Opinion by: Saagar Enjeti
I’ve said on this show before that I think Bernie Sanders has already won the Democratic nomination and I mean that because so much of the current debate around Medicare for All, around health care — the signature issue within the Democratic primary — is really whether you agree with Bernie Sanders, whether you have a different version than Bernie Sanders or whether you don’t agree with Bernie Sanders.
Last night to me, it seems like Andrew Yang was the major winner of the debate. He has moved the Overton window more than any other candidate in this race, taking an issue which nobody was talking about to the forefront of that stage.
Moving the Overton window to literally debate UBI — Universal Basic Income — versus a a federal jobs guarantee is not something that anybody even two months would have predicted for the Democratic stage. It is an extraordinary remarkable achievement.
Bernie Sanders to his credit has at least been in office for 40 years, pushing these ideas. Andrew Yang a couple of years ago was one of those weird guys at a UBI conference and now he’s brought it forefront of American politics. That shows that there is actually a new model for politics in this country and I’m actually extraordinary excited about it. That the democratization of information that the internet, that the allowance of somebody like Andrew Yang can seize upon an issue that people actually care about — the job loss in this country.
I actually don’t even particularly agree with him on the issue of whether it’s automation or trade policy. However, everyone can look around and now that your malls are closing, that there are kiosks. They can feel like melees and the depression that aches within so much of the middle and working class within our country.
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