So, I had the privilege of watching Kyle Kulinski really go to town on Andrew yang and his enlightened centrist schtick lately. He discusses a tweet in which Yang talks about how Kyrsten Sinema is now an independent and how most people are independents these days and want a sane and rational third choice.
Except...just because many of us are independents, we don't want enlightened centrism. I'm an independent in my mind, because I dont mindlessly support either party. Even if I like the democrats more than the republicans, I obviously have expressed distaste with democrats in the past, and I have voted for third parties. And most research ive done on independents does imply that they clearly do have partisan leanings despite claiming to dislike both parties.
And honestly, a lot of people hate Kyrsten Sinema because she sells out the democrats. Even though the democrats arent popular because they cant govern like a crap and are almost seized by this obsession with enlightened centrism, their agenda largely is, and many left leaning independents want the democrats to go further in that direction, supporting initiatives like...Bernie Sanders' run for president, or ironically, Andrew Yang's 2020 platform.
But...Yang sold that out, and Kyle had scathing criticism of that, pointing out that he used to be the UBI guy and he ain't even that any more. And that right there is my core criticism of him. I don't mind him starting a third party, if anything I was a day 1 supporter. I dont mind him not having a position on every issue. After a while it does get exclusionary and it is better to unite people with diverse backgrounds around a few core topics. BUT...and this is where Yang goes wrong...you need SOME unifying policy and principles other than "two party system bad." I know it's bad. Wanna know how I know it's bad? Because i want to pass policy into law neither party is willing to openly embrace. And Yang, being on the same page as me in theory knows that. But, giving up those principles to embrace the enlightened centrist circlejerk IS bad.
You guys read my blog I assume, you know what I'm about. You know I was actually quite at home in the original third party that still stuck with its human centered capitalist roots. And the evolution toward a third party movement was positive. I watched the democrats through 2021, I was extremely alienated, yang came along, and then he turned around and alienated me.
Kyle even pointed out a criticism I've been making too, that Yang has just remade the same old third way BS of the democrats. He's not wrong. Yang has done that. And it's even worse. At least the democrats tried to do some good things. Yang has just gone so peak enlightened centrism I can't support forward at all any more. It's just a circlejerk of uselessness that puts the democrats to shame.
I just can't support that party in its current form, and the fact that Yang was trying to signal to Kyrsten Sinema to possibly join is just the strongest self condemnation the party could do. because her centrism is just everything I hate about the democrats already, magnified. Sinema took it to such an obscene level even the neolibs hate her. And honestly, I saw a thread on the forward party subreddit (complete cesspit of enlightened centrism these days, btw), where when someone suggested she join forward the other day, even those guys were like "please, god, no." Not even most of THEM want her. That's how much Sinema sucks as a politician.
Honestly, the reason I come down so hard on forward is the same reason I come down hard on the democrats. I WAS a supporter. I want to be a supporter. But...this ain't it, dawg. This is not it. I can't support this. I have a conscience. I have ideals and policy I want implemented. I can't abandon it for...this. I'm sorry, I cannot. Remember what I said about purity testing. It's fine to do it a little bit. it's fine to take a list of say, 5-10 things and say "this is what I want, but the rest I can compromise on somewhat." Well, UBI is that purity test. Universal healthcare is that purity test. Free college and student loan forgiveness is that purity test. A climate plan is that purity test. Housing is that purity test. And then, maybe, if we have time, ranked choice voting, open primaries, and independent redistricting is somewhere below that. Even some social issues like abortion access probably score higher on my priority list than that stuff. Stopping a fascist takeover of the US via the maga movement is more important than that stuff.
I hate the two party system. I like third parties. I am open and willing to vote third parties, but they have to present an amenable vision to vote for. Yang's current party does not provide this. It is a party of empty platitudes and a couple goals so narrow that while I support them i dont find them compelling in and of themselves to support a movement solely based around them. Yang needs to wake up. His 2020 platform was largely brilliant, although he even had flaws there in terms of execution because the dude is just so wishy washy. But this new movement is just peak cringe.
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