A Reflection
Hello, thank you for choosing to read this note. The truth is that a lot of people – 200,000+ - receive this newsletter every week, and a shockingly high percentage of you actually click it and read it! I’m grateful. Your time is precious.
I try to take this responsibility seriously by sending you something interesting and actionable – I like doing things. If I can’t do anything about it, it’s less interesting to me.
Of the 3 non-fiction books I’ve written, each was tied to doing something. The first, “Smart People Should Build Things,” was the case I made for Venture for America, the non-profit I started in 2011 and ran for 6 years. We operated in 15 cities primarily in the Midwest and the South. VFA continues on to this day with a new CEO and has helped empower hundreds of young entrepreneurs and businesses.
My second book, “The War On Normal People,” catalogued my deep concerns about the impact of technology and automation on the workforce and pushed for solutions and an evolution of the economy, including Universal Basic Income. It doubled as the basis for my presidential campaign and became a major bestseller; several colleges adopted it into their curriculum and it was translated into at least 5 other languages. I founded a lobbying organization, Humanity Forward, in 2020 that continues to push for some of the ideas in “The War On Normal People,” including antipoverty measures like an enhanced child tax credit.
My third book, “Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy,” was about the dysfunction of our political system and the media and the need for reform. I launched the Forward Party in 2021 and it merged with two other pro-democracy organizations the following year. I’m now Forward’s co-chair and we operate around the country backing ballot measures, voting reforms and positive aligned candidates. My colleagues at Forward include Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and many others and just last week we launched statewide Treasurer and Attorney General candidates in Pennsylvania.
I joke that each book I write tells me what I’m going to do for the next three to five years. (I also co-wrote a novel, “The Last Election,” with Stephen Marche that is an exception to this rule, meant as part entertainment, part warning.)
This month I’m speaking at TED on the American political system and how to improve it. I’m hopeful that this will result in another few hundred thousand people understanding better what is holding us back, and maybe – just maybe – a few of them will sign up to do something about it. It could be with Forward, or Unite America or Fairvote (a Ranked Choice Voting non-profit I’m on the Board of). I’m now convinced that our political system needs a revamp before we can meaningfully tackle any of our biggest long-term problems.
I’m not unmindful of the immediate threat. If you follow me, you know I think Trump would be a disaster in a second term. I’ll be working to reduce the odds of Trump winning in different ways. Initially, it was by trying to swap in a different Democratic nominee whom I thought would be a stronger foil for Trump. Now, it will be by boosting the non-Trump turnout by backing sensible local candidates in key swing states like Pennsylvania via Forward.
I’m also going to be supporting individual candidates whom I think will help us navigate this time – folks like John Avlon in NY, John Curtis in Utah and Dave Min in California. In all of these cases, the alternative is a Trump loyalist or aspirant to that role.
The overall mission is to help make good things happen and prevent bad things from happening.
Another candidate I’ve been supporting is Andy Kim. This past week, Tammy Murphy dropped out of the New Jersey Senate race, clearing the way for Andy to almost certainly be the next U.S. Senator from the Garden State. This was an enormous win – Andy will be a phenomenal upgrade and replacement for the corrupt Bob Menendez, he of the gold bars and corruption indictments.
Tammy was the establishment favorite as the Governor’s wife – the entire New Jersey Congressional delegation endorsed her as did many of the biggest County Chairs. But Andy captured the imagination of the grassroots Democratic voters in NJ, winning most of the county convention mini-elections. He fundraised competitively. Tammy looked at the numbers and saw that she was going to have to go negative and cut a big personal check to the campaign to try and defeat Andy. She – to her credit – decided not to go nuclear. Andy now has a clear path, and will make a phenomenal U.S. Senator. He’s as upright as it gets.
I co-hosted an event for Andy and some of you donated and got the word out about him. Were we the difference-makers? It’s possible.
Sometimes, the good guys win or something good happens because we do something about it.
That’s why I write. Thank you for keeping up with me through thick and thin. Let’s do more in ’24. And as long as you keep reading, I’ll keep writing.
Click here to check out John Avlon, John Curtis, Dave Min or here to see the Forward chapter in your area. You can also check out Humanity Forward and andrewyang.com for books, the newsletter and the podcast.
