I spoke at the DNC four years ago (it was virtual because of COVID so I beamed my remarks from a studio in Manhattan). Two years later, I left the Democratic Party; I’d come to believe that the two-party system could not meaningfully address the problems of our time. To fix the problem, I co-founded the Forward party, a much needed third American political party, so I was obviously not invited to speak in Chicago. But if I had been invited to give a DNC speech, it would have started like this: My name is Andrew Yang, and I’m here to make the case that you should vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the fall.
Why? Those of you attending the DNC probably already have a sense of why. 57 percent of Democrats think the country is on the right track, and yet, they are in the minority. Among Independents—about half of voters—only 17 percent agree, and for Republicans, it’s a tiny 7.7 percent. Only 18 percent of Americans total are satisfied with how things are going in the United States according to Gallup.
That’s the real struggle: Most Americans don’t think things are going well. They feel anxious about their family’s future. Time does not feel like it’s on their side, so they naturally want a change at the top. This is particularly true for Americans who don’t have a college degree—and it’s they who will decide who the next president is.
This election will not be determined by you and me; it will be determined by the welder in Wisconsin, the waitress in Michigan, the blackjack dealer in Nevada. These are folks who voted for Obama, then Trump, then Biden, and are now unhappy but unsure what to do next. They will be among the 50,000 to 100,000 independent voters in the swing states who choose the next President.
So the question is, what do these voters or potential voters want to see in November?
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They want their lives to be a little bit easier. They want some breathing room—not sticker shock—when they head to the grocery store to pick up food for their families. They want to feel like maybe tomorrow will be better than today. But they’ve been burnt. They are skeptical that their votes will matter. Many of them naturally mistrust both the government and Democrats. They dislike anyone who seems to be telling them what to do, how to think, or how to feel.
I know this firsthand. When I ran for President four years ago, 42 percent of my supporters were not Democrats. One of them was asked by a Fox News anchor, “Why Yang?”
“He does not seem to be judging me,” she said.
That’s how Harris and Walz can begin the process of wooing these voters: Start with no judgment. Let’s not pretend or tell voters how they should feel. They know their circumstances best.
As for the voters, here’s my argument for why they should choose Kamala Harris over Donald Trump:
First, if you think things are getting worse not better in your life and in your families’ lives, you’re probably right. The American way of life has been deteriorating in terms of the affordability of housing, health care, a college education, and childcare for a generation or more. And both parties share responsibility for that.
So let’s stipulate that things are indeed getting worse. What are you going to do? It’s tempting to side with Donald Trump, because he seems like a change from the status quo, and you might remember the economy of four years ago fondly. The problem is, he’s the wrong guy.
Trump is out for himself. He’s a bad leader. He’s not going to improve your family’s circumstances. The vast majority of the people who worked for him four years ago are against him today. Think of the worst boss you’ve ever had, the person who no one wanted to work for, who churned through employees left and right. That’s Donald Trump. Now he’s 78, with his best days behind him, and he’s more impulsive than ever. For any good idea he has, he’ll have five bad ones, and some of them will actually do harm.
Not sold on Kamala Harris? That’s all right. You don’t have to be. It’s not about her; it’s about you and your family. I believe under a Harris administration, the federal government will do a few things that will actually lighten your load.
Remember in 2021 when you were getting some extra money for your kids? That will come back. The Democrats also seem ready to tackle medical debt, which they should have done in the first place, and people will have more freedom to make their own medical decisions. More of the drugs you use will become a little bit more affordable, and you might get more paid time off from work if you have a child. And in some parts of the country, there may be a construction project or highway getting built.
Some of what Kamala Harris and the Democrats are talking about won’t happen, of course. But I believe a few of the costs that are pinning you down and choking you will lighten and you will breathe a tiny bit easier if Harris wins.
Will it reverse the decay of the past number of decades? No it won’t. Will some of the people involved be irritating and sanctimonious? Yes. Will you occasionally roll your eyes at the condescension and posturing? Sure. Will it remedy the bureaucracy and dysfunction that make us fear for the future? No.
But is it the right choice in this election? Yes, it is.
Trump is the guy who will make you feel better for a minute but lead you to regret it later. He’s like junk food: You don’t want that for four years every day. He’s driven by grievance. He has the wrong character and motivation.
Supporting Kamala will be, in my view, the better vote for your family’s prospects for a brighter, or a slightly less forbidding future. Kamala Harris is the vote to live to fight another day. There’s always tomorrow. Let’s keep the country intact and capable of improvement. That’s the way I’ll be voting and I hope you do too.
Andrew Yang is a businessman, lawyer, philanthropist, and former candidate for president of the United States. In July 2022, Yang, alongside Democrats, Republicans and Independents, launched the new Forward Party to give Americans more choice in our democracy.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.