In an insidious infiltration of the culture, politicians have recently begun catering to Gen Z audiences by harnessing the power of social media, specifically TikTok. And unsurprisingly, their attempt at online connection has been thinly veiled, self-interested pandering to convince young people that a “brand” cares about them.

Among these “hip” social media adopters is 2020 presidential candidate, Andrew Yang. I liked Yang enough in the Democratic primary. He wouldn’t be my first choice, but he certainly wouldn’t be my last. Unfortunately, his attempts to push his newly formed Forward party have concerned me as a new blue voter. 

The Forward party has been marketed as “Not left. Not right. Forward,” but ultimately, it is a centrist political party that will endorse candidates from both sides of the aisle. Despite the political world’s mixed reactions, it will likely have ballot access in all 50 states by the looming 2024 election.

I believe this is a step in the wrong direction. While there should be more than two political parties, the Forward party isn’t what the Democrat party needs only two years away from a presidential election. Upon further examination, Yang is dressing up diet conservatism in TikTok trends and poorly utilized meme formats.

Many left voters, including myself, have been disappointed with the Democrat party’s inaction and pandering to centrists. It’s this inaction that has led to the appeal of Roe v. Wade and a wave of conservative legislation. However, what much of Gen Z wants is further liberal legislation, not an endorsement of conservative candidates. So marketing a centrist party as a voice for youth and progress is disingenuous

The Forward party falls prey to the myth of centrism: the idea that the “correct” legislation is always between the left and right. This just isn’t the case. Conservatives have proved time and time again that they are more than willing to take away the rights of vulnerable groups. They aren’t as willing to compromise, especially in the Trump era.

Democrats have tried to compromise before. Back in 2008, Obama was marketed as the president that would mend the gap between conservatives and liberals. He was going to “save” politics.

But Democrats soon found out that even compromise could be vilified and that Republicans were more than willing to take Obama’s olive branch and run away with it. Ultimately, the legacy of the Obama administration was a handful of lukewarm policies that hinted at progress which were immediately undone by Trump. 

While politics has changed a lot since then, the message of this parable remains true. Unfortunately, it seems that Democrats have forgotten. The Forward party is simply an embrace of liberal complacency and only serves to divide the already fractured Democrat party.

If the Forward party gains momentum, it will likely pull light blue voters away from the Democrat party in 2024. Any fracturing of the Democrat party gives a leg up to the strong conservative block voting for Trump’s allies.

The tragedy of a centrist third party is that while I do agree with many of the Forward party’s ideas, like enforcing a term limit, I don’t think they are worth this fantastical obsession with treating all the ideas of each party as equal. At some point, a line needs to be drawn. 

In the pursuit of appealing to both sides, Yang has walked away from the generation he desperately wanted to cater to. Young people want change. Most of us have already become disillusioned with the broken political system that we are just now able to participate in. As a young voter who grew up in the Obama era, it feels like any meaningful compromise that would satisfy Republican senators would be self-defeating. A creation of Democrats and Republicans would certainly not be progressive.

America’s gun policy is enough proof that giving equal weight to both sides is not only unrealistic but likely impossible. Many young and left voters don’t want to see the Democratic party continue to drift towards the center while more and more hyper-conservative policy is put into place by the more stubborn party. 

The entire situation is disappointing because a third party has so much potential. I generally like the Forward party’s platform. But as a young voter, the pursuit of picking up lukewarm voters by insisting on endorsing both sides feels like a step backward. 

The Democrat party has done a terrible job in protecting citizens’ rights and well-being. It has sat on its hands, complaining about Republicans while losing every legislative battle. Sometimes it feels like the Democrat party is more interested in waiting for Americans to hate conservatives than actually enacting policy because it is a better election strategy. 

Centrism is a band aid on a much larger problem, and I am worried that the Forward party’s current strategy will stunt any progress towards liberal legislation. I just hope that Gen Z can see through the pandering because this isn’t what forward looks like.