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Andrew Yang is a name absent from most cable networks\u2019 2020 discussions. However, the Democratic candidate and universal-income advocate has been steadily building an army of online supporters, including some unlikely names.<\/p>\n
Kicking off his campaign in earnest with an appearance on Joe Rogan\u2019s podcast last month, Yang has since accumulated 65,000 donors, enough to participate in the Democratic National Committee\u2019s first two primary debates this summer.<\/p>\n
However, even with the sudden surge in interest, Yang is still polling<\/a> around one percent. CNN has excluded<\/a> Yang entirely from its opaque \u2018Power Rankings,\u2019 despite featuring Washington Governor Jay Inslee, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro – all of whom come in behind Yang in the Monmouth University poll.<\/p>\n Yang\u2019s signature proposal is the \u2018Freedom Dividend\u2019 – an experiment in Universal Basic Income that would see every adult American given $1,000 per month. The dividend would be funded by increased taxes on tech companies and is intended as both an economic stimulus and a safeguard against automation, poised to wipe out<\/a> 40 percent of the world\u2019s jobs by 2035, according to one expert.<\/p>\n The 44-year-old\u2019s anti-robot stance has given rise to his campaign\u2019s borderline-dystopian slogan: \u2018Humanity First.\u2019<\/p>\n “The fact you even have to state that shows you how distorted our values have become,\u201d<\/em> Yang told Rogan. However, rather than preventing automation, Yang says he\u2019s focused on coming up with solutions to lessen its economic impact on workers.<\/p>\n The rest of Yang\u2019s platform leans left, but draws a few ideas from the right. Among his scattershot proposals are universal healthcare, tougher gun control measures, body cameras for police officers, infrastructure investment, and protections for freedom of speech online – a conservative rallying cry.<\/p>\n For whatever reason, Yang\u2019s campaign struck a chord with the meme-slinging posters of 4chan, who have taken to calling themselves the #YangGang.<\/p>\n Yang’s crowds are getting bigger. Starting to see the same kind of energy we saw with Trump’s rallies in 2016. It’s happening. Bonus is that if you show up to Yang’s events you won’t get physically attacked or be disowned by so called “friends” #YangGang<\/a>#SecureTheBag<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/ZctKasPuEW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Brandon Adamson #YangGang (@brandonadamson) March 16, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Suddenly I am flooded with Andrew Yang memes I barely understand. <\/p>\n If 2020 is anything like 2016, this means he is our next president. #yangGang<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Lucas Lynch (@lucasjlynch) March 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Although Yang is in many respects a dyed-in-the wool liberal, some unusual names have come out as #YangGang members. Among them is avowed white nationalist Richard Spencer, who once supported Donald Trump but has since become one of the president\u2019s most scathing critics on the far right. Support for Yang among white nationalists can likely be traced back to a tweet<\/a> from the candidate last year, in which he vowed to curb the opioid crisis ravaging white America and tackle falling birth rates in poorer white states.<\/p>\n Yang has repudiated the support of the fringe right, denouncing \u201chatred, bigotry, racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism, and the alt-right in all its many forms.\u201d<\/em> That hasn\u2019t stopped the memes flowing, including one purportedly anti-Semitic image showing a smiling Yang redistributing Jewish money to a white supporter.<\/p>\n Some of the mainstream right have also been won over. Fox News Host Tucker Carlson interviewed<\/a> Yang earlier this month and agreed wholeheartedly with his \u2018Humanity First\u2019 message.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t heard anybody in our political conversation describe the threat (of automation) as clearly and compellingly as you,\u201d<\/em> Carlson said. \u201cI sit with my jaw open, I agree with you so strongly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Whether the support of ex-Trumpers and meme-makers will be enough for Yang to dispatch mainstream Democrats like Kamala Harris and the yet-unannounced Joe Biden remains to be seen. However, as the election of Trump proved in 2016, anything can happen when memes and politics intersect.<\/p>\n Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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