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I'm not interested in comparing Bernie's policies vs. Yang's. I highlighted Yang's tweet specifically because it singles out the suffering of rural whites by na

by _iyig 7y ago

I'm not interested in comparing Bernie's policies vs. Yang's. I highlighted Yang's tweet specifically because it singles out the suffering of rural whites by name. In a U.S. presidential election, I think perception is at least as important as policy. Most Americans aren't policy wonks, and they don't scrutinize all aspect of a candidate's platform. They simply choose the candidate who they feel will best represent their interests. When one candidate addresses them and their suffering by name but the other one doesn't (or even minimizes it, a la Bernie 2016), that second candidate's a tougher sell.

claudeganon 7y ago
“The Vermont senator is the top recipient among farmers, servers, social workers, retail workers, photographers, construction workers, truckers, nurses and drivers, among several other groups. Each of those professions — which don’t typically provide much campaign cash — earn near or below the median income, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.“ https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/09/sanders-vs-warren-who-has-more-working-class-donors/ https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/09/sanders-vs-warren-w... I’ll just restate that all of this pointing at Yang’s Twitter account is nonsense.
- _iyig 7y ago
  I don't disagree with you about Bernie's fantastic support in the heartland. I think it stems from the strengths (EDIT: and consistency!) of his policies, despite the lack of attention paid by name to the largest American ethnic group. For the other candidates with weaker policies, or less name recognition, I think my point is even more important. Intersectional politics have put race at the top of everyone's mind. When a candidate mentions every race by name but yours, and when yours is facing the steepest decline in life expectancy of nearly all of them (I haven't checked, but I assume life's worse as always for American Indians), folks tend to notice.

by _iyig 7y ago

claudeganon 7y ago

“The Vermont senator is the top recipient among farmers, servers, social workers, retail workers, photographers, construction workers, truckers, nurses and drivers, among several other groups. Each of those professions — which don’t typically provide much campaign cash — earn near or below the median income, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.“ https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/09/sanders-vs-warren-who-has-more-working-class-donors/ https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/09/sanders-vs-warren-w... I’ll just restate that all of this pointing at Yang’s Twitter account is nonsense.

_iyig 7y ago
I don't disagree with you about Bernie's fantastic support in the heartland. I think it stems from the strengths (EDIT: and consistency!) of his policies, despite the lack of attention paid by name to the largest American ethnic group. For the other candidates with weaker policies, or less name recognition, I think my point is even more important. Intersectional politics have put race at the top of everyone's mind. When a candidate mentions every race by name but yours, and when yours is facing the steepest decline in life expectancy of nearly all of them (I haven't checked, but I assume life's worse as always for American Indians), folks tend to notice.