The case for ranked-choice voting, open primaries, and third parties. Plus: Dave Chappelle, cryptocurrency, Critical Race Theory, the metaverse, Elon Musk, and more.
I have always had some concerns on what America might end up looking like should we move away from the 2 party system. Why one might ask? I have always felt that the current model more or less forces moderating influences into our government. We know that extremists exist in both parties (and outside them) but generally those voices don’t end up controlling the major parties. If we diced up the electorate into 10 different parties we could find ourselves seeing the more crazy elements win plurality elections which is something I desperately wish to avoid.
Miss Bari, I’m 68 with 50 yrs in the oilfield and a conservative Christian who admired what You did and believe You’re a “key spoke” in the wheel to get this country out a the ditch we’re in! My grandson’s future depends on it!
Mr. Yang states that parents were upset about schools being closed for so long because of the pandemic, and then claimed that it was for the benefit of teachers rather than students. How so? This was before the vaccine when schools were potentially major sources of outbreaks.And if American teachers unions are so “powerful,” why are American teachers the poorest paid in the developed world?
Re AY's comment that "but there is much more that holds us together and that we have in common than separates us" - this is a canard and more than a bit pollyannaish. Oh were it so. The Left dominates the Democratic party and the Left has nothing in common with conservatives or liberals. Secondly, it's a mystery why folks like AY believe someone like Mark Cuban would make a good Presidential candidate based almost entirely on his business acumen, which I readily admit is formidable. Wisdom and business acumen or intelligence have no correlation. Most importantly, Cuban supported Biden which in my estimation reflects a total lack of wisdom or common sense. But, I'm still glad you did the interview and posted it here. I may not agree with AY's views on some issues but it's heartening that different viewpoints have a forum here for expression. Thank you for that BW!
Yang's an interesting guy in the same way Pete Buttigieg is interesting. Which is to say it's not immediately obvious that Yang, like Mayor Pete, is a doofus. Mark Cuban for president? No thanks.
I support ranked choice voting. But primaries should still be closed. Political parties should be able to decide who they want to run (freedom of association).
Moreover, as we saw with Youngkin, ranked choice voting can still deliver moderate candidates within a closed primary.
Great interview. I enjoy his views very much. In particular how he isn't slamming one party or another. I think he's spot on about the monetary incentives of the media to keep the heat ratcheted up, polarization is good for business. Fear and hate sell... on both sides.
I especially agree with Andrew Yang's prescription of electoral reform. I'd like to see ranked choice and an end to gerrymandering. Ranked choice with open primaries would make compromise and consensus more likely. He hit it on the nail that fear and anger are what is motivating today's politicians. We're turning tribal and turning our backs on solutions to real problems we face in society. The tribalism is covering up the many things both the mainstream GOP and Dems agree upon.
Gerrymandering (which is an issue in Oregon) can be fairly easily dealt with by bi-partisan commissions. There are mathematical formulas that identify gerrymandering. It can be measured, and should be rejected.
Very interesting podcast with AY. Though I don’t agree with some of his positions; he hit the nail on the head as far as the source of the Cancer in our national dialogue. Partisan primaries only bring the most partisan candidates.
I’m sick and tired of seeing political pundits on TV talking about how a D veers way left in the primary and then moves to the center for the General; or how an R will come to their district and pose with guns and talk Conservative then vote differently on the floor of Congress. It’s all fake. Yangs idea may help real candidates rise to the top.
Term limits have been tried (see CA). They made things worse. Hard to believe but true. It just makes the political party more powerful as people switch elected positions.
UBI, what a disaster. I work in Alaska. In Alaska the incentive to not work, to not reach even a minimal level of education is far too strong; when money is given out freely. Many adults are illiterate. Why go to school if the trust fund and the corporation (village income) is going to give you all you need.
Better have a plan B when you arrive at the airport, many times taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, and hotel shuttles are unavailable. My boss arrived one night when it was -40F, with no drivers, he ended up waving a twenty on the curb until a soldier gave him a lift 3 miles to his hotel. Sober people who want to work are lacking in Alaska. One driver told me the school district has to fly sober bus drivers up from the lower 48 because local drivers are unavailable. A parent told me school bus service is every other week. Parents are paid to drive their children to school on the off week. We hired a school bus mechanic who was let go—apparently—you don't change the oil in school busses that aren't driven.
