Andrew Yang 2020 presidential campaign
Andrew Yang 2020 presidential campaign | |
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Campaign | 2020 United States presidential election (Democratic Party primaries) |
Candidate | Andrew Yang |
Affiliation | Democratic Party |
Status | Announced November 6, 2017 |
Headquarters | New York City, New York |
Slogan | "Humanity First" |
Website | |
www |
On November 6, 2017, American entrepreneur and Venture for America founder Andrew Yang filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for president of the United States in 2020.[1] Yang is running as a Democrat.[2]
Campaign
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Andrew_Yang_%2845793567155%29.jpg/170px-Andrew_Yang_%2845793567155%29.jpg)
Yang's candidacy began on November 6, 2017.[1] His campaign was initially called a "longshot" by many in the media, such as Fox News and Vox.[3][4][5][6] He is running on the slogan "Humanity First."[7]
In a press release on April 19, 2018, Andrew Yang announced that he would be personally giving one resident of New Hampshire $1,000/month in 2019 to show the effectiveness of his Universal Basic Income policy, the "Freedom Dividend."[2] He announced that he will be doing the same thing in Iowa in 2019.[8] On August 10, 2018, Yang was a keynote speaker at the largest Democratic fundraiser in Iowa, the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding.[9] In 2018, he made seven trips to Iowa and six trips to New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the primaries.[10][11][12][13]
The Washington Post listed Yang as one of the many candidates for president in 2020.[14] In December 2018, Andrew Yang was included in the first polling by CNN of caucus voters in Iowa. 5% of respondents viewed him favorably, 12% viewed him unfavorably and 83% were not sure who he was. 28% of respondents said they could see supporting him. 0% of respondents named him as their first-choice while 1% as their second-choice candidate for the Democratic nomination.[15]
Initially viewed by many in the media as a longshot candidate with little chance of gaining significant traction, Yang's campaign began to increase in visibility in early 2019, as Yang appeared on noted outlets such as The Joe Rogan Experience and Tucker Carlson Tonight.[16][17] Several media sources have also attributed Yang's rise in notability to his large group of online supporters, who informally refer to themselves as the "Yang Gang" and have made a large number of memes about Yang and his campaign.[18][19] According to the media, Yang has a large following on /pol/, a forum on 4chan that is notorious for its alt-right politics.[20] Yang himself has denounced any support from the alt-right.[21] Yang has said “I’m getting support from quarters I wouldn’t have expected” regarding his internet support in a March 2019 interview with The New York Times; and regarding support from the alt-right in particular “It’s uncomfortable. They’re antithetical to everything I stand for.”[19]
On March 11, Yang announced on Twitter that he has surpassed the fundraising threshold of 65,000 donors, which qualifies him to participate in the first Democratic primary debate in June 2019[22] (subject to verification).[23]
Policies
Yang's platform is based around three major concepts: Universal Basic Income, Medicare for All, and "Human-Centered Capitalism." In total, 77 policies are listed on his campaign website.[24]
Climate change
Yang supports a Green New Deal and favors a reduction in carbon emissions with an emphasis on climate engineering. In addition to revitalizing the Environmental Protection Agency, his platform calls for a Global Geoengineering Institute to form inter-governmental partnerships. Yang is a proponent of a carbon tax and bringing the United States back into the Paris Climate Agreement.[25]
Corruption and bureaucracy
In a New York Times article about his campaign, several of Yang's policies about corruption and the federal bureaucracy are detailed, such as the creation of a "Department of the Attention Economy" that would focus on regulating the addictive nature of social media, the hiring of a White House Psychologist to focus on mental health issues, making Tax Day a national holiday, and, to stem corruption, increasing the salaries of federal regulators but limiting their private work after they leave public service.[26]
Economics
Yang's signature policy is a $1,000/month "Freedom Dividend" to all U.S. citizens over the age of 18, which is a form of Universal Basic Income, as well as other responses to hypothetical future mass unemployment from technological automation. His website states that "Every U.S. citizen over the age of 18 would receive $1,000 a month, regardless of income or employment status, free and clear." It does not give a cutoff date.[27][28] On the topic of whether the dividend should include the wealthiest citizens, Yang stated "You want to universalize it so it’s seen as a true right of citizenship, instead of a transfer from rich to poor."[29]
