Andrew Yang 2020 campaign megathread

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Yang has a legitimately good platform, which is why I'm saddened he's treated like a joke.

[Harlow]

I flipped through the policy section on his website and I was pretty impressed. He comes off like a technocrat and identifies as a capitalist, but is really just as far left as Sanders or Warren. I even donated to get him into the debates.

I'm very confused, however, as to why this is the 4chan white supremacist meme machine's candidate of choice. I unironically think there's something to be said for the cultural and political influence of memes in this day and age, but the fact literal white supremacists like Richard Spencer have somehow incorporated this into their narrative gives me pause. I'm feeling a lot of conflicted emotions about this right now.

Richard Spencer has always supported universal healthcare.

For white people in his ethnostate, sure. That still doesn't explain anything. Andrew Yang is just as socially left as any other Democrat who also supports universal healthcare. Why him? Really just cause the meme overlords say so?

As mentioned in the article I posted, it seems to be mainly due to his UBI proposal which would be a boon to people who don’t want to work for a living — which describes a lot of 4Channers. And then people like Richard Spencer and his ilk pick up on the latest memes and will roll with it. I think there’s also something to be said for the fact that Yang has a much less organized and entrenched campaign than the other candidates, so a certain faction of alt-righters hope for a takeover of the campaign.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Trump should have Fox News pump him up and get their viewers to turn out for him in open primary states.

[beaver2.0]

Yang is a bit too radical, I agree, but he brings up points other politicians won't talk about and is tackling automation head on.

[TarHeelDem]

As President, I will…

Rechannel 10% of the military budget – approximately $60 billion per year – to a new domestic infrastructure force called the Legion of Builders and Destroyers. The Legion would be tasked with keeping our country strong by making sure our bridges, roads, power grid, levies, dams, and infrastructure are up-to-date, sound and secure.  It would also be able to clear derelict buildings and structures that cause urban blight in many of our communities and respond to natural disasters. The Legion would prioritize projects based on national security, economic impact, and regional equity.  Its independent budget would ensure that our infrastructure would be constantly upgraded regardless of the political climate.  The Commander of the Legion would have the ability to overrule local regulations and ordinances to ensure that projects are started and completed promptly and effectively. 

NUT

[Sestak]

Guys, his platform is not good at all. He literally want to implement the System from the Black Mirror episode Nosedive.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Had a look at his platform: some interesting ideas, some not...I get the impression that he's trying to look more radical than he actually is willing to intervene in the market to solve the problems which he's identified with capitalism (UBI isn't a silver bullet). And zero mention of employment rights anywhere is pretty telling. Interesting, but hard no for me.

[RI]

Humanity first... unless you're a day before birth

[Old Man Willow]

Humanity first... unless you're a day before birth

[7,052,770]

I gave him $10 and really love his platform. Don't know anything about the "memes" and suspect their impact on his campaign is small.

[7,052,770]

Humanity first... unless you're a day before birth

UBI will shrink the abortion rate, as inability to afford a(nother) kid is one of the primary reasons women choose abortion.

[AltWorlder]

Guys, his platform is not good at all. He literally want to implement the System from the Black Mirror episode Nosedive.

You keep harping on this policy as if it's a central plank to his platform like UBI or Medicare for All is, when it's one of like nearly 80 policies on the page. And the way it's described doesn't sound anything like the authoritarian communist Chinese system

Volunteering at a local community center. Mentoring an at-risk youth. Starting a book club. Helping your friend recover from drug addiction. There are many actions that create positive social utility that are currently uncompensated.

Enter Modern Time Banking. Volunteer activity and community engagement would be tracked by an app and seeded, initially, by the government. After that, local administrators would oversee the program.

You could earn time banking points through:

Volunteering at a local shelter
Participating in a town fair
Coaching little league
Fixing a neighbor’s appliance
Working with those recovering from opiate addiction
Tutoring a local student
and a range of other activities that make your community stronger. 

We’ve seen the power of these awards systems to drive behavior through online communities, “free sandwich” punch cards, and special status (e.g. Yelp Elite, Foursquare mayors, etc.).

Signing up for an account would allow you to track your running tally, along with an “unspent” total. As noted above, you could offer time banking points to a neighbor for watering your plants or taking your mail in while you’re away. But there could also be specific promotions where you could trade in your points for special experiences, such as tickets to a local ball game or meeting with a government or civic leader.

