The Andrew Yang Presidential Campaign thread
 

Andrew Yang was an advisor on entrepreneurship to the Obama administration, he announced his candidacy last summer, on a platform of universal basic income, rebranded the 'Freedom Dividend' along with free universal healthcare and free college tuition. He's also put his money where his mouth is by providing a family $1000 a month out of his own pocket.

I invite all of you to check out his interview with Joe Rogan on youtube, it clocked up over a million views in 2 days, alot of the comments are along the lines of 'was skeptical at first, but he has my vote'

Donald Trump's Election Was Really About Economics | Joe Rogan and Andrew Yang 6 minutes long.

Joe Rogan Experience #1245 - Andrew Yang This is over an hour long (Has over 1 million views)

His campaign website

His twitter page if you want to have a look

I like his platform alot because he seems to have done proper research into the economic problems of the US, plus if he's president, it'll legitimize a different approach to tackling the economic malaise we're in at the moment and that might influence my country to take the same approach, so this differentiates him from not just being an 'Oppose Trump' Candidate. Plus, first Asian-American as president, that'd be amazing.

Fascinating candidacy. Unfortunately, he'll probably be the Martin O'Malley of 2020, someone who would be a good candidate in his own right but stands no chance against the Bidens, Warrens, Kamalas, Bernies and Betos.

His bio says he's not a "career politician."

When will people understand that the sole qualification for being President is being a career politician?

I know, but I'm gonna try and do my part, sigh.

I had not heard of him at all until last weekend when the news was showing head-shots of all the field of Dem candidates that have thrown their hats into the ring, after the Warren and Klobuchar announcements. I am willing to look into him a little further to see what he is all about (as with any of the candidates). My prime criteria for who I will get behind, tho, is which one has the best chance of unseating Trump. Policy positions come a distant second.

Why so?

I just imagine the optics and commentary when he goes to meet the Chinese president, and lectures him.

Yeah but a presidency with no policy is just going to churn out another Trump like character in the long run.

At OP's request, I have changed the title to be more expressive.

Uh, no. He's a joke candidate. Zero useful experience and pushing an entirely untested overhaul of the benefits system.

Seems more someone to try and push the overton window to the left to me. When you can't win, it makes sense to run on ideals.

We really have no idea how UBI will work in the real world. It's a very interesting and perhaps useful idea but it's mostly theoretical right now and I'm not super impressed with a guy pushing the Overton window to include that as a serious platform plank.

I don't think it's really an Overton window platform.

I guess we need some new gadflies to replace Lyndon LaRouche.

I was not taking him at all seriously, but I have listened to the nigh-two-hour conversation with Joe Rogan, and he's an interesting guy with some pretty big ideas. He might be a good advisor or cabinet secretary, anyway.

Nonsense. Alaska's experience is as solid a test as we need.

The clown car grows more crowded by the day. UBI? What is this a dorm-room smoke session? Ah Rogan is involved, ok.

Just give him a try, I'll provide some clips so you don't have to watch the entire interview if you don't have time.

Here;

Why Life Expectancy for Americans is Declining

The Problem with "Free" College

The Problem with "Free" College

Bernie Sanders and the DNC | Joe Rogan & Andrew Yang

Exactly, he's also written a book, The War on Normal People: The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future

The Bleak Impact of Automation | Should be the second link which says 'Problem with free college'

There are always a bunch of crackpots with crazy ideas and no chance of winning in any party's presidential primary. That's nothing new. What made the Republican races "clown cars" for the past two cycles was that the clowns all actually led in the polls at one point or another, and in 2016, one of the clowns even managed to win.

But he's not a crackpot

I see Andrew Yang is another Bernie Sanders or Ross Perot candidate. One would be foolish to lay down a bet on him, but he could turn out to be an issues-driven candidate that people talk about, and he might be able to surprise people.

Unfortunately, I don't know if what he's talking about really can capture anyone's imagination at present. I push back a bit on CarnalK's charge that he's completely in Overton Window territory, because he's talking about issues that are inevitably going to be confronting us in the not-too-distant future. However, I'd agree that its' an easier pull to get people to talk about something like Medicare-for-All of $15 minimum wages because it's closer to becoming a reality.

In that six minute clip with Rogan, he's already dead-on accurate about one thing: the collapse of mall-based and retail service-based employment. It's already happening, and it will continue to happen. That, in turn, could also lead to some temporary disruption in commercial real estate, but that's not really what he's getting at. He's talking about the ability of your average worker - many young, in school, trying to figure out their next step in life - to get a foothold in the job market. We can't all become Uber or Lyft drivers and expect real wages, particularly when the goal is to automate cars, too.

He also made a good point in the disconnect between the government's willingness to throw $50,000 -100,000 to support higher education when in reality many people will struggle to pay the loans back. If this week's debt data is any indication, this is also becoming a reality for many 20- and 30-somethings.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/12/a-re...-payments.html

Older and middle-age Americans will depend on younger labor for their retirement, their healthcare, and their public services. And these younger Americans are increasingly becoming debt-slaves.

Ryan_Liam, he's a crackpot. If he weren't, he'd be running for the House instead of for the Presidency. The Presidency isn't an entry-level position.

He's been to law school and worked in the Obama administration and has run a successful business. If we use the current POTUS as a benchmark, he's got experience in spades.

Did you even watch any of the links? Back up your position.

If we use the current POTUS as an example, you've lost your case.

No I haven't.

If an incompetent buffoon can be President, or a mediocre Harvard graduate (Bush II) I think Andrew Yang is more than capable of being POTUS, considering that he's a guy who graduated from Colombia Law school and got a Juris Doctor degree and a BA in economics from Brown university.

