“Forward!” The New Centrist, Moderate Third Party

 

Andrew Yang, the failed Democratic presidential candidate (of which the country has no shortage) has launched a third political party called Forward! (and then backtracked a bit and described it as a “Political Action Committee) instead. The media are describing this new political party or PAC as a “centrist” alternative to the Democrat and Republican parties. Here are some of the centrist party’s centrist policies that are centrist.

  • Universal Basic Income
  • State-run (“universal”) health care
  • Private financing of political campaigns replaced by government-allocated “democracy dollars”
  • “Human-centered capitalism” and “alternative measures of economic growth”

Bush-Republicans Christie Todd-Whitman and David Jolly have already joined the new whatever-it-is. I wonder which Centrist policies hooked them in. Perhaps Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Mitt Romney can join in all the moderate moderation as well.

The moderate centrist Forward party has already endorsed nine candidates in the 2022 elections, one Independent, one Libertarian, and seven Democrats.

The Forward party also “cites issues including guns, climate change and abortion as those that could benefit from a moderate approach” but has not described what that “moderate approach” would look like. I think we can guess.

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  1. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Oh, look. “No Labels” has risen from the dead.

    • #1
  2. GrannyDude Member
    GrannyDude
    @GrannyDude

    Let me guess. They’re pro-Roe?

    • #2
  3. Raxxalan Member
    Raxxalan
    @Raxxalan

    Doesn’t seem very moderate.  It basically reads as a far left agenda,  I guess it is “moderate” because they are going to dump the woke and identity stuff?  I guess I am “for” this as I don’t see it getting very many people from the right it might get a lot of people from the “moderate” left, so as a third party threat it has a better chance of splitting the democratic vote than the Republican vote.

    • #3
  4. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Victor Tango Kilo:

    • Universal Basic Income
    • State-run (“universal”) health care
    • Private financing of political campaigns replaced by government-allocated “democracy dollars”
    • “Human-centered capitalism” and “alternative measures of economic growth”

    Imagine how far left you have to be for those to be considered “centrist”.

    • #4
  5. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    I am sure it’s just a coincidence that the Forward Party’s “Centrist” positions align precisely with Andrew Yang’s.

    • #5
  6. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Oh, look. “No Labels” has risen from the dead.

    That was the group I thought of when reading this.

    • #6
  7. DonG (CAGW is a Hoax) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Hoax)
    @DonG

    I like the idea of splitting the DNC vote, if they have an actual party, but I doubt they will.   I like idea of trying to make the DNC less crazy, but 90% crazy is still bad.  The DNC is a horrible and evil organization and they need a few generations out of power to purge their wicked ways.

    • #7
  8. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    My controversial opinion: Donald J. Trump is as close as America will ever come to having a third party/independent president. And when it comes to staffing the leviathan state, well, we all know how well that worked out.

    EDIT: Christine Todd-Whitman is 75. I am thrilled a new generation of leaders have stepped up to bring  New Jersey and America into 1994.

    • #8
  9. Raxxalan Member
    Raxxalan
    @Raxxalan

    EJHill (View Comment):

    My controversial opinion: Donald J. Trump is as close as America will ever come to having a third party/independent president. And when it comes to staffing the leviathan state, well, we all know how well that worked out.

    Unfortunately true.  Trump talking about firing a bunch of people in the administrative state is a good start but to be honest I think he needs to be discussing 10 times the number of people.  At this point it also seems like the FBI building in DC needs to be demolished and the ground needs to be sown with salt.

    • #9
  10. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    Raxxalan (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    My controversial opinion: Donald J. Trump is as close as America will ever come to having a third party/independent president. And when it comes to staffing the leviathan state, well, we all know how well that worked out.

    Unfortunately true. Trump talking about firing a bunch of people in the administrative state is a good start but to be honest I think he needs to be discussing 10 times the number of people. At this point it also seems like the FBI building in DC needs to be demolished and the ground needs to be sown with salt.

    One of Trump’s better ideas was to move departments out of Washington to some place where they were actually relevant. USDA to Kansas, and so on. You would weed out a lot of people who think they’re too good to live anywhere but Washington, and you might be able to hire some people with an actual work ethic.