There are many things that we want to see happen as a society that the market doesn’t recognize or reward. We need to create a new way of both measuring and rewarding positive behaviors that spurs people to give to and ask more of their neighbors. We could create an entire parallel economy around social good that spurs incredible levels of activity and reconstitutes the fabric of our society.

It's a rewards system for volunteering. It doesn't have any enforcement power. It's all carrots and no sticks, it's about incentivizing positive behavior, not punishing for negative behavior. And it doesn't even sound like something that he's pushing for strongly. I don't see why people should be so upset about it and accusing it of being like the Chinese social credits system, unless it's thinly-veiled racism against his ethnicity.

[Donerail]

Humanity first... unless you're a day before birth

don't make me like him

[Horus]

Humanity first... unless you're a day before birth

don't make me like him

[Progressive Pessimist]

This article brings up Yang's... unfortunate coalition of 4Channers who have rallied behind him, which I was unaware of until today.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-little-known-andrew-yang-may-end-up-on-the-2020-debate-stage-by-gaming-the-system

Word and support of his candidacy has spread to some of the internet’s more vile, yet influential, communities as well. Over the past few weeks, Yang has been the topic of frequent positive 4Chan threads, normally a stronghold for Donald Trump’s most racist supporters. Yang’s UBI proposal has been especially appealing to 4Chan users who embrace the shiftless “NEET” lifestyle (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”) and would rather play videogames all day than have jobs. 4Chan posters have admiringly started to call Yang’s Freedom Dividend proposal “NEETbux.”

In chat rooms with names like “Meme_Engineering,” 4chan users who count themselves in the “Yang Gang” plotted how they could convince other 4Chan readers to donate $1 to Yang’s campaign, and shared memes promoting Yang’s proposed $1,000 payment. In other rooms, they encouraged each other to flood internet polls with votes for Yang, and made lists of reporters to email about Yang.

AAAND that's about enough for me to not want him to gain any traction in the primary. Forget Bernie Bros. This is way worse!

[7,052,770]

This article brings up Yang's... unfortunate coalition of 4Channers who have rallied behind him, which I was unaware of until today.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-little-known-andrew-yang-may-end-up-on-the-2020-debate-stage-by-gaming-the-system

Word and support of his candidacy has spread to some of the internet’s more vile, yet influential, communities as well. Over the past few weeks, Yang has been the topic of frequent positive 4Chan threads, normally a stronghold for Donald Trump’s most racist supporters. Yang’s UBI proposal has been especially appealing to 4Chan users who embrace the shiftless “NEET” lifestyle (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”) and would rather play videogames all day than have jobs. 4Chan posters have admiringly started to call Yang’s Freedom Dividend proposal “NEETbux.”

In chat rooms with names like “Meme_Engineering,” 4chan users who count themselves in the “Yang Gang” plotted how they could convince other 4Chan readers to donate $1 to Yang’s campaign, and shared memes promoting Yang’s proposed $1,000 payment. In other rooms, they encouraged each other to flood internet polls with votes for Yang, and made lists of reporters to email about Yang.

AAAND that's about enough for me to not want him to gain any traction in the primary. Forget Bernie Bros. This is way worse!

These people make up a negligible % of Yang fans.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I’m sad he is being supported by a lot of terrible people.  I like his platform a lot.  He doesn’t make people shave his legs or put out antitrust proposals that would break up Apple, Nintendo, Sony, or any company that produces a unified platform. 

He seems to think deeply into the consequences of his proposals.  So of course he wont be popular. 

[Ye We Can]

YANG GANG

[Progressive Pessimist]

This article brings up Yang's... unfortunate coalition of 4Channers who have rallied behind him, which I was unaware of until today.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-little-known-andrew-yang-may-end-up-on-the-2020-debate-stage-by-gaming-the-system

Word and support of his candidacy has spread to some of the internet’s more vile, yet influential, communities as well. Over the past few weeks, Yang has been the topic of frequent positive 4Chan threads, normally a stronghold for Donald Trump’s most racist supporters. Yang’s UBI proposal has been especially appealing to 4Chan users who embrace the shiftless “NEET” lifestyle (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”) and would rather play videogames all day than have jobs. 4Chan posters have admiringly started to call Yang’s Freedom Dividend proposal “NEETbux.”

In chat rooms with names like “Meme_Engineering,” 4chan users who count themselves in the “Yang Gang” plotted how they could convince other 4Chan readers to donate $1 to Yang’s campaign, and shared memes promoting Yang’s proposed $1,000 payment. In other rooms, they encouraged each other to flood internet polls with votes for Yang, and made lists of reporters to email about Yang.

