I’m sure that title probably gets bandied about quite often… in any event…

I imagine like most people I tend to look askance at the field of democratic nominees… what are we up to now, 24? And up until now I’ve really been loathed to unpack this particular clown-car… because… well… I think the majority of the world is feeling quite fatigued about politics (and probably about our fellow humans as well) at the moment. Certainly my tolerance feels like its at an all time low. And being quite a hardcore centrist I tend to treat those that shun the light that emanates from the warm, gooey center of the universe with a bit of… contempt is likely too strong a word… whatever the milder form of that is… I mean I’m sure the feeling is mutual.

Having said that… and the Realpolitik being what it is, someone has to step into the ring with the incumbent leviathan (of whom I am not a fan) and bring balance back to the force. So is there anyone I could, in this stew of weirdos, potentially support… I mean they can’t all be incredibly shit…

So the first thing I have to admit is that… I’ve been a little unkind lumping them all together and coloring them all (not always between the lines) with the same blue brush. Still, the ones that I find the most loathsome seem to (according to the polls) be the most popular. The career politicians (that have never had a real job or ever created anything) are right near the top of that list. The only action these people could take that would endear them to me would be ritualistic suicide. I jest. Also once you’ve attained a certain level in politics, you likely struggle under the weight of your own hubris, falling on ones sword for the greater good would never even occur to you.

Enter stage… eh… left. Andrew Yang. Who I actually kinda like.

My libertarian tendencies tend to make me very suspicious of Universal Basic Income. Let me start there, because… well… we have to start somewhere. Andrew has obviously given this a lot of thought, and his rationale is actually very considered and logical. On the face of it, as much as I’ve considered UBI… I’m inclined to believe its a solid theory. But… I also believe that the human condition and gutter-politics would weaponize UBI in a heartbeat. It would quickly become a wicked instrument that would be wielded like a scythe by any politician, and that the candidate promising to give the proletariat the most money in their bank account every month, wins. And that… freaks me out, because once you open that Pandora’s box you can’t just snap the lid closed again. On the flip side, the machines are coming… and Andrew seems to be one of the few on the left that can empathize with a middle class that is under very real threat of being made redundant. UBI… I mean I get that it works in Alaska… *exhales through pursed lips* I actually don’t know. I’m not willing to dismiss it outright anymore as pure socialism though and I think it needs to be discussed.

Moving along from there,  Andrew is also a smart as fuck. Well spoken. And surprisingly likable. (trust me when I say I’m quite difficult to please) Which I can’t say for many of the other nominees. Also he was also a D&D nerd at school, which makes me quite cheerful (if only because I can see him rolling a d20 for foreign policy drone strikes on the Resolute desk). He was also an entrepreneur and on the face of it seems to have a solid work ethic. He is also not afraid to be interviewed by peeps and organisations that aren’t necessarily on his side of the political spectrum. So big props there!

Is he a good match-up for President Trump in the Octagon though? My gut feeling is no. I mean I’d like him to be. (to be fair there is value in being the complete antithesis of Donald Trump) Wait… maybe I’m jumping the gun here, first he has to defeat everyone in his own Democratic field. That in itself already feels like long odds. But he could potentially draw the moderates…  ergh. I dunno, the democrats feel so fractured and factionalized at the moment, seeing them being able to rally round a single candidate (that isn’t mad) is a difficult thing to visualize.

Anyways, I guess I just wanted to try do something small to market him a little bit and maybe underscore that there is at least some light in all that darkness. God, that sounds dramatic… let me rather go back to being apathetic. That way I can be grumpy and hate on anyone that wins. That feels like a better realm with in which to dwell…