In an exclusive report by Tim Reid of Reuters, he reported that dozens of former Republican and Democratic officials have announced a new national political third party. Their objective, they say is “to appeal to millions of voters they say are dismayed with what they see as America’s dysfunctional two-party system.”
The new party will be called Forward. It will be co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican governor of New Jersey with the stated goal: to become “a viable alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties that dominate U.S. politics.”
Founders told Reuters that a Gallup poll last year showed a record two-thirds of Americans believe a third party is needed. They say the group is a merger of three political movements:
- The Renew America Movement, formed in 2021 by dozens of former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump;
- The Forward Party, founded by Yang, who left the Democratic Party in 2021 and became an independent;
- The Serve America Movement is a group of Democrats, Republicans, and independents whose executive director is former Republican congressman David Jolly.
While many voters frankly would appreciate another option, historically, third parties in the U.S. have only served to splinter the vote. Teddy Roosevelt ran as the Progressive Party nominee in 1912. It was formed after he lost the Republican presidential nomination for a third term to his former protégé rival, incumbent president William Howard Taft. The new party became known for promoting progressive reforms and it attracted national reformers. But they were defeated in the 1912 presidential election, then when they failed to make headway in succeeding elections went into rapid decline until 1918, and disappeared by 1920.
Pointless.
Both parties are owned by corporate lobbyists and big money donors, so forming a 3rd party from the dreck of the existing two parties is a joke that is probably only truly intended to provide a job and an easy paycheck for the people in charge of the new party.
Also, their positioning themselves as “moderates” is misleading and dishonest. Republicans have moved the Overton window so far to the right that even the sainted Ronald Regan would be considered a dirty commie fascist scumbag by the Republican Party of today, so claiming to be moderate just means that they’re not acknowledging that they’re just another iteration of the Republican Party.
So yeah. Pointless, but I’m sure some of them will make a lot of money off of this scam, which seems to be the true goal of most politicians these days.
While I’m on board with David Jolly, I would think that, to be effective, the Forward Party would need to directly replace the Republican Party as a political entity. I firmly believe in the two-party system simply because no single party can gain a working majority in a three-party system other than to form coalitions with one or more parties.
While the Republican Party has generally lost credibility with most voters, I’d estimate that at least 25 to 35 percent of all voters will continue to vote Republican no matter how ridiculous the agenda or the candidate might be. This is a hurdle that the Forward Party must overcome .
On the downside, it will take a long time for a third party to establish a state and local infrastructure sufficient to win elections. On the upside, if the Forward Party could gain a political foothold, I’d certainly consider voting for a middle-of-the-road candidate if he/she had a good chance of winning the general election.