Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

What Andrew Yang's new party means for American politics

Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang ran unsuccessful Democratic campaigns for president and mayor of New York.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The Republican and Democratic parties have dominated politics for decades, with alternative parties occasionally sprouting up but rarely having a significant impact on elections. Political reformers will be closely watching the latest attempt to break that two-party system.

Andrew Yang, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president and then the party's nod in the New York mayoral campaign, is planning to launch his own political party next month, Politico first reported. The name and platform of Yang's third party will be announced in conjunction with the Oct. 5 release of his new book, "Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy."

Yang's decision to leave the Democratic Party parallels a growing national trend of more Americans identifying as independents. However, reformers say it will take both a structural and cultural shift to undo America's two-party duopoly.


It's unclear where exactly Yang's party will fall on the political spectrum, but the focus of his book offers a glimpse into his new venture. "Yang introduces us to the various 'priests of the decline' of America, including politicians whose incentives have become divorced from the people they supposedly serve," per the book's publisher, Crown.

As a former businessperson, Yang was seen as a political outsider during his campaigns. One of the key tenets of his platform was a universal basic income program, through which the government would give citizens $1,000 every month. His most ardent supporters, dubbed the "Yang Gang," were highly active online and tended to be more apolitical.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

With more Americans becoming disillusioned by politics and the two major parties, there is a market for alternatives, said John Opdycke of Open Primaries. But the challenge for Yang will be how to organize a political party that appeals to people who don't like political parties, he said.

"Part of what Andrew, I think, is recognizing is that because people are dissatisfied with the Democrats and Republicans, there's an organizing opportunity there. But maybe a party is not going to capture their enthusiasm," Opdycke said. "People don't like political parties because parties tend to be ideological. 'Here's what our set of policies are and if you don't agree with them, you're not welcome here.'"

According to Gallup's latest polling on political identity, conducted Aug. 2-17, 40 percent of Americans consider themselves independents. (Both the Democratic and Republican parties drew less than 30 percent of support.)

Even if there is a lot of enthusiasm for Yang's new party, the current political system will make it difficult for him or other independent candidates to succeed. Advocates for change believe structural reforms like ranked-choice voting, open primaries and multimember districts would make the system more viable for third parties.

But simply changing the system won't be enough, reformers say. The two-party duopoly is so ingrained in American politics that there needs to be a cultural shift as well.

Some people see third-party candidates as "spoilers" that draw votes away from the politician they prefer, resulting in the opposing party winning.

"That kind of zero-sum mentality between the two parties is part of what keeps people locked into those parties and will always block third-party or independent candidates," said Mike Ongstad of Stand Up Republic. "The reality is that the hunger is there. But there's almost a fear-based system that causes people to fall back on their typical and long-standing historical party."

The increased number of state laws limiting voter access is also contributing to this issue and reinforcing the political establishment, Ongstad said. The Renew America Movement, a center-right campaign launched by Stand Up Republic, recently sent letters to all 50 governors urging them to reject partisan attacks on the right to vote.

The burden of facing these barriers in the voting process might discourage people, especially those who don't identify with a major party or feel disenchanted with politics, from even participating in the first place, Ongstad said.

"But we're always stronger if we're including those voices, and the more voices that are included, the more likely we are to get some more diverse voices," he said.

Read More

Podcast: How do police feel about gun control?

Podcast: How do police feel about gun control?

Jesus "Eddie" Campa, former Chief Deputy of the El Paso County Sheriff's Department and former Chief of Police for Marshall Texas, discusses the recent school shooting in Uvalde and how loose restrictions on gun ownership complicate the lives of law enforcement on this episode of YDHTY.

Listen now

Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

There's something natural and organic about perceiving that the people in power are out to advance their own interests. It's in part because it’s often true. Governments actually do keep secrets from the public. Politicians engage in scandals. There often is corruption at high levels. So, we don't want citizens in a democracy to be too trusting of their politicians. It's healthy to be skeptical of the state and its real abuses and tendencies towards secrecy. The danger is when this distrust gets redirected, not toward the state, but targets innocent people who are not actually responsible for people's problems.

On this episode of "Democracy Paradox" Scott Radnitz explains why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies.

Your Take:  The Price of Freedom

Your Take: The Price of Freedom

Our question about the price of freedom received a light response. We asked:

What price have you, your friends or your family paid for the freedom we enjoy? And what price would you willingly pay?

It was a question born out of the horror of images from Ukraine. We hope that the news about the Jan. 6 commission and Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination was so riveting that this question was overlooked. We considered another possibility that the images were so traumatic, that our readers didn’t want to consider the question for themselves. We saw the price Ukrainians paid.

One response came from a veteran who noted that being willing to pay the ultimate price for one’s country and surviving was a gift that was repaid over and over throughout his life. “I know exactly what it is like to accept that you are a dead man,” he said. What most closely mirrored my own experience was a respondent who noted her lack of payment in blood, sweat or tears, yet chose to volunteer in helping others exercise their freedom.

Personally, my price includes service to our nation, too. The price I paid was the loss of my former life, which included a husband, a home and a seemingly secure job to enter the political fray with a message of partisan healing and hope for the future. This work isn’t risking my life, but it’s the price I’ve paid.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Given the earnest question we asked, and the meager responses, I am also left wondering if we think at all about the price of freedom? Or have we all become so entitled to our freedom that we fail to defend freedom for others? Or was the question poorly timed?

I read another respondent’s words as an indicator of his pacifism. And another veteran who simply stated his years of service. And that was it. Four responses to a question that lives in my heart every day. We look forward to hearing Your Take on other topics. Feel free to share questions to which you’d like to respond.

Keep ReadingShow less
No, autocracies don't make economies great

libre de droit/Getty Images

No, autocracies don't make economies great

Tom G. Palmer has been involved in the advance of democratic free-market policies and reforms around the globe for more than three decades. He is executive vice president for international programs at Atlas Network and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

One argument frequently advanced for abandoning the messy business of democratic deliberation is that all those checks and balances, hearings and debates, judicial review and individual rights get in the way of development. What’s needed is action, not more empty debate or selfish individualism!

In the words of European autocrat Viktor Orbán, “No policy-specific debates are needed now, the alternatives in front of us are obvious…[W]e need to understand that for rebuilding the economy it is not theories that are needed but rather thirty robust lads who start working to implement what we all know needs to be done.” See! Just thirty robust lads and one far-sighted overseer and you’re on the way to a great economy!

Keep ReadingShow less