Andrew Yang is Ross Perot for millennials

Yang's maverick populist wonkery is just what the Democrats need

Andrew Yang and Ross Perot.
(Image credit: Illustrated | JOSHUA LOTT/AFP/Getty Images, AP Photo, undefined/iStock)

You know how sometimes you come across something that you never thought would exist only to realize you've been dreaming of it for years without knowing it, like the amazing country album The Supremes cut in 1965? This is how I felt when I discovered the Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, a.k.a. Ross Perot for millennials. It had never occurred to me that what the Democratic presidential race needed in 2020 was a soft reboot of the Texan businessman's maverick populist wonkery, but now that I know it exists I'm absolutely delighted.

Most of the 2020 Democrats have websites full of donation buttons and windy nonsense about hope and unity. You would have to go a long way to discover what, if anything, most of them have to say about public policy. Not Yang. His is the most detailed platform I have ever seen from any candidate in a primary election. It is also far and away the most interesting.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.