Forward Party

The Forward Party (FWD) is a political action committee (PAC) that seeks to form a new political party in the United States.

This article is about the American political action committee. For other political parties, see Forward § Politics.
Forward Party
AbbreviationFWD
FounderAndrew Yang
FoundedOctober 5, 2021 (2021-10-05)
Split fromDemocratic Party[1]
HeadquartersRiver Vale, New Jersey
IdeologyHuman-centered capitalism[2]
Radical centrism[3]
Political positionBig tent
Colors      Indigo, blue, and red-orange
Slogan"Not Left. Not Right. Forward."
Website
www.forwardparty.com

The PAC, which was founded by former 2020 presidential and 2021 NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, describes its goals as the reduction of partisan polarization and implementing electoral reforms.[4] The Forward Party was officially formed as a political action committee on October 5, 2021.[4] The PAC intends to seek recognition from the Federal Election Commission as a political party to achieve its stated goal of providing an alternative to America's two-party system.[5][6] However, it also states that for the time being, candidates affiliated with the organization will remain members of the two major American political parties, as well as independent candidates.[7]

History
Yang in 2019

In Yang's 2021 book, Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy, he announced the creation of the party. Yang also criticized American political leaders, writing that "our leaders are rewarded based not on solving problems but on accruing resources and retaining office."[6][8][9]

Yang said that part of the reason why he wanted to start a third party instead of a caucus within the Democratic Party, was that a majority of states with ballot initiatives are red states, and that efforts to institute electoral changes would be partisan and not system-wide.[10][11] Yang stated that he would have liked to have implemented the Forward Party's platform within the Democratic Party. However, he felt that the implementation of ranked-choice voting and open primaries would be difficult to get while remaining a Democrat.[12]

The Forward Party claims that it will endorse candidates of both major parties in the 2022 elections who support its policies.[12] Yang states that the Forward Party will not serve a spoiler because it will endorse any Democrats and Republicans who support the party's platform. The Forward Party website suggests that candidates affiliated with the Forward Party will likely run as a member of one of the two major parties.[13]

Yang stated that the Forward Party is not interested in running a candidate for president, but is focused on trying to decrease partisan gridlock within Congress and state legislatures.[10] The Forward Party has stated it may hold its own primary process to nominate a candidate prior to the 2024 United States presidential election.[14] The party's initial team includes former congressional candidate Blair Walsingham and attorney Jeff Kurzon.[15]

Political positions

The party's platform includes instituting 18-year term limits for members of Congress.[10] It also seeks to establish a new cabinet-level Department of Technology. The party supports civic juries and advocates for a "citizens' portal". The Forward Party supports data as a property right.[16] The PAC calls for an economy based on "human-centered capitalism" and the enactment of universal basic income.[6] The PAC's platform also expresses support for alternative forms of measuring economic progress.[16] Additionally, the Forward Party's website advocates automatic tax filing.[17] The party also states that it is in favor of "reasonable and rational" regulation of cryptocurrencies.[18] The Forward Party supports the implementation of a universal health care system.[19] The party's platform encourages states to adopt nonpartisan primaries and implement ranked-choice voting.[6] The party also supports independent redistricting commissions and public finance reform in the form of democracy dollars.[16]

Reception

The Forward Party has faced criticism from some Democrats, who believe the party could have a spoiler effect and benefit Republicans.[20] American socialist magazine Jacobin criticized the conception of the party as "pseudopopulism that's ultimately more an effort at rebranding the status quo than overthrowing it."[21] MSNBC opinion columnist Zeeshan Aleem called the Forward Party "an uninspiring mess lacking vision or purpose."[22]

Natalie Shure of The New Republic characterized the party as "vapid" and a "political stunt", asking, "why bother going through the trouble of building a third party if its creation is the only thing it intends to accomplish?"[23] Others praised the party, including opinion writer for The New York Times, Kara Swisher, who said "Yang does not just give us a laundry list of intractable problems, but shows how we can find solutions if we think in new ways and summon the courage to do so."[8]

See also

References
  1. Klawans, Justin (October 5, 2021). "Andrew Yang Launches Forward Party Following Split From Democrats". MSN. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  2. Barnett, Matthew (October 8, 2021). "Yang's Forward Party to take off". Metaculus. Retrieved October 21, 2021. the principles that will guide Yang's party, including "ranked-choice voting and open primaries," "fact-based governance" and "human-centered capitalism." It will also promote a "universal basic income," an idea that helped him gain some traction in the 2020 presidential primary.
  3. Busch, Andrew (October 20, 2021). "Can Third Parties Make a Difference in 2024?". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  4. Holzberg, Melissa (October 6, 2021). "Yang leverages name recognition, fundraising power to launch Forward Party". OpenSecrets. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  5. "Frequently asked questions". October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021. Is the Forward Party a political party? The Forward Party is a PAC that plans to grow its support and then petition the FEC for recognition as a political party when we fulfill the requirements…
  6. "Andrew Yang's new 3rd party will be called 'The Forward Party,' according to his forthcoming book". Insider Inc. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  7. Nast, Condé (October 21, 2021). "Andrew Yang's Third-Party Aspirations". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 7, 2021. There will be Forward Democrats and progressives, Forward Republicans and conservatives, Forward independents and unaligned, and so on.
  8. Thompson, Alex (September 9, 2021). "Andrew Yang to launch a third party". Politico. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  9. "Andrew Yang discusses new book and big ideas in live forum". NPR. October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  10. "Krystal Ball interviews Andrew Yang about starting a new political party". Forward on YouTube. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  11. Schwartz, Rafi (September 30, 2021). "Andrew Yang needs to stop trying to make Andrew Yang happen". Mic. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  12. "Andrew Yang Is Back for a Third Round". The New York Times. September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  13. "Frequently asked questions". Forward Party. Retrieved October 6, 2021. Also, due to the current electoral process, in the vast majority of races the Forward Party will be involved in, the candidate is likely to be running as a member of one of the major parties.
  14. "Frequently asked questions". Forward Party. October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021. It’s too soon to tell, but if there is demand for a third-party candidate, the Forward Party may look to address it. The Forward Party may hold its own primary process to nominate a candidate.
  15. "Our Team". Forward Party. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  16. "Platform — Forward Party". Forward Party.
  17. "Automatic Tax Filing". Forward Party. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  18. Stankovic, Stefan (October 18, 2021). "Andrew Yang Wants to Make Forward Party the "Crypto Party"". Crypto Briefing. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  19. "Exclusive: Andrew Yang REVEALS Plans for Third Party". Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar. October 4, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  20. "'No One Even Came to His First Two Parties': Twitter Mocks The Stuffing Out of News That Andrew Yang Is Starting a Third Party". Mediaite. September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  21. Savage, Luke. "Andrew Yang's New Political Party Exposes the Farce of Radical Centrism". Jacobin.
  22. Aleem, Zeeshan (October 6, 2021). "Andrew Yang's Forward Party is directionless". MSNBC. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  23. Shure, Natalie (October 13, 2021). "Andrew Yang's Vapid Third-Party Vision". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
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