In Alaska, the clerk at Home Depot didn't push a credit card application on me, he pushed an employment application on me.
Our project ran with 3/4 of the planned crew size because we couldn't find workers ... despite that many prime employment age men are standing in the center divide of the expressway begging. We have equipment sitting idle, and one contractor failed to show because workers can't be found. Several new hires quit in the first week. We sent half a dozen home for sobriety problems.
I think a lot of people, especially on the right, that is establishment Republicans, don’t realize that Donald Trump actually did create a third party. He bulldozered right over the old line Republican party, which did not support him until very late in the election season, and then only reluctantly. It’s not clear whether Trump’s movement will continue if he decides to quit playing, but he has changed party politics forever.
Arguably, Barack Obama changed the Democrat party as well. He introduced a radical left orientation to what had been a big tent, working class oriented party. A new generation followed him into politics that is more interested in radical transformations such as in energy, social reprogramming, anti-racism, etc. Indeed, their priorities have little in common with the working class people of America. He effectively handed the Democrat party to a rich, elitist cabal that is interested in change at any cost. They sneer at the Constitution and freedom.
Where does Yang fit into this picture? He’s an elitist who wants to impose all kinds of so-called reforms on the people. Among other things, he wants to ban beef. You’re not going to ban beef without some kind of authoritarian heavy-handedness. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I wish we could just get rid of politicians, especially those who want to transform our society for us, and just make government smaller and get out of the way so that we can do what we ought to be doing, which is building a great economy, innovative technologies and products. To get rich is glorious.
"You have this group of actors who benefit from the polarization. From making us angry, agitated, depressed and inflamed. So when you start realizing that's what the system rewards and that the rewards have nothing to do with policy or governance, then you start to understand why we feel the way we do."
I am happy to have subscribed and even more satisfied with the podcast. I just want to thank you for your time, effort, and honest reporting.
I have always had some concerns on what America might end up looking like should we move away from the 2 party system. Why one might ask? I have always felt that the current model more or less forces moderating influences into our government. We know that extremists exist in both parties (and outside them) but generally those voices don’t end up controlling the major parties. If we diced up the electorate into 10 different parties we could find ourselves seeing the more crazy elements win plurality elections which is something I desperately wish to avoid.
Miss Bari, I’m 68 with 50 yrs in the oilfield and a conservative Christian who admired what You did and believe You’re a “key spoke” in the wheel to get this country out a the ditch we’re in! My grandson’s future depends on it!
Mr. Yang states that parents were upset about schools being closed for so long because of the pandemic, and then claimed that it was for the benefit of teachers rather than students. How so? This was before the vaccine when schools were potentially major sources of outbreaks.And if American teachers unions are so “powerful,” why are American teachers the poorest paid in the developed world?
Re AY's comment that "but there is much more that holds us together and that we have in common than separates us" - this is a canard and more than a bit pollyannaish. Oh were it so. The Left dominates the Democratic party and the Left has nothing in common with conservatives or liberals. Secondly, it's a mystery why folks like AY believe someone like Mark Cuban would make a good Presidential candidate based almost entirely on his business acumen, which I readily admit is formidable. Wisdom and business acumen or intelligence have no correlation. Most importantly, Cuban supported Biden which in my estimation reflects a total lack of wisdom or common sense. But, I'm still glad you did the interview and posted it here. I may not agree with AY's views on some issues but it's heartening that different viewpoints have a forum here for expression. Thank you for that BW!
Great interview. I think Andrew Yang is onto something and I wish him success.
Yang's an interesting guy in the same way Pete Buttigieg is interesting. Which is to say it's not immediately obvious that Yang, like Mayor Pete, is a doofus. Mark Cuban for president? No thanks.
This was very interesting.
I support ranked choice voting. But primaries should still be closed. Political parties should be able to decide who they want to run (freedom of association).
Moreover, as we saw with Youngkin, ranked choice voting can still deliver moderate candidates within a closed primary.
