I am following the US Democratic Debates largely because of one man: Andrew Yang. This is a man who has gotten a significant following on the internet, among young voters, Asian Americans and other minorities, as well as perhaps Asians in Asia (myself, in Singapore, at least). His big platform is the $1,000 monthly freedom dividend income for ALL Americans 18 years and above, by taxing wealthy corporations.
While his story has made the rounds on mainstream media, the Dem Debate was Mr Yang’s 1st real opportunity to launched himself onto the national stage. But that didn’t exactly happened on 28 June. The guy was asked just 2 questions and only spoke around 2 – 3 mins or so. NBC has been criticised online for giving Andrew so little time. Basically, he was sorta marginalised by the moderators. Here’s ALL that Yang said on national TV:
It was disappointing to say the least. I scoured the web looking for Yang’s appearance at the Dem Debate, and learned very quickly about his feedback that his microphone was allegedly muted at various points. That meant that he couldn’t jump in on certain debate topics. That allegation aside, the moderators really should have really just posed a couple more questions to the first Taiwanese American man running for US president.
Unfortunately, the mantle for first Asian American running for US president has been lost to Hiram Fong and Bobby Jindal. Well, he could be the first Asian man to BE President of the United States. That would be neat. Novelty aside, Andrew has build up a repository of great policy ideas that would propel America forward.
Other interesting candidates are South Bend mayor, Pete Buttigieg, and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The full 2nd night debates, for your viewing pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX7hni-zGD8
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