Yang has emphasized the need for a value added tax to combat tax avoidance by American technology companies.[30][31] Yang has condemned the deregulation of Wall Street and called for a ban on robocalls.[32][33] He also supports regulating social media as a public utility with a new cabinet position leading what he calls the Department of the Attention Economy.[28] One of Yang's ideas is a new type of credit system designed to incentivize traditionally unpaid caregiving contributions.[33] Yang has criticized several commonly cited economic metrics as misleading, for instance preferring labor force participation rate to unemployment rate.[31] On the topic of GDP, he has proposed that median income and life expectancy can more accurately measure the health of an economy.[28]
Healthcare
Support for single-payer healthcare has increasingly been cited as a core promise of Yang's campaign on the same level as the Freedom Dividend.[30] Yang believes that such an approach will make holistic and preventative care more feasible and his platform includes a number of such proposals including free marriage counseling.[31] He has stated that part of the doctor shortage can be attributed to inadequate investment in patient care technology.[34]
Yang says he opposes circumcision and that history will show the intactivist movement to have been right. However, he would not try to ban the procedure. He also said he thinks the decision should ultimately be up to the parents, including for cultural or religious reasons.[35][36]
Gun Safety
Yang's campaign website contains a detailed explanation of his gun safety plan, including the following parts: Promote a stringent, tiered licensing system for gun ownership with three tiers; restricting people with a history of violence, domestic abuse, or violent mental illness; grandfathering current gun owners and offering a one-time "Good Gun Owner" tax credit; prohibit the manufacture and sale of bump stocks, suppressors, incendiary/exploding ammunition, and grenade launcher attachments; implement a federal buyback program; invest in innovative technology that would make firearms harder to fire for non-owners of the gun, and create a federal, bipartisan panel to determine when technological innovations are advanced and reliable enough to be included in manufacturing safety requirements; increase funding to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and drastically increase funding to the US Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention efforts; initiate and fund mindfulness programs in schools and correctional facilities, which have been demonstrated to reduce violent behavior; and invest heavily in law enforcement training to de-escalate situations involving firearms.[37]
Historical significance
Yang is at least the fourth Asian American to run for President of the United States, after Hiram Fong, Patsy Mink, and Bobby Jindal.[38][39][40] If nominated, he would become the first Asian American to serve as any major party's presidential candidate, and if elected, he would become the first Asian American president.[41]
Endorsements
- Individuals
- Dutch Boyd, professional poker player[42]
- Brian Brikowski, American football defensive end and linebacker[43]
- Nicolas Cage, actor[44]
- Rivers Cuomo, lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter of Weezer[45][better source needed]
- Fabrice Grinda, entrepreneur, blogger for Business Insider, and super angel[46]
- Teresa Lo, author, blogger, television personality, and screenwriter[47]
- Carlos Navarro, actor and radio personality[48]
- David S. Rose, serial entrepreneur and angel investor[49]
- Brian Yang, actor and producer[50]
References
- ^ a b "STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY" (PDF). November 6, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ^ a b Clifford, Catherine (April 20, 2018). "This presidential hopeful will give away $1,000 a month to demonstrate the benefits of cash handouts". CNBC. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ Gage, John (March 14, 2019). "Yang gang: The memes powering one longshot Democrat's unlikely ascent to the debate stage". Washington Examiner. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ^ Steinhauser, Paul (January 21, 2019). "Meet the 2020 longshots: Confidence, and maybe some ego, keep these candidates in crowded race against all odds". Fox. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Gohd, Chelsea (February 13, 2018). "Meet the Long-Shot 2020 Presidential Candidate Who Might Make UBI a Reality". Futurism. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Matthews, Dylan (March 11, 2019). "Andrew Yang, the 2020 long-shot candidate running on a universal basic income, explained". Vox. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "Andrew Yang for President - Humanity First". Andrew Yang for President. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ "Andrew Yang on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ "Andrew Yang". Iowa Democratic Wing Ding. October 24, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ Sexton, Adam (June 12, 2018). "In NH, presidential candidate Andrew Yang touts universal basic income". WMUR. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ Steinhauser, Paul (April 25, 2018). "Presidential candidate Andrew Yang aims to prove it can pay to live in N.H." Concord Monitor.
