What is the Forward Party?
One of the more prominent politicians in the country (probably the most prominent to not serve in office of any kind) is Andrew Yang. Yang began his 2020 presidential run over four years ago and has slowly and steadily been able to increase his name recognition and stay in the political limelight. Yang has run for president and mayor of New York City, losing both races, he has written multiple books and hosts a podcast titled “Forward” (of which I am a regular listener).
I took an immediate liking to Yang (as I do to most underdog political candidates) during his presidential run and supported him (as well as several other candidates), by donating and phone banking (though I did not actually cast a vote for him). Over time I have been much more lukewarm on him (the first major issue with me was his early endorsement of Biden over Bernie Sanders), but I have maintained a cautious support of him which extends to his Forward Party now.
So what is the “Forward” party, well it’s not quite a third party (like the Green or Libertarian parties) but it is a lot more than just a Political Action Committee (which is what it is legally designated as). Currently Forward is seeking recognition as a political party from the Federal Election Commission. The goal of the “Forward” party is to quite simply present an alternative to the duopoly parties (the Democrats and Republicans).
While I am a big supporter of just about any and all third parties (even if I do not agree with their views) I have a lot of concerns about the Forward particularly whom it is keeping as bedfellows. Not long ago (July 27th of this year) Forward merged with two other political organizations “The Serve America Movement” and ``The Renew America Movement”. Serve America was founded in 2017 and has some questionable people involved, such as Morgan Stanley attorney Eric Grossman, Bush administration alumni Sarah Lenti, and tobacco executive Phillip Morris, so Big Banks, Big Tobacco, and an aid to a warmonger, not a good look.
Things don’t look much better in Renew America either. Renew America was founded very recently by Utah senate candidate (and former 2016 independent presidential candidate) Evan McMullin. McMullin is a former CIA Operative and investment banker for Goldman Sachs. McMullin has some questionable views, such as arguing for the continuing operation of the US-run detention camp on Guantanamo Bay. Another prominent figure in Renew America is Miles Taylor, who served in the Bush and Trump administrations, after leaving the Trump administration (in what some (not this writer) have considered a heroic manner) he went on to work for Google. Taylor himself hasn’t really said or done anything spectacularly immoral but I’m always suspicious of national security people (especially from the Bush administration) . A majority of his criticisms of Trump are based around how different Trump is to the Obama and Bush administrations. A lot of my issues with Trump are due to how similar he is to Obama and Bush. Miles Taylor does not believe in the military industrial complex, Miles Taylor does not believe there is an issue in National Security, I do not have common ground with him. Not every politician associated with Forward has been bad though, while I have a lot of issues with them I do have a level of respect for Christine Todd Whitman (former EPA administrator who resigned due to numerous disagreements with the Bush administration during his first term), and former Democrat presidential candidate Joe Sestak.
So how has the Forward Party done in elections? So far, they have endorsed 9 candidates, 6 of which have either lost or withdrawn (which does not necessarily mean failure for a 3rd party as most 3rd party candidates lose elections), and the other 3 are still to be determined. All but two of the candidates have run as Democrats (the two exceptions are Cory Hepola in Minnesota who ran as an independent and Libertarian New Yorker Larry Sharpe (Sharpe is probably the most high-profile Forward candidate so far). Currently candidates and Forward party members themselves are not required to leave the party they are affiliated with (although many have). Forward claims it will endorse candidates from both the major parties (though they have so far not endorsed a GOP candidate). As for 2024, Forward has stated they will not field a candidate but will endorse one of another party.
What does the Forward Party actually stand for? It’s platform is relatively short and somewhat vague, purposely so. The platform states “The rigid, top-down, one-size-fits-all platforms of the outdated political parties are drifting toward the fringes, making solutions impossible. We stand for doing, not dividing. That means rejecting the far Left and far Right”. The “Three Priorities” of the Forward party are also vague:
- “Free People: 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.
- Thriving Communities: Reinvigorate a fair, flourishing economy and open society where everyone can live a good life and is safe in the places where we learn, work, and live.
- Vibrant Democracy: Reform our republic to give Americans more choices in elections, more confidence in a government that works, and more say in our future.
Few could reasonably disagree with any of the above, but at the same time few could reasonably define any of it. The platform does mention a few specific policies, such as “Ranked Choice Voting” of which I am a supporter and ironically is seen as a contributor to Andrew Yang’s defeat in the New York Mayoral Race last year. Forward also argues for completely “open primaries” (meaning that anybody of any registration can vote in Democrat and Republican primaries). Lastly, Forward’s platform argues for “independent redistricting commissions” with the goal of ending gerrymandering.
Forward does not take any positions on some of the most controversial issues of the day such as abortion, gun rights, marriage equality, foreign policy, and numerous others. Andrew Yang himself has taken positions on many of these issues but Andrew Yang is not the Forward party, a lesson the Ross Perot’s Reform party had to learn the hard way.
Overall the Forward party has some promise but comes with a lot of baggage, while Americans can generally unite over a shared demand for a 3rd option, or a less radical option, if there are policies to truly differentiate them from the Democrats and Republicans is it really a 3rd choice. Forward’s goal is to be a big tent party, but are they running the risk of being a tent without walls?
