So, the internet is abuzz with a rumor that Yang is about to launch a third party to complement his new book, Forward. The book is about how our institutions, as they are, are failing us, and I presume his answer is to do what I've been kind of suggesting for years, to start a third party.
Good. Good good good. And you know what? Given my own intellectual development pushing me back toward Yang over the past year, I fully support these efforts. And for me, this feels different than other third parties I've looked at before like the green party or the peoples' party. With those parties, I felt like I was compromising. Many of those parties have a progressive or socialist bend, and while I have a lot in common with them, they're not exact matches of my ideology. Yang's core platform is. Sure, there are some aspects where we diverge, but my political DNA is far more Yang Gang than it is Bernie Sanders, despite me being a huge Bernie Bro in 2016. I just used Bernie as a vehicle to be honest. I wanted change, he was the change guy, I backed him. But in reality Yang was closer to what I wanted in the first place, and given how the Yang gang has faced the same challenges in dealing with the institutional democratic party that the progressive and socialist crowds have, it makes sense they would decide to go full third party.
The fact is, and this has been well documented on this blog, I haven't been happy with the democratic party for a while. I joined them after my "awakening" in 2012, but in reality, by ideology went straight to yang gang. By 2013 I was already researching ideas like UBI and M4A, and by 2014 I was a full on supporter of them. And by 2015, the tensions with the party started, as it seemed clear they didn't want to work with this up and coming progressive wing in their party, but still wanted their votes. In 2016, they just totally ignored the left to go all in with identity politics and centrism, and despise losing in 2016, they seemed to have learned nothing through the Trump years. And then Yang ran in 2020, he had the same problems that Bernie did, and then he ran for mayor of NYC this year, and he got crapped on even more, so now he's like "fine, third party it is". So that said, I am fully in support of his efforts here. As a matter of fact, consider me a day 1 supporter. I may not contribute financially due to not having any finances to contribute, but consider me a moral supporter of this up and coming "forward" party (or humanity first, or whatever yang calls it).
Of course, the reaction elsewhere on the internet has been negative. It's weird how propaganda works. Most people have developed stockholm syndrome toward the democrats. Even if they hate the democrats, many still oppose this effort on the idea that a third party can never win and splits the vote and we should all vote democrat for "harm reaction" or to "feel relevant." I mean, while I have nothing wrong with people exercising their principles, i feel like this mindset is a bit too pervasive and its supporters a bit too virtue signally and self righteous. The fact is, they will attack anyone who would support such a movement and shame them, and honestly, I dont think it will ever win.
Of course, that isn't the point of a third party. it's to make a statement. The democrats have been ignoring our ideas and treating us like garbage, so we start our own party with our own ideas. The point isn't to win per se, as you would need a coalition large enough to do that, but it's to make a statement telling the larger coalitions they better take our ideas seriously or face the consequences. And it doesn't seem like it's possible to win within the current party.
I was going to maybe write some stuff on this after I got back from this vacation I was on, and I did SOME research into it for the purposes of a future article that given this revelation I'm not sure if I'll ever write, but I really don't think that progressives and yang gangers can win within the current democratic coalition. The fact is it's controlled first and foremost by centrists and neolibs, who are older, affluent, and make up a majority of the party. Then there's the idpol people. Minority groups like the black vote make up significant proportions of the democratic electorate and they seem to fall toward the establishment too. Which baffles me, given how the establishment, in my estimation, screws them too, but yeah, they seem to do their own thing, and want the entire debate on their terms, and shame anyone who isnt 100% behind them as racist. And then you have progressives, whom I see as natural allies but even they're turning on Yang because they share a political DNA closer to Bernie Sanders and "democratic socialism" than Yang's human centered capitalism. Even if we did work with progressives, they still end up in the same boat as us since they're not big enough to win over a majority of voters there given the neolibs, older voters, and minority voters all seem to vote among establishment lines for some reason.
The fact is, we're insurgent independents running within a hostile party that doesn't want us there ideologically. And they will constantly lord over the fact, going on about how we white progressives and yang gangers just dont get it and people like moderation and blah blah blah the black vote and yeah, it's just obnoxious. I've been thinking about these races we've had this year on vacation, with the south carolina primary this year, and yang's NYC run, and Nina Turner's run, and how the establishment won all of them, and it just seems like we have no future within the democrats. Looking at Bernie cuck himself out is a shame to see too. The fact is, a Yang gang style third party is perhaps the best way I can see my ideology being taken into the future. I don't expect it to win. Vote blue no matter who sentiment is too strong for that. But given I see us in the middle of a party realignment, it is reassuring to see a third party effort very much in line with my exact ideology positioning itself for a 2024 run. And I am glad to see Yang do what Bernie would not in pushing the ball forward. This is exactly what we need.
That said as of this time I support this up and coming forward party and Yang running for a 2024 run. I've had it with the dems, and given how they've gone all in with Biden/Harris and a challenger isn't even in the discussion within the party, yeah, no. I see no reason why I should align with dems when I can align with someone with such a close affinity to my own politics.
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