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(help) - ^ Sullivan, Adam. "Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang pitches big ideas to Iowa". The Gazette. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ Newman, Mark. "Labor Day event promotes worker unity". Ottumwa Courier. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ "Democrats are starting to angle for 2020, even if they deny it". Washington Post. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ "CNN/DES MOINES REGISTER/MEDIACOM IOWA POLL" (PDF). cdn.cnn.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ Hasson, Peter (February 16, 2019). "'Mass riots': Democratic 2020 candidate warns driverless trucks will lead to 'outbreak of violence'". The Daily Caller. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ Wulfsohn, Joseph A. (March 2, 2019). "2020 candidate Andrew Yang tells Tucker Carlson: 'I'm running for president ... to save jobs from automation'". Fox. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ Sam Stein; Will Sommer. "How Little Known Andrew Yang May End Up on the 2020 Debate Stage by Gaming the System". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Roose, Kevin (March 20, 2019). "In Andrew Yang, the Internet Finds a Meme-Worthy Candidate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Sommer, Will (March 13, 2019). "Presidential Hopeful Andrew Yang Is a Hit With the Alt-Right". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Brandom, Russell (March 9, 2019). "Presidential candidate Andrew Yang has a meme problem". The Verge. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ Hasson, Peter (March 12, 2019). "Andrew Yang Qualifies for First Democratic Debate". The Daily Caller. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ "DNC Announces Details For The First Two Presidential Primary Debates". Democratic National Committee. February 14, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ "Our Policies - Andrew Yang for President". Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ Sauer, Natalie (February 4, 2019). "What Democratic presidential hopefuls do (and don't) say about the Green New Deal". Climate Change News. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ Roose, Kevin (February 10, 2018). "His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ Gohd, Chelsea (February 13, 2018). "Meet the long-shot 2020 presidential candidate who might make UBI a reality". Futurism. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ a b c Christou, Luke (February 20, 2018). "Andrew Yang 2020: 5 ways the President hopeful would change America - Verdict". Verdict. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ Dickinson, Tim (January 17, 2019). "Andrew Yang Wants to Be President — and Give You $1,000 a Month". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Coren, Michael (March 26, 2018). "Andrew Yang is running for president to save Americans from machines". Quartz. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ a b c Dickinson, Tim (January 17, 2019). "Andrew Yang wants to be president — and give you $1,000 a month". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ Handy, Nicholas (February 6, 2019). "Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang visits Peterborough". Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ a b Stolzoff, Simone (December 7, 2018). "Meet Andrew Yang, a 2020 US presidential hopeful running against the robots". Quartz. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- ^ "Expand Access to Medical Experts". Andrew Yang for President. 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Bort, Ryan (March 19, 2019). "2020 candidate Andrew Yang takes a stand against circumcision". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
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(help) - ^ Yang, Andrew (March 19, 2019). "Always up to the parents". Twiter. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
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(help) - ^ "Gun Safety". Andrew Yang for President. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ "Senator Hiram L. Fong". January 11, 2007.
- ^ "Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927–2002)". December 20, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2013.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Fernandez, Manny (June 24, 2015). "Bobby Jindal Enters Presidential Race, Saying 'It Is Time for a Doer'" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Yang, Andrew (March 7, 2019). "He Could Be the First Asian President of the United States". NextShark. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ Boyd, Dutch [@DutchBoyd] (June 25, 2018). "Forget Bernie. This guy. #yang2020 #IBelieve" (Tweet). Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Brikowski, Brian [@BrikHouseSki] (February 19, 2019). "@AndrewYangVFA thanks for the follow. @joerogan brought me here. I'm on board. #Yang2020" (Tweet). Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Bort, Ryan (March 15, 2019). "Have received confirmation from Nicolas Cage's manager that this happened and that Cage supports @AndrewYangVFA's candidacy" (Tweet). Retrieved March 19, 2019 – via Twitter. {{Cite tweet}}: Missing or empty |user= (help)
- ^ Yang, Andrew [@AndrewYangVFA] (January 3, 2019). "Thank you @RiversCuomo - you're a true visionary. Honored to have your support for my campaign. Look forward to seeing you on tour! 👍😀🇺🇸" (Tweet). Retrieved January 9, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Yang, Andrew [@AndrewYangVFA] (September 5, 2018). "Thanks @fabricegrinda the most successful angel investor in the world for supporting @AndrewYang2020 - Let's make the economy more human and unlock people's entrepreneurship and potential" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Lo, Teresa [@teresalo_tweets] (March 5, 2019). "2020 Democratic candidate Andrew Yang isn't getting enough attention but he should be. #AndrewYang2020" (Tweet). Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Navarro, Carlos [@ToTheTopCarlos] (February 17, 2019). "#YangGang @Scott_Maxwell - Scott—-> @AndrewYangVFA is the man! I would love to hear your thoughts on him. I really think he has the best platform I have heard for the new digital frontiers and revolutions we are facing" (Tweet). Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ Rose, David S. [@davidsrose] (February 10, 2018). "I've got my candidate for President in 2020. He's brilliant, entrepreneurial, accomplished, far-sighted, and—most important—of impeccable integrity. @andrewyang2020" (Tweet). Retrieved February 24, 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ Yang, Brian [@briflys] (February 10, 2018). "NOT FAKE NEWS: My friend and (way back) former colleague @andrewyang2020 is running for President. Crazy excited for him! #humanityfirst #yang2020" (Tweet). Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via Twitter.