Andrew Yang is just a long shot — for now
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Version 0 of 1. There comes a moment in every long-shot presidential campaign when the only remaining roadblock is disbelief. Victory is impossible because people tell themselves it’s impossible. If that barrier melts away — if, say, an African American with a short résumé beats a former first lady and his party’s previous nominee for vice president in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, or a reality TV star laps the GOP field in the 2016 New Hampshire primary — the long shot is transformed overnight into a force. It’s purely a matter of getting that first group of voters to take the leap. That moment has arrived for the most interesting candidate of 2019, Democratic dark horse Andrew Yang. Having started the year as a head-scratcher (Andrew Who? and Wha? and Why?), the 44-year-old lawyer-entrepreneur is one of seven candidates still clearing all of the necessary hurdles to appear in debates as the primary voting draws near. Neither an elected official nor a billionaire, the brainiac son of two immigrants from Taiwan has outlasted Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California, raised more money in the third quarter of this year than Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and matched Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota in the polls. Yang’s approach is, sadly, novel. He’s talking calmly and rationally about issues critical to the United States’ future. He does it with an affect that is strangely compelling, a lack of charisma so bone-deep that there’s something sort of charismatic about it. If he’s a Trekkie, I’d venture a bet his favorite character is Mr. Spock. Though he speaks far less during debates than the leading candidates, and at a much lower decibel level, Yang is responsible for the lion’s share of fresh insights. While others are talking about reviving labor-intensive manufacturing and labor unions, Yang understands that technology and artificial intelligence are chewing up jobs at an exponentially accelerating pace. His proposed response — a $1,000-per-month universal basic income for every household — may not prove to be the best answer. I don’t know. But it shows that he’s asking exactly the right question: How do we make the automated future serve human dignity, rather than debase it? Likewise, Yang’s idea for campaign finance reform suggests a sophisticated knowledge of Supreme Court precedent. While most candidates parrot a simplistic line about “overturning Citizens United” to strip influence from big political donors, Yang proposes a solution that would give more clout to individuals without violating the First Amendment. Each voter would have access to $100 per year to make donations to campaigns. “Fewer than 5 percent of Americans donate to political campaigns,” Yang observed during the most recent Democratic debate. “You know what you need to donate to political campaigns? Disposable income.” A generation ago, I would have said that Yang lacks the experience to run for president, but that bar has been obliterated. Precociously bright, he attended a venerable New England prep school, where he became a champion debater, then earned degrees from Brown and Columbia. A brief stint at a large white-shoe law firm was all it took to convince him that he should be his own boss. Whether he was always a good boss is in dispute: In September, a former employee said that Yang discriminated against her because he thought she would work less after marriage. Yang has denied the charge. After selling a test-prep company of which he was chief executive to industry giant Kaplan Inc. in 2009, Yang helped to create Venture for America, a nonprofit fellowship program that encourages top university graduates to start businesses in midsize U.S. cities. Those are the places hard hit by technology and globalization, and Yang thinks the best way to revitalize them is through entrepreneurship and innovation, not trade wars and xenophobia. This firsthand experience of the United States as it exists between Silicon Valley and Brooklyn Heights has given Yang important insights into the rise of Donald Trump — and his electoral vulnerabilities. In his best debate moment, he shared these insights. One by one, the other candidates rehashed tired talking points on the subject of impeachment. Yang spoke last. “We have to stop being obsessed over impeachment, which, unfortunately, strikes many Americans like a ball game where you know what the score is going to be, and actually start digging in and solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place,” he said. Obsession with Russian interference and other foreign meddling is sending the wrong signal to heartland voters. “The more we act like Donald Trump is the cause of all our problems, the more Americans lose trust that we can actually see what’s going on in our communities and solve those problems.” Yang raised $10 million in the third quarter. He’s a darling of the political Internet, a podcast virtuoso. In one recent poll, he was the strongest candidate against Trump among college students — thanks to his popularity with independents and even Republicans. A long shot? For sure. At least for now. Read more from David Von Drehle’s archive. Read more: Greg Sargent: Andrew Yang’s bad debate answer on impeachment Jason Rezaian: A foreign policy discussion with presidential candidate Andrew Yang Jennifer Rubin: As the field shrinks, keep an eye on the moderates Helaine Olen: Andrew Yang’s TED Talk version of politics David Byler: Don’t get too excited about Democrats’ fundraising hauls — unless you’re Andrew Yang Paul Waldman: What Buttigieg and Warren are really fighting about The Ranking Committee: The progressive alternative to Biden might not be who you think anymore |