Bush II was governor of Texas. And he was still a monumental fuckup as president.

Yes, he would be a better President than Trump. That's still not enough to take him seriously.

Yes exactly.

But Kamala Harris is a serious candidate? Where's her policy platform other than being Hillary mark II? He's not just an anti-Trump candidate. He's actually got a well thought out, written up policy he wants to propose, which he has researched on. Did you even watch any of the links? Back up your position.

I didn't critique his platform. It takes more than a platform to run for President.

Listened to the entire interview. He’s a sincere individual. I can best describe him as total catastrophe sprinkled with undeniable insights. His major policies are completely unworkable and he’s advocating for the single biggest tax increase in US history with his VAT.

That being said, he’s the only Dem running or near running that I could listen to for over an hour without cringing.

Ryan_Liam, thanks for starting the thread. I've been watching Andrew Yang since he announced his candidacy. I've been watching all his interviews to get a better idea of what he's trying to do.

He interviewed with Cenk at TYT.
This 2020 Presidential Candidate Makes A TON Of Sense

He debated with Ezra Klein, VOX.
Is our economy totally screwed? Andrew Yang and I debate | The Ezra Klein Show

He has a subreddit -
YangForPresidentHQ

Andrew Yang: Meet the 2020 Candidate I Fortune [youtube]

I like his idea on human-centered capitalism, along with the history of GDP and the problems of using GDP as a measure.

I like that he has a sense of humor and fun. He has a proposal to make tax day a fun day. Making Taxes Fun While that sounds silly and won't likely be happening, it's still a fun idea. Politics has become so hateful and deadly serious. It's nice to see some light-heartedness from anyone.

I'm glad to see the interview with Joe Rogan because before that, his interviews were going nowhere. That interview seems to have given him some attention.

If nothing else, he's putting in the legwork. He's been in numerous interviews and sounds like he's talking to a lot of people from all walks of life.

I've read that Governor of Texas is rather a figurehead position. The one specific duty is to review clemency applications from death row — Bush used those reviews for his amusement.

Crackpot? :confused: I know almost nothing about his candidacy, but assume he's a highly intelligent man who knows his chance of winning the big job is zero but wants to help his country by moving the "Overton window." No?

I think he’s on the leading edge of a curve that’s coming up fast, and he’s willing to put his bold ideas out there for review and even ridicule on the largest stage on the planet. I find that admirable. If you read up on him (I’ve been in the Yang camp for a few months) you’ll see he has created jobs all over the Rust Belt, and he’s seen up close how current retraining practices won’t be anywhere near enough to offset AI/automation-induced job losses. The economy is coming in for a seismic shift. Doing more of the same isn’t the answer.

I'm not normally one to advocate 'disruptor' candidates, but that ship has kinda already sailed. We live in a time of political disruption, and there's probably no going back to the political 'normalcy' that existed for much of our lives. If we're going to have a disruptor candidate, Andrew Yang seems like a force for good.

I don't think he has a chance to win, but as many voters felt with Bernie Sanders in 2016, maybe he has a chance to get us thinking about politics and economics in new ways, and in ways that are constructive. So much of political news coverage these days is about the political horse race itself and the sausage making that goes into the legislative and executive process - news coverage needs to really get into the issues and I applaud Yang's relentlessness in getting his candidacy going. And if Yang can't get the mainstream media to take him seriously, then yeah, get on the Rogan podcast.

You could even say this about Barack Obama. Yes, he hadn't even been a US Senator for 2 years before he started preparing for his presidential campaign. I think the important thing to assess is whether someone has the right ideas, the right character, and the right temperament for the job. And at least some understanding of how to build coalitions that can at least keep government functioning even at a time when there is crippling polarization.

It's also important to note that unlike Howard Schultz, Andrew Yang takes himself seriously enough to run as a democrat and to compete with others in the Democratic party. He's not some spoiled little punk who intends to disrupt the entire process if he can't win the nomination of the main progressive party. He's not some pseudo-democrat who merely caucuses with Democrats and then wants to hijack the party.

OK, "crackpot" maybe isn't the right word. I'm not sure what the right word would be, but in any event, he can't be serious about actually trying to become President (though you're right that he might, in fact, be serious about getting discussion going on some issues and shifting the Overton window).

I think that might be overstating it. It's considered a weak governor but he still makes some meaningful appointments and due to curiosities of the Texas system, it's very difficult to override a governor's veto there. That being said, everyone knows the Lt Governor is the more powerful position..

Here is his audiobook 'the war on normal people'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC25cPvp4zg&t=4475s

Whoa, amusing. I've heard of this story vaguely before, but imagine this happening now. It's funny how people think it's so crazy now when it was so accepted 50 years ago.

This was in August 1969 with a Republican President.

They should call it what they did at the time - FAP (Family Assistance Plan). Heh.

Too bad Nixon blew it and added a labor requirement.

And the myths continue.

I would vote for Yang 100 times before I vote for these career politicians who have not really done anything in their life other than sit up in DC and do the same crap over and over.

Again, I'm not critiquing his policies. I'm just saying that he's not the one to implement them. If his ideas are good, then a real presidential candidate will adopt them.

Like Kamala? :rolleyes:

I’m not seeing any way this guy is even going to be known by most Americans let alone be president.

Every little helps...

Said he, as he started the bail out the ocean with a paper cup.

Is it always cynicism in this place?

Pretty much, yes.

You've been here 16 years and you've never noticed?