    • #10
  11. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    Douglas Pratt (View Comment):
    One of Trump’s better ideas was to move departments out of Washington to some place where they were actually relevant. USDA to Kansas, and so on. You would weed out a lot of people who think they’re too good to live anywhere but Washington, and you might be able to hire some people with an actual work ethic.

    That’s just the sort of Trumpian extremism the Forward Party was formed to combat.

    • #11
  12. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo:

    • Universal Basic Income
    • State-run (“universal”) health care
    • Private financing of political campaigns replaced by government-allocated “democracy dollars”
    • “Human-centered capitalism” and “alternative measures of economic growth”

    Imagine how far left you have to be for those to be considered “centrist”.

    Yeah, not really sure what “Human-centered capitalism” is but I bet it involves a lot of government intervention. This is all big government stuff.

    • #12
  13. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Vance Richards (View Comment):
    Yeah, not really sure what “Human-centered capitalism” is but I bet it involves a lot of government intervention.

    “Human-centered capitalism” is a euphemism for “money laundering.”

    • #13
  14. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    Douglas Pratt (View Comment):

    Raxxalan (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    My controversial opinion: Donald J. Trump is as close as America will ever come to having a third party/independent president. And when it comes to staffing the leviathan state, well, we all know how well that worked out.

    Unfortunately true. Trump talking about firing a bunch of people in the administrative state is a good start but to be honest I think he needs to be discussing 10 times the number of people. At this point it also seems like the FBI building in DC needs to be demolished and the ground needs to be sown with salt.

    One of Trump’s better ideas was to move departments out of Washington to some place where they were actually relevant. USDA to Kansas, and so on. You would weed out a lot of people who think they’re too good to live anywhere but Washington, and you might be able to hire some people with an actual work ethic.

    Kevin Phillips put forth the idea when he was in the Nixon administration. 

    • #14
  15. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):
    “Human-centered capitalism” is a euphemism for “money laundering.”

    Kind of like how “stakeholder capitalism” basically means “the community controls the means of production via the Government.”

    • #15
  16. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    “Forward!” is a frequent flyer on communist regime organization and publication titles.  So, nothing new here.

    • #16
  17. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Here’s the Washington Times busting Obama for the same FORWARD Marxist thing.

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/apr/30/new-obama-slogan-has-long-ties-marxism-socialism/

    Note the article says:

    “Many Communist and radical publications and entities throughout the 19th and 20th centuries had the name “Forward!” or its foreign cognates. Wikipedia has an entire section called “Forward (generic name of socialist publications).”

    But the Useful Editors at Wikipedia have memory-holed all such incriminating facts, only days after Obama rolled out the new old slogan:

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/2012/05/03/forward-for-communism-is-obamas-new-forward-slogan-really-a-coincidence

    That Blaze article has a couple of internal links which seem interesting, but don’t go anywhere.  Dangit.

    • #17
  18. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Oh, look. “No Labels” has risen from the dead.

    And given themselves a label . . .

    • #18
  19. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    Insert obligatory “UBI would be great if every single other form of social spending was simultaneously abolished, including government health care subsidies” comment here.

    ;-)

    • #19
  20. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    BDB (View Comment):

    “Forward!” is a frequent flyer on communist regime organization and publication titles. So, nothing new here.

    Isn’t Forward! the title of the in-flight magazine of Air Force One?

    ;-)

    • #20
  21. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):
    “Human-centered capitalism” is a euphemism for “money laundering.”

    Kind of like how “stakeholder capitalism” basically means “the community controls the means of production via the Government.”

    It’s like socialism, but it’s also nationalist!

    • #21
  22. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    Douglas Pratt (View Comment):

    Raxxalan (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    My controversial opinion: Donald J. Trump is as close as America will ever come to having a third party/independent president. And when it comes to staffing the leviathan state, well, we all know how well that worked out.

    Unfortunately true. Trump talking about firing a bunch of people in the administrative state is a good start but to be honest I think he needs to be discussing 10 times the number of people. At this point it also seems like the FBI building in DC needs to be demolished and the ground needs to be sown with salt.

    One of Trump’s better ideas was to move departments out of Washington to some place where they were actually relevant. USDA to Kansas, and so on. You would weed out a lot of people who think they’re too good to live anywhere but Washington, and you might be able to hire some people with an actual work ethic.