AAAND that's about enough for me to not want him to gain any traction in the primary. Forget Bernie Bros. This is way worse!

These people make up a negligible % of Yang fans.

I'm sure they do, it's true of any politician of course, but I just hope that he isn't afraid to condemn the more divisive and edgelordy of his supporters.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

This article brings up Yang's... unfortunate coalition of 4Channers who have rallied behind him, which I was unaware of until today.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-little-known-andrew-yang-may-end-up-on-the-2020-debate-stage-by-gaming-the-system

Word and support of his candidacy has spread to some of the internet’s more vile, yet influential, communities as well. Over the past few weeks, Yang has been the topic of frequent positive 4Chan threads, normally a stronghold for Donald Trump’s most racist supporters. Yang’s UBI proposal has been especially appealing to 4Chan users who embrace the shiftless “NEET” lifestyle (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”) and would rather play videogames all day than have jobs. 4Chan posters have admiringly started to call Yang’s Freedom Dividend proposal “NEETbux.”

In chat rooms with names like “Meme_Engineering,” 4chan users who count themselves in the “Yang Gang” plotted how they could convince other 4Chan readers to donate $1 to Yang’s campaign, and shared memes promoting Yang’s proposed $1,000 payment. In other rooms, they encouraged each other to flood internet polls with votes for Yang, and made lists of reporters to email about Yang.

AAAND that's about enough for me to not want him to gain any traction in the primary. Forget Bernie Bros. This is way worse!

These people make up a negligible % of Yang fans.

I'm sure they do, it's true of any politician of course, but I just hope that he isn't afraid to condemn the more divisive and edgelordy of his supporters.

Considering he went on Tucker Carlson, I doubt he will in a substantive way.

[Progressive Pessimist]

This article brings up Yang's... unfortunate coalition of 4Channers who have rallied behind him, which I was unaware of until today.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-little-known-andrew-yang-may-end-up-on-the-2020-debate-stage-by-gaming-the-system

Word and support of his candidacy has spread to some of the internet’s more vile, yet influential, communities as well. Over the past few weeks, Yang has been the topic of frequent positive 4Chan threads, normally a stronghold for Donald Trump’s most racist supporters. Yang’s UBI proposal has been especially appealing to 4Chan users who embrace the shiftless “NEET” lifestyle (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”) and would rather play videogames all day than have jobs. 4Chan posters have admiringly started to call Yang’s Freedom Dividend proposal “NEETbux.”

In chat rooms with names like “Meme_Engineering,” 4chan users who count themselves in the “Yang Gang” plotted how they could convince other 4Chan readers to donate $1 to Yang’s campaign, and shared memes promoting Yang’s proposed $1,000 payment. In other rooms, they encouraged each other to flood internet polls with votes for Yang, and made lists of reporters to email about Yang.

AAAND that's about enough for me to not want him to gain any traction in the primary. Forget Bernie Bros. This is way worse!

These people make up a negligible % of Yang fans.

I'm sure they do, it's true of any politician of course, but I just hope that he isn't afraid to condemn the more divisive and edgelordy of his supporters.

Considering he went on Tucker Carlson, I doubt he will in a substantive way.

That's what I was worried about.

[AltWorlder]

The past few weeks has seen explosive support for Yang, and more than just weird memes. The donor rush, appearing on the Breakfast Club and on CBS, he’s gaining mainstream attention. As more people turn towards him, and his campaign is under more scrutiny, he will have to condemn the Twitter trolls. But for now they haven’t done anything substantive other than Tweet a lot and make weird memes. It’s also entirely possible they will lose interest on their own and move on to their next meme, especially as Yang speaks about immigration and policies that benefit minorities.

[Ban my account ffs!]

He claims to be "forward" instead of left or right but he is one of the most left-wing candidates there are.

Trying to reinvent yourself young padawan?  Or did the mods clean up your posting history for you?

But what you describe is a feature.  Andrew Yang wants to move forward and presents detailed ideas for you to scrutinize.  Presumably he'd be open to changing them if enough people weighed in, which means unlike all these other losers, you'd have a voice with him.

[Donerail]

He claims to be "forward" instead of left or right but he is one of the most left-wing candidates there are.

it's like kodos said

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/AndrewYangVFA/status/1104453717452034048

While he didn't make a formal endorsement or anything, the fact that a sitting U.S. representative is hanging out with Yang while he's campaigning adds another layer of legitimacy to his campaign.