What Do You Do When No One Takes You Seriously?

[Shrek]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/06/yang-williamson-democratic-debates/592285/

Yang, a first-time candidate known mostly for his proposal to give every American a universal basic income of $1,000 a month, is himself new to this whole running-for-president thing. When potential voters watch the first Democratic presidential primary debates next week, arrayed before them will be a former vice president, four U.S. senators, a former governor, a congressman, a mayor, and two people that, polls show, most Americans have never heard of: Yang and Marianne Williamson.

All together, the eight other politicians who will be onstage next Thursday night—to say nothing of the 10 more that will face off the night before—have about 150 years of experience as elected officials. Yang and Williamson have zero. Neither candidate has ever held public office at any level. Each is running the kind of against-the-odds, quixotic campaign that in years past would be easy to dismiss, laugh off, or just plain ignore. But Donald Trump is president, his seemingly out-of-nowhere 2016 victory having served as equal parts apocalypse and inspiration for left-leaning political novices across the country to shoot their shot. And the Democratic Party, four years after its campaign apparatus incited a grassroots revolt by appearing to anoint a favored front-runner as its nominee, is now welcoming all applicants with open arms.

[we can do it]

1. I wouldn't attempt something I'm so extremely underqualifed for in the first place.

Why should anyone take him or several others running seriously?

[Shrek]

3. It worked for Trump

You can find any number of assertions (from serious, respected people like Larry Sabato) who said that Trump had no chance, none, to even become the Republican nominee. And we all know how that worked out.

So I don't find it especially surprising that a lot of candidates are willing to risk a long-shot candidacy in the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. There's now precedent that it can work.

[MrsCoffee]

5. Donald Trump was a name everyone knew. He wasn't a nobody no one had heard of.

And I’m pretty sure the majority of the Republican Party was compromised by Russia. I don’t think Trump won anything fair and square.

Nobody knows Yang.

And I’m glad Seth didn’t make the debates. His going after Pelosi showed he has really poor judgement and he is feeling the pushback.

[we can do it]

7. +1

[Drunken Irishman]

9. Just because Trump 'won' doesn't change how unqualified he is...

If anything, we've seen what a disaster having an unqualified president leads to.

[MineralMan]

2. This is an interesting primary field.

Although several of the presidential primary candidates will not garner enough support to really have any chance at becoming the Democratic nominee, the nature of this year's race has made it possible for such candidates to get noticed to some degree.

I doubt very much that Yang and Williamson every really thought they had a chance, except for a chance to bring up issues and get them discussed. So, they're doing everyone a service by making proposals that genuinely deserve notice.

It's a good thing.

[ariadne0614]

6. +1 n/t

[Funtatlaguy]

4. Insult everyone on stage and give them nicknames? 😟😱🤔🤥🤓

[mtnsnake]

8. haha, good one!!

[PDittie]

10. Perhaps you could ask

Seth Moulton ...?