Great interview. I enjoy his views very much. In particular how he isn't slamming one party or another. I think he's spot on about the monetary incentives of the media to keep the heat ratcheted up, polarization is good for business. Fear and hate sell... on both sides.
I especially agree with Andrew Yang's prescription of electoral reform. I'd like to see ranked choice and an end to gerrymandering. Ranked choice with open primaries would make compromise and consensus more likely. He hit it on the nail that fear and anger are what is motivating today's politicians. We're turning tribal and turning our backs on solutions to real problems we face in society. The tribalism is covering up the many things both the mainstream GOP and Dems agree upon.
Gerrymandering (which is an issue in Oregon) can be fairly easily dealt with by bi-partisan commissions. There are mathematical formulas that identify gerrymandering. It can be measured, and should be rejected.
Very interesting podcast with AY. Though I don’t agree with some of his positions; he hit the nail on the head as far as the source of the Cancer in our national dialogue. Partisan primaries only bring the most partisan candidates.
I’m sick and tired of seeing political pundits on TV talking about how a D veers way left in the primary and then moves to the center for the General; or how an R will come to their district and pose with guns and talk Conservative then vote differently on the floor of Congress. It’s all fake. Yangs idea may help real candidates rise to the top.
The key to reform is term limits, what does AY think about it?
Term limits have been tried (see CA). They made things worse. Hard to believe but true. It just makes the political party more powerful as people switch elected positions.
I don't agree with most of Andrew Yang's proposals but I would vote for him in a second just for his qualities as a rational and optimistic person.
UBI, what a disaster. I work in Alaska. In Alaska the incentive to not work, to not reach even a minimal level of education is far too strong; when money is given out freely. Many adults are illiterate. Why go to school if the trust fund and the corporation (village income) is going to give you all you need.
Better have a plan B when you arrive at the airport, many times taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, and hotel shuttles are unavailable. My boss arrived one night when it was -40F, with no drivers, he ended up waving a twenty on the curb until a soldier gave him a lift 3 miles to his hotel. Sober people who want to work are lacking in Alaska. One driver told me the school district has to fly sober bus drivers up from the lower 48 because local drivers are unavailable. A parent told me school bus service is every other week. Parents are paid to drive their children to school on the off week. We hired a school bus mechanic who was let go—apparently—you don't change the oil in school busses that aren't driven.
In Alaska, the clerk at Home Depot didn't push a credit card application on me, he pushed an employment application on me.
Our project ran with 3/4 of the planned crew size because we couldn't find workers ... despite that many prime employment age men are standing in the center divide of the expressway begging. We have equipment sitting idle, and one contractor failed to show because workers can't be found. Several new hires quit in the first week. We sent half a dozen home for sobriety problems.
I think a lot of people, especially on the right, that is establishment Republicans, don’t realize that Donald Trump actually did create a third party. He bulldozered right over the old line Republican party, which did not support him until very late in the election season, and then only reluctantly. It’s not clear whether Trump’s movement will continue if he decides to quit playing, but he has changed party politics forever.
Arguably, Barack Obama changed the Democrat party as well. He introduced a radical left orientation to what had been a big tent, working class oriented party. A new generation followed him into politics that is more interested in radical transformations such as in energy, social reprogramming, anti-racism, etc. Indeed, their priorities have little in common with the working class people of America. He effectively handed the Democrat party to a rich, elitist cabal that is interested in change at any cost. They sneer at the Constitution and freedom.
Where does Yang fit into this picture? He’s an elitist who wants to impose all kinds of so-called reforms on the people. Among other things, he wants to ban beef. You’re not going to ban beef without some kind of authoritarian heavy-handedness. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I wish we could just get rid of politicians, especially those who want to transform our society for us, and just make government smaller and get out of the way so that we can do what we ought to be doing, which is building a great economy, innovative technologies and products. To get rich is glorious.
"You have this group of actors who benefit from the polarization. From making us angry, agitated, depressed and inflamed. So when you start realizing that's what the system rewards and that the rewards have nothing to do with policy or governance, then you start to understand why we feel the way we do."
Bingo, Andy.