Double that demogrant

The proposed “demogrant” on offer in George McGovern’s ill-fated presidential campaign of 1972 was set at $1,000 per year. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $6,000 in current dollars. Now Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang proposes to raise McGovern’s demogrant to $1,000 per month.

McGovern is not exactly the yin to Andrew Yang. They are on the same wavelength and the memory is making me feel young and foolish all over again. Ed Kilgore recalled the history of McGovern’s demogrant proposal this past May to provide the context for Yang’s proposal. Even I can see that Yang seeks to double that demogrant.

McGovern also proposed to slash defense spending across the board 37 percent over three years. The proposal neatly fit the GOP characterization of McGovern’s campaign as big on “acid, amnesty, and abortion.” That seems to be the direction in which we are moving ever further.

“Come home, America” was the theme of McGovern’s campaign. It harked back to the isolationism of the 1930’s, but it captures the national mood better today than it did then.

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