# The Andrew Yang Presidential Campaign thread
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [February 14, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555 "2019-02-14T21:16:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/41 "2019-02-17T05:31:50Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#):
>
> [It’s not like it hasn’t been seriously considered before](https://www.themonthly.com.au/blog/rutger-bregman/2017/27/2017/1493250489/bizarre-tale-president-nixon-s-basic-income-plan)
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.
> [@](#):
>
> A White House poll found 90% of all newspapers enthusiastically receptive to the plan. The Chicago SunTimes called it “A Giant Leap Forward,” the Los Angeles Times “A bold new blue print.” The National Council of Churches was in favour, and so were the labor unions and even the corporate sector. At the White House, a telegram arrived declaring, “Two upper middle class Republicans who will pay for the program say bravo.” Pundits were even going around quoting Victor Hugo – “Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come.”
>
> It seemed that the time for a basic income had well and truly arrived.
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.
> [@](#):
>
> The conservative president who dreamed of going down in history as a progressive leader forfeited a unique opportunity to overthrow a stereo type rooted back in nineteenthcentury England: the myth of the lazy poor.
And [the myths continue](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/03/poverty-myths-debunked-again/).
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/42 "2019-02-17T17:41:14Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/43 "2019-02-17T19:42:29Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/44 "2019-02-17T20:09:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> 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:
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/45 "2019-02-17T20:43:11Z")
I’m not seeing any way this guy is even going to be known by most Americans let alone be president.
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### Author:  [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/46 "2019-02-17T22:11:39Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> I’m not seeing any way this guy is even going to be known by most Americans let alone be president.
Every little helps…
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/47 "2019-02-17T22:51:03Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#):
>
> Every little helps…
Said he, as he started the bail out the ocean with a paper cup.
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### Author:  [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/48 "2019-02-18T00:19:33Z")
Is it always cynicism in this place?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/49 "2019-02-18T00:45:24Z")
Pretty much, yes.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/50 "2019-02-18T01:28:31Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#):
>
> Is it always cynicism in this place?
You’ve been here 16 years and you’ve never noticed?
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### Author:  [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/51 "2019-02-18T01:44:22Z")
It’s not cynicism to not think some nobody is going to come out of nowhere and be President, for fucksake.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/52 "2019-02-18T03:09:03Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#):
>
> Every little helps…
Helps what? It certainly doesn’t help him get to be president.
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### Author:  [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/53 "2019-02-18T09:49:17Z")
Raise his profile? Isn’t that hard.
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### Author:  [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/54 "2019-02-18T11:49:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> 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 it or not, the definition of ‘real’ has changed. Nobody doubts that Alexandria Ocasio Cortez or Bernie Sanders are ‘real’. Donald Trump is ‘real’.
He seems like a bright guy with a lot of important experience. The last thing we ought to be doing is ridiculing his candidacy or treating it like a joke.
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### Author:  [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/55 "2019-02-18T12:12:46Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> Helps what? It certainly doesn’t help him get to be president.
Helps get his ideas into the mainstream of the discussion, which is more important than whether he wins or loses at this point. His chances of winning are pretty slim, but if we can take the idea of universal income and universal healthcare more seriously, then it’s a win, regardless of what happens to his candidacy.
He might not have a chance to win, but in the day and age of internet-driven media, he has an opportunity to become more of a household name. He may or may not end up getting the attention of Steven Colbert, but I think getting on the Joe Rogan podcast was actually a pretty good indication of his social media savvy.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/56 "2019-02-18T13:51:14Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#):
>
> Is it always cynicism in this place?
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#):
>
> Like Kamala? :rolleyes:
You were saying?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/57 "2019-02-18T14:20:50Z")
Alexandria Occasio-Cortez is a real Congressperson. She’s not a real presidential candidate (though she’s more likely to become one at some point in the future than Yang is).
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### Author:  [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/58 "2019-02-18T15:10:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Alexandria Occasio-Cortez is a real Congressperson. She’s not a real presidential candidate (though she’s more likely to become one at some point in the future than Yang is).
She may be a real congressperson but that’s not a requirement to hold presidential office. You can argue that it’s important to cut one’s teeth in congress in order to gain better insight into how a president can be more effective, but that’s never been a requirement for presidential office.
To reiterate, I don’t think Yang is going to win, but he can have an important voice and impact and I don’t see the value in denigrating his campaign. From what I can tell he’s running a serious campaign based on a very progressive platform. Why mock it?
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### Author:  [@aesop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aesop)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/59 "2019-02-18T15:25:13Z")
While armchair cynics are deriding his chances, Andrew Yang is putting in the miles and the meetings in Iowa, executing on his social media strategy and doing the other things required to mount a credible presidential campaign. There is a gulf of difference between “I don’t take him seriously” and “He’s not a serious candidate”. Listen to the man and see if he doesn’t sound serious before you write him off. You may be pleasantly surprised at his rational, data-driven approach.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-andrew-yang-presidential-campaign-thread/829555/60 "2019-02-18T15:28:14Z")
> [@aesop](#):
>
> While armchair cynics are deriding his chances, Andrew Yang is putting in the miles and the meetings in Iowa, executing on his social media strategy and doing the other things required to mount a credible presidential campaign. There is a gulf of difference between “I don’t take him seriously” and “He’s not a serious candidate”. Listen to the man and see if he doesn’t sound serious before you write him off. You may be pleasantly surprised at his rational, data-driven approach.
It doesn’t matter if he aces the interview; he just doesn’t have the resume for the job.
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