Remember Andrew Yang? We barely do. Yang made a big splash in the 2020 Democrat primary as a fresh-faced Millennial who could unify the two factions of the Democrat Party and maybe even the nation. Once the Democrat Party divested themselves of such nonsense and anointed former VP Joe Biden as the nominee, Yang tried to parlay his unity politics into a run for New York Mayor but was once again rejected. In 2021, he left the Democrat Party, wrote a “Dear John” letter, and registered as an Independent.
My goal is to do as much as I can to advance our society. There are phenomenal public servants doing great work every day – but our system is stuck. It is stuck in part because polarization is getting worse than ever. Many of the people I know are doing all of the good they can – but their impact is constrained. Now that I’m not a member of one party or another, I feel like I can be even more honest about both the system and the people in it.
In 2022, Yang attempted to translate these noble aims and outsider momentum into “The Forward Party.” Yang was convinced that a combination of Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting was the key to reforming the two-party system. His third-party efforts made a big splash but ultimately went nowhere. With the demand for a greater focus on election integrity and the horrible results from Ranked Choice Voting in places like Alaska, Maine, and New York, that concept, as well as open primaries, has been receiving greater pushback and has fallen out of favor. To put a finer point on it, so has Yang. Just like the “No Labels” party, Yang’s unified goals, common ground schtick is of little interest to the American people. They want leaders who will actually uphold the Constitution and civil liberties, who will focus on all Americans and not just special interest groups, and they want their leaders to actually lead, not seek consensus.
But like every wannabe, also-ran, and hanger-on who has been surrounding Democrat Party politics, it has not stopped him from weighing in on whether Joe Biden should step down, as my colleague Levon Satamian wrote about on Thursday. Satamian included an X post from Yang that read, “You know if there had been Democratic primary debates we might have figured this out 6 months ago. #swapJoeout” Kind of an odd take, since a Democrat primary did nothing to keep them from anointing Biden as the nominee in 2020. His post received the appropriate ratio, this one doing a good job of unmasking Yang’s real motives.
Bingo. But not just struggling for relevance, struggling to get back on the inside track of the Democrat Party. If that post didn’t confirm his obsequiousness, another post Yang made hours later confirmed the dark stain on his nose.
If Joe Biden does step aside he would immediately go down as one of the greatest Presidents of all time – and his legacy would be one of personal triumph and nobility. #swapJoeout
First thought: What is he smoking and where can it be purchased? The Wall Street Silver account beat us to it.
Other commenters were far less vague. WARNING: The imagery is a tad graphic.
Yang trying to play both ends against the middle was also not lost on the X-verse. If the Democrat Party Yang left is so broken, then how can the head of the party, who is too incapacitated to get through a debate, ever be considered a great leader? Make it make sense.
And then there are the shattered illusions. Their populist idol has been found to have feet of clay.
If it means that Yang can get a seat at the table under the new Democrat regime, with or without Biden, then he’ll say whatever he needs to. It’s clear he was promised something and is just one of the many barbarians at the gate in this bloodless coup. Unsurprising, but sad nonetheless.
