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John --
As the Democrats gather for their
convention in Chicago, it's important to remember the genesis of the
Forward Party.
Several years ago, unhappy with the state
of the existing two parties, leaders from across the political
spectrum joined together to give Americans a new and better option.
Andrew Yang, a former Democrat, joined with Governor Christine Todd
Whitman, a former Republican, to bring those of us together who are
looking to put partisan fighting aside in service of values- and
data-driven governance.
As we watch the Convention from afar, as
we did with the Republican Convention, it's important to remember just
how separated from most of us these two events are. They're something
the parties throw for themselves, not for the American people. An
increasing number of Americans feel unrepresented by the two parties,
which is why a majority of us now identify as Independent or
unaffiliated.
The Forward Party is here to build a
better political party. One that truly listens to its membership and
represents them, rather than takes them for granted.
Building this is going to take more than
a couple short months. It's going to be the result of years of labor
and effort.
It goes past one election, past the
legacy parties of yesterday. In order to have a truly robust
democracy, we need to remember what democracy is about. It's not about
convincing voters to vote for you, it's about being the candidate (or
party) that voters want to vote for.
There are some simple fixes to point us
in that direction: robust and open primaries every election, ranked
choice voting or another similar system that ensures majority support
for the winner, and the end of partisan gerrymandering so politicians
can't pick their voters but voters pick their politicians.
We can build that world. It's within our
grasp. Let's keep building it together.
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