Saagar Enjeti & Andrew Yang talk government dysfunction, ranked choice voting, and open primaries

In this crossover episode of Forward, Saagar Enjeti, Marshall Kosloff, and Andrew talk about fixing the mechanics of our system, how we arrived at an accidental duopoly, and the civil war-level conflict brewing in our country.

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[elishamalisha]

Andrew Yang's message of reason, positivity, and anti-partisanship is highlighted so much by these guys. Holding his own.

[erickbeggarsnchoosers]

Forward thinkers together with this. We are the mediators of the middle. Integrity
And ethics. Let’s make this change happen. For OUR country 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[alexrivera]

Glad I listened to this. I didn't see the vision for the third party. But yet again, Yang is looking to solve the heart of our problems directly rather than beating around the bush. He's getting to the guts of our politics and fixing things from the inside out.

[SR-lhrm]

Marshall's question, beginning at 6:00, is essentially, "Why can't we just expect things to resolve themselves on their own?" Yang calls this constructive institutionalism in his book. Constructive institutionalism is defined as "the belief that everything will work out, despite quantitative evidence to the contrary."

[justinleemiller]

I’m proud to be a part of this movement. I’ve never felt that way about my party affiliation before…sorry that’s the truth

[swushey]

Forward doesn't need to be as big as one the corporate parties in order to be successful. It only takes a few Congress people to control what laws Congress can pass. A few state reps, a few city council members, etc. Because of our duopoly, small people can change things if they get into seats of power.

[FreckleFoxShow]

The reason I was an early donor to Yang's presidential run was less about policy and more about the non ideological problem solving and pragmatic style. He's had no political power in office, so I can't say for sure what he'd do. However I think he'd be someone who'd change his mind if something wasn't working, even his UBI could be dropped. I want a team of people like that from different political points of view that can see the greater picture to make the right compromises to keep the Union together. The reason I don't vote on policy is because neither party aligns with me, so I have no choice. It is not because I just want to give the system a middle finger. I also don't have enough
time to be a policy expert.

[Kakerate]

19:46 Peter Churhin's Political Stress Index. First time I've heard of this!

[kristopherthemediator]

This channel deserves over a million subs and views. Most underrated channel ever.

[evacheung]

I miss you Saagar … great interview. Thanks

[thunderdragon]

Congratulations. You got each host of Breaking Points to interview you separately 🙂

[luigipiraino]

Rank choice voting, open primaries. CHECK!!! Let’s all join the Forward

[vorbis]

Saagar is right that the key is speaking to that vibe people have, where they're sick of the pony show, and sick of the obvious problems remaining unspoken and unsolved. Pounding that vibe is going to get the most people.

[strwind]

My biggest problem with two-party politics is on "policy bundle".
Meaning you can only vote based on the policy you care about the most and let go of everything else.
For example, I care about immigration policy but I also care about a balanced government budget.
In the current political system, I can only choose one, which I absolutely hate.

[vorbis]

Really have to reach out to the Rhode Island operators. They made phenomenal progress in the last election. Krystal and Saagar reported on it.

[trippsmclovin]

Honestly your ads are fun too. Loved the convos here!

[SR-lhrm]

Yang talks about trying to carve out a lane for "practical people" beginning at 30:31, which one guesses is part of the reason he has so strongly resisted being pinned down with any ideological or fixed label. Maybe this practical strategy works, but as a Yang supporter it has been really frustrating watching other people define Yang for him. He has been called everything from libertarian to super liberal, and these labels are then used to dismiss his ideas. Every interview it feels like Yang is made to play defense against the interviewer's own deliberately misplaced assumptions. People just don't how to take the guy without a definitive container in which to place his brand of politics so they call him weird and then this also makes him seem unelectable. Personally I'm fine with no label, but if we're talking about being practical, it might not be practical to insist on no label. Americans like labels. It helps them make sense of things.

Personally I've always thought of Yang's ideas as "rationalist, " rationalism being defined as a) what is good for everybody (behind a Rawlsian veil of ignorance, perhaps), not just this or that special interest and b) careful attention to the causes of the problems and the likely effects of various proposals to address those problems, without use of ideological crutches or shortcuts. Republicans can't be rationalists because they have a dogmatic commitment to low-taxes and low-regulations, and Democrats can't be either because of all the reasons that Yang talks about in his book.

[BryanWong]

US needs to do away with the 2 main parties and a complete overhaul of the entire political process that's rotten to the core.

[stephenarmiger]

As I watch I notice that there are over 100, 000 subscribers. I learned about the Forward Party on the Making Sense podcast when Andrew was Sam Harris’ guest. This is allegedly a grass roots project so I was comfortable with a ten dollar donation. I later decided to purchase a T shirt. A conversation starter in my little rural town in Montana. A very red state. I also have left the duopoly. I return all political mail in their envelopes. I will be interested to see how things go moving forward.

[gaylarice]

I hope independent media wakes up to the roll they could play in making this happen. I’m an independent voter, who has followed and supported Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard and Marianne’s Williamson since February of 2019. All have tried to work within the current political system and found it profoundly broken and I appreciate that AY is looking now to take what he has learned and the support of people like me who see the truth of both his books. I’m 20 years older than Yang and have voted since I was 18. I left the USA in 2017 but continue to vote and support candidates and PAC that work toward the fixing of our political system because I want a peaceful transition of our system of governance. Sad to say, I currently have a better life in a 3rd world country than I could have right now int USA.