Swimming in Blue
At this moment, there are twelve candidates vying for the favor of the democratic partyand the future nominee of the party. The focal point of their campaigns is to distinguish themselves from Donald Trump and members of the party are looking at who can actually beat the president. Candidates Mayor Pete Buttigieg and entrepreneur Andrew Yang are two of those people are attempting to gain the favor of the public.
Pete Buttigieg is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana an Afghanistan war veteran and an openly gay man to be specific the firstly openly gay man to run for office from a major political party. The main page of Buttigieg website displays the slogan “It’s time for a new generation of American leadership” fitting in with labeling himself a millennial mayor. The only way to gage any personal characteristics is the meet Pete page consisting of a mere 10 sentences. The page gives the cliff notes of the cliff notes on the life of Pete Buttigieg briefly stating his service in the army reserves as a lieutenant, a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, Harvard Alumna and the owner of two rescue dogs. Buttigieg only reference to policy is his work in South Bend and its transformation with major investment in “advanced industries with a focus on data and technology.” Mayor Buttigieg uses a person to person approach in his governing style. The only information on his policy and views are coming from town halls moderated by journalists or media personalities.
Andrew Yang takes a completely different route in the content and construction of his website. Unlike Buttigieg Yang’s website focuses on his policy and does not leave one stoneunturned. Whether it is paid family leave, controlling the cost of education or even the ever irritating robo-calls that are attacking our phone lines, Yang has been thorough on every topic one could think of. Yang provides a plan to tackle each and every issue if he is to win the presidency. The main initiative Yang has become known for is Universal Basic Income which he has an entire page dedicated too with references and experiments where UBI has be done. The website also uses images of the elderly, African-Americans and Latinos which would likely be his constituency.
The media coverage of Buttigieg is what allows for the ability for his campaign website to be barren of any specific information on him or regard to his policy. Whenever a candidate is able to gain traction in the media for their personal style, the media usually comes forward and takes the reigns in their campaign effort. This allows for candidates whose identity plays a large part in their appeal to the public dominate the news cycle and run the narrative for them. The term “Identity Politics” has become a dirty word in a way as candidates who are part of marginalized groups attempt to stay away from in order to appeal to a wider demographic.
This is a turn from usual practices during the democratic party as candidates unusual attempt to appeal to a key base which will provide a steady start and will help establish and eventually catapulted them to the main stage. The Mayor of South Bend who prides himself on being a candidate who was able to have a political career in a deep red state, wants to reach across the aisle to Trump supporters and hopes to build a bridge with Chick Fil- A because although he doesn’t support their politics of donating to LGBTQ groups but loves their chicken. Andrew Yang the entrepreneur from New York City who guest starred on a podcast that Alex Jones calls a second home to developing a following from white nationalists on 4chan yet finds it laughable that they would support an Asian man. The media documents this and serves as a departure from normal democratic party practices.