    Failing that, how about a law that everybody that works in Washington D.C. has to live in Washington D.C.  No more commuting from Chevy Chase or Church Falls.

    ;-)

    • #22
  23. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Misthiocracy has never (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):
    “Human-centered capitalism” is a euphemism for “money laundering.”

    Kind of like how “stakeholder capitalism” basically means “the community controls the means of production via the Government.”

    It’s like socialism, but it’s also nationalist!

    National Socialists . . . Hmm . . . nope, doesn’t ring a bell . . .

    • #23
  24. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    Raxxalan (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    My controversial opinion: Donald J. Trump is as close as America will ever come to having a third party/independent president. And when it comes to staffing the leviathan state, well, we all know how well that worked out.

    Unfortunately true. Trump talking about firing a bunch of people in the administrative state is a good start but to be honest I think he needs to be discussing 10 times the number of people. At this point it also seems like the FBI building in DC needs to be demolished and the ground needs to be sown with salt.

    Seems like a waste of salt. I doubt one could grow anything in that soil as it is.

    ;-)

    • #24
  25. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    DonG (CAGW is a Hoax) (View Comment):

    I like the idea of splitting the DNC vote, if they have an actual party, but I doubt they will. I like idea of trying to make the DNC less crazy, but 90% crazy is still bad. The DNC is a horrible and evil organization and they need a few generations out of power to purge their wicked ways.

    That’s what the Green Party is supposed to be for.  Any new party simply splits the Green vote.

    • #25
  26. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    Raxxalan (View Comment):

    Doesn’t seem very moderate. It basically reads as a far left agenda, I guess it is “moderate” because they are going to dump the woke and identity stuff? I guess I am “for” this as I don’t see it getting very many people from the right it might get a lot of people from the “moderate” left, so as a third party threat it has a better chance of splitting the democratic vote than the Republican vote.

    That seems like the idea. They likely think these policies will appeal to hard-working American families struggling to make ends meet while holding traditional (but not extreme) moral values.  Yet Another New New Deal, as it were.

    It seems like too finely-cut a voter base for a successful party, but perhaps a sufficient donor base for a PAC.

    • #26
  27. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Let’s face it, the great mass of voters is dumb and will vote however the TeeVee tells them to vote

    • #27
  28. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Let’s face it, the great mass of voters is dumb and will vote however the TeeVee tells them to vote

    As Marshall McLuhen said, if the medium is the message it means that the content is the audience. The TeeVee may tell the audience how to vote, but the audience chooses the network (channel/outlet/site/etc.) that tells them how to vote the way they already want to vote.

    • #28
  29. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    Misthiocracy has never (View Comment):

    Douglas Pratt (View Comment):

    Raxxalan (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    My controversial opinion: Donald J. Trump is as close as America will ever come to having a third party/independent president. And when it comes to staffing the leviathan state, well, we all know how well that worked out.

    Unfortunately true. Trump talking about firing a bunch of people in the administrative state is a good start but to be honest I think he needs to be discussing 10 times the number of people. At this point it also seems like the FBI building in DC needs to be demolished and the ground needs to be sown with salt.

    One of Trump’s better ideas was to move departments out of Washington to some place where they were actually relevant. USDA to Kansas, and so on. You would weed out a lot of people who think they’re too good to live anywhere but Washington, and you might be able to hire some people with an actual work ethic.

    Failing that, how about a law that everybody that works in Washington D.C. has to live in Washington D.C. No more commuting from Chevy Chase or Church Falls.

    ;-)

    When I lived in northern VA (1985-2010) the strategy was: get a job, get onto I-66, and drive until you can afford a house. That’s your commute.  In the 90s I worked in Silver Spring and had several co-workers (and a supervisor) who commuted from West Virginia.

    • #29
  30. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    Misthiocracy has never (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Let’s face it, the great mass of voters is dumb and will vote however the TeeVee tells them to vote

    As Marshall McLuhen said, if the medium is the message it means that the content is the audience. The TeeVee may tell the audience how to vote, but the audience chooses the network (channel/outlet/site/etc.) that tells them how to vote the way they already want to vote.

    What a perfect time to do a remake of Max Headroom.

    • #30
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