Good luck, Andrew Yang!
We are in the midst of the 2020 American Presidential race, and the Democratic Primaries are nearing their crescendo. While the news outlets may have their gaze on the lead candidates such as Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden, yours truly - this young Asian-American, was drawn to the dark horse in the group - Andrew Yang.
Not only was it refreshing to see an Asian American running, but for someone like Andrew Yang, who has had little experience in the world of politics, to gain so much traction and support in a strictly grassroots campaign - was absolutely spectacular. Moreover, I believe that it demonstrated the political presence of Asian Americans - unsurprisingly the largest ethnic group that supported Yang. His campaign centered around policy rather than attacking others, something that this author appreciated. Clearly, I wasn’t alone. Yang’s numerous slogans, “Humanity First”, “M.A.T.H (Make America Think Harder)” and “Not Left, Not Right, Forward” quickly caught on across the nation, especially through online media. So much so that the NY Times hailed him as “The Internet’s Favorite Candidate”.
While Yang’s policies may not have been enough to garner the support required to keep him in the race, it does leave me wondering if either Sanders or Biden will adopt any of them. It’s clear that the Yang Gang showed enormous support towards Andrew, and adoption of one of Yang’s hallmark policies like the UBI could be enough to earn that endorsement from Yang.
One key point of curiosity I have right now is to see who Yang endorses. Bernie Sanders, a “democratic socialist” may have a substantially easier time adopting Yang’s viewpoints for there exists quite a bit of middle ground between the two. However, Yang has also been quoted saying how the democratic party must unite if they are to deliver a substantial challenge to President Trump. Given that Biden is currently leading, a Yang endorsement may be the final push he needs to bag the nomination and to unify the entire democratic party. Regardless of who he chooses, I’m positive that Yang will be doing so in hopes to make America a better nation.
As per his future, I hope he continues to run. The Yang Gang has been quoted to not be leaving the political sphere that quickly, as their eyes are already on future political campaigns. Perhaps it is a Representative Seat in NY, or maybe the NYC mayoral position itself. Whatever it is, I do hope that Andrew Yang continues to run. Asian-Americans need more representation in the world of US politics, and I believe that Yang can start leading the charge and be a catalyst for change for all Hyphenated Americans across our nation.