain a foothold, the Forward Party would more likely split the anti-Trump vote. The only circumstance I could currently see voting for a Forward Party candidate would be if the Democratic candidate or incumbent held anti-Semitic views which sadly seems to be only sort of bigotry Democrats tolerate these days. Of course, Republicans tolerate anti-Semitism and a host of other bigotries as well.
The Forward Party further claims, "The Forward Party will empower leaders to find solutions that work in their communities. We won’t dictate a rigid, top down policy platform and expect it to work for all Americans." In which case, I think it would be best if the Forward Party concentrated its efforts at the local level and elected a slate of candidates to city and town councils. If the Forward Party can establish itself as a viable alternative at the local level then perhaps it can truly move forward at the state and federal level.
But as you can see at the top they have misspelled "principles" on their website. Before they can move Forward they must take a step in the right direction.
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