Hey Yang Gang!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and some well-needed rest. We’re mixing things up over here so let us know what you think by simply replying to this email with any comment or feedback – good or bad.
Weekly Recap
In the Twitterverse, Andrew Yang ruined his chances at becoming President because of whipped cream and the Yang Gang got itself all hot and bothered (myself included) over comments from an MSNBC political contributor.
In the offline world, the Yang Gang made a huge splash in Dallas and Andrew Yang made his case in Chicago with Obama’s former Chief Strategist.
Kamala Harris dropped out of the race. Did you know they were called “KHive”? I had no idea, but I may be in a bubble. According to Krystal Ball, who predicted Harris’s collapse the day before she officially dropped out, Warren is plummeting in the polls and Pete is going nowhere.
Finally, if you’re worried about the December debates and how we’re doing in the polls – don’t. Because the boss isn’t stressing about it. TV ads take at least three weeks to show up in the polls. The power of the Yang Gang is cumulative and there are plans for Andrew to meet Obama next year.
Twitter Theory
It’s often said Twitter doesn’t matter and what really counts is knocking on doors, making calls, and talking to people. While real life interactions are absolutely vital, Twitter has become center stage for public perception whether we like it or not. If you’re interested in an unqualified political theory about Twitter, read on:
Thesis: a weak Twitter game will never beat Trump.
Being good at the internet wins elections – Obama and Trump were both better at the internet than their competitors. Bernie and his supporters were much better at the internet than Hilary, but there’s only so much that can be done when the entire system is rigged against you. Beto almost beat Cruz, but Cruz is no joke on Twitter either. AOC came out of nowhere to become a political superstar of the Democratic Party – she’s really good at Twitter.
Think about how modern events are reported on traditional media. It was not very long ago when we were on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea because of tweets like these:
A common criticism is most people are not on Twitter. This is true, but what happens on Twitter – especially in politics – is being reported to the world with increasing frequency. In today’s world, the mainstream media basically retweets on TV.
The Democrats will not beat Trump if they don’t pick a strong internet candidate – and the best internet candidate by a longshot is Andrew Yang. And Andrew Yang is mainly good at the internet because of the Yang Gang. Like Trump supporters, we are distributed and all working together independently toward a common goal.
This means we work for free to counteract misinformation, spread positive news and #HumanityFirst, convert the skeptical into believers, and organize ourselves around things that matter like raising $2 million in a week.
The internet is a team sport and the Yang Gang is the most committed and enthusiastic team in the game. It’s why everyone knows the Yang Gang, but not the KHive.
What we’re experiencing on Twitter is not unique in American history.
In 1859, Abraham Lincoln and Stephan Douglas held seven debates all throughout Illinois mostly debating the topic of slavery. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were one of the first debates to be widely disseminated by newspapers. Each newspaper had their own bias and would sometimes selectively edit transcripts based on who they supported (19th century fake news!). These debates were also nothing like what we see today. Moderators didn’t control the conversation. Each candidate was given an hour or half an hour to speak with minimal interruption, which gave the men more time to articulate opinions and respond to challenges.
The Twitter Theory states Twitter is where public opinion gets shaped. There is no way to declare winners on Twitter. There is no reason for either side to ever admit defeat or error. Instead, everyone is able to decide for themselves based on what they see and how they interact with people.
The modern equivalent of the Lincoln-Douglas debate is Twitter. Candidates are on a common platform. They can all present themselves in any manner they wish. Supporters and detractors will distort and interpret their words according to their own biases. And at the end of the day, the people decide.
The Democrats need to elect Yang because he’s the only candidate even aware of the game being played. He’s the only one who can beat Trump and his literal army of bots.
“The Point: Yang's candidacy is deeply unconventional. And therefore harder to cover or quantify. But as the current resident of the White House can attest, unorthodox candidacies can resonate in ways more traditional ones simply cannot.” -CNN’s Chris Cillizza
So don’t ever stop knocking on doors, making calls, and talking to people – we need every single vote we can get especially in those early states. Just remember when people say Andrew Yang is just an internet candidate, it’s a good thing.
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