shades fills you in

On July 27, a group of centrist Republicans and Democrats announced they were forming a third party, called the “Forward” party. They say America needs a new, moderate alternative

The co-chairs are former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Republican New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman. In the fall of 2022, they held a bunch of events across the country

Forward says it has three priorities: Free people, thriving communities, and vibrant democracy. Check out its party website here

A bit of context: In the U.S., we have a centuries-old two-party system. The Democratic and Republican parties have won every single presidential election since 1852, and controlled Congress since 1856

Today, most Americans think we need a third party -- a 2021 Gallup poll said 62% of Americans think the two parties don’t represent the people’s interests well enough

So why don’t we have real third-party options now? WaPo says our voting system is the problem -- the “winner-take-all” structure gives power to the already powerful, mucking competition and screwing over independent candidates

Along those lines, an NYT Op says Forward doesn’t understand how American politics work. Third parties succeed when they focus on narrow issues. Forward just has a vague sense that U.S. politics needs to be less polarized

A WaPo Op agrees. Forward is all smoke and mirrors. “Bringing people together”, “common sense”, and “solving problems” aren’t policies! You have to tell voters what you stand for -- and a lot of them probably won’t like it!

Yup, says this Atlantic writer who joined (and then left) the party. They don’t seem to have any kind of game plan beyond a zealous belief in their own specialness -- no policies, just vibes

New York Magazine says Forward is bound to fail. Even forgetting the structural issues, who will join? Most “independents” are still reliable votes for one of the major parties. Forward isn’t offering them anything specific or special

A Bloomberg Op is also dismissive. Forward thinks it can gain support from voters who don’t like either of the two major parties. But guess what? Those voters actually disagree a lot! The minute they announce actual policies, they’ll be toast

Here’s another problem, from The Bulwark: Any serious third party needs to attract real Trump voters, and Forward doesn’t seem interested in that. So they’ll just strip moderates from the Dems

But maybe they’ll prove the doubters wrong? Back in the fall of 2022, Forward Co-Chair Andrew Yang said the party was already the largest third party in America. Its goal is to be on the ballot in all 50 states by the 2024 election