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I've been excited since I learned of the recent merger of non-partisan orgs that created the Forward Party in the U.S., and I created google alerts so I could track what was being said about it. Since that day I have read a host of naysaying pundits explaining all the reasons that a third party "can't work". I've also encountered serious skepticism and fear among my friends and acquaintances when we discuss it in person.
What people don't seem to know is the goals of the Forward Party. The platform on the website is admittedly vague, and this is because the Forward Party is made up of Independents, Republicans and Democrats who agree on one thing: the current two-party system is driving us into a hole, and we have to fix our institutions in order to pull ourselves out of it. The goal: Fix Our Institutions, starting with Elections.
So, what can we do that will change the direction of this failing democracy? WE CAN FIX OUR ELECTIONS by bringing these three issues to the top of our priority list and acting on them. If we can fix our elections, we might be able to pull our Anocracy back toward Democracy.
1. Ranked Choice Voting. There are lots of other ways to vote but this one keeps rising to the top because it allows us to select our favorite candidate, and our second and third favorite, on down the line. Every vote counts because if your first choice doesn't get enough votes, your second choice is counted. In this way we avoid the current problem of having to vote for the "lesser of two evils" in order to avoid the "spoiler effect" that can occur if we vote for a 3rd party candidate. Basically RCV (Ranked Choice Voting) will make it POSSIBLE for candidates from any party to win office if they are good enough. But this doesn't work alone.
2. Open Primaries. This means that everybody can vote for any party candidate in the primaries. You will not be banned from voting in any primaries because of which party you registered with. I'm not sure but it might become unnecessary to specify which party you belong to in order to vote. That would be a blessing, because I find myself switching my party affiliation with some regularity in order to support candidates that I like. I am as independent as they come, and I don't appreciate having to declare a bogus party affiliation in order to support a candidate who is part of a party. Anyway, in some states it's just a matter of a referendum on the ballot and voters can open the primaries. In other states, like where I live, it requires a state constitutional amendment. Open Primaries will further ensure that good candidates from any source can rise to the top.
3. Nonpartisan Districting. I just learned that in Tennessee the Republicans have redistricted away the last Democrat Congressional seat, the one in Nashville. They rearranged the lines to split up Nashville Dems so that a Republican can win that seat, and will. I'm from Tennessee. This partisan redistricting is a crime against our nation. I live in Oregon which is districted in favor of the Democrats. Both parties do this, and neither should be able to. We must pass a law that creates non-partisan districting commissions. This change must be nationwide. We could redistrict based on plain old geography and population. A computer program could do it. This would mean that minorities in any state would still have a voice, and support the process of democracy. IT WOULD BE FAIR. The current system allows whoever is in charge to increase their power and you know what follows absolute power--->absolute corruption. It is happening before our eyes.
I admit, these reforms WILL BE OPPOSED by both dominant parties. They WILL BE OPPOSED by all the major news outlets. This is because both parties and the news are hyper-partisan. They have boatloads of money in the game, and they will loose money if their side starts losing elections.
That is why WE THE PEOPLE must stand up to the money and power and make these changes. Without these changes we will not be able to change anything else. Wars, famine, unfair taxation, disinformation and disease will be our lot. The powerful do not willingly relinquish power, they must be removed. We must remove them. These changes will benefit the people, and American government is supposed to be BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE. Not by the money, for the money.
If this American experiment ever held sway in your heart, then you know what is at stake.
