Mark Cuban 2024

Part 1 in “Election Coverage from a Former Republican”

I recognize that a privileged white male advocating for putting another privileged white male (a billionaire no-less) in the White House will come across as, at best, tone-deaf during this tumultuous period. But I encourage you to read this article in its entirety. Long-term progress hinges upon productivity at the political center, with policy creation that benefits the US population as a whole. Without this, the current outrage will go the way of Occupy Wall Street. Nothing will be accomplished, and all efforts will be in vain.

There are a number of marginalized groups in the United States, and it is evident that African-Americans have drawn the short stick since 1776. While progress has been made, recent events have highlighted that there is so much that still needs to be done for us to become a truly equal-opportunity nation. I firmly believe, however, that for anything meaningful to be accomplished coming out of this, we need to acknowledge another marginalized group at the opposite end of the spectrum. I’m not exactly sure what to call this group, but if you’ve read the Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance, you’ll know who I am talking about.

Jobs that once offered an American middle class across the Midwest and South have diminished at a significant clip over the past 20 years, with no infrastructure (i.e. education, new industry) to backfill and rebuild affected communities. A decade earlier these forgotten folk blamed outsourcing to China and now are faced with the threat of automation. What were once Democratic, union-driven, and prosperous states, have transitioned to Republican states with conservative values, and, with the help of the current administration, are now deeply red, anti-globalist, nationalistic states. And because these sentiments are not only accepted but represented in the White House, nationalism is enabling straight-up racism.

From a pure numbers standpoint, these communities represent a small portion of our total population-which makes it easy for us to push these communities to the side. Additionally, the severity of their issues (wage stagnation, loss of jobs) are much less than those of African-American communities. The problem is that the current design of the governmental system gives these deep Red Southern and Midwest states much more relative power in the Senate and electoral college than their population represents. If you don’t believe me, let me remind you of the last presidential election in which Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and was shellacked in the electoral college:

I firmly believe that a candidate that can energize the center on an independent ticket, running on a platform of free-market capitalism and social reform, can bring these entrenched states from deep Red to purple. Governmental representation at the center in the white-house and the Senate, working to implement meaningful economic policy to improve the deteriorating labor/middle-class in the “rust-belt” states, will in parallel enable meaningful social reform. I want to reiterate that the labor issues in these states should not be the priority, but they need to be prioritized in order to fix the current gridlocked mess of a government that is supposed to serve the entire population. In the near term this is not ideal, but the alternative is that once the novelty of the protests and outrage fades, so do the prospects of any meaningful reform to institutional racism.

In my previous article I alluded to the fact that the presidency is now a whipping post. It is. And it’s largely a result of the archaic process for policy creation. It worked 200 years ago when the country was small and united, but it patently doesn’t work now that the US is large and deeply divided by Red and Blue. Because of this regional division, and congressional leaders’ responsibility to represent their constituents (re-election is their highest priority), nothing gets done and no one can agree. And it doesn’t matter that the majority of the population falls somewhere in the center of the spectrum, media outlets lean heavily to opposite ends because that’s what drives ratings; your side is good and the other side is evil. The ones that are moderate don’t drive ratings; when was the last time you watched C-Span? Back when sports were a thing, Sunday Night Football wouldn’t feature the 4–4 Cardinals vs the 3–5 Bears. They’d feature whoever was playing the almighty Patriots to witness good triumphing over evil.

If, however, the small-market Arizona Cardinals make a move to land quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the beginning of the week, all the attention would be diverted to that previously ho-hum mid-season game. His previous success and reputation of being one of the game’s greatest players already makes him a media darling and commands a strong brand. All-day and all-week daytime sports cycles will discuss, and only discuss, this trade that makes the Cardinals instant super bowl contenders. And as the Cardinals continue to rack up W’s this narrative will remain the spotlight for the remainder of the season. Aaron Rodgers not only has the individual star power to reenergize a small market fanbase and, overnight, turn them into a major market franchise, he also has the accolades, qualifications and resume to actually get things done-and not just talk very loudly and agressively about it.

This is my case for Cuban. His very real and well-earned business success, his strong national brand and ability to control the media would easily make him a contender for president. I also believe he, and he alone, has the key components to be a significant 3rd party candidate-with the prospect of dismantling the 2 party stronghold and reorganizing government to actually serve the people of the US. As the Democrats descend into becoming the party of bubblegum, unicorns and fairy-dust and Republicans descend into the party of chaos, conspiracy theories and guns-where do the capitalists and common-sense social reformists’ go? Where do the voters for a strong middle-class and equal opportunity for all go? Three dimensions of Cuban are key to an independent presidential run: Shark Tank, Texas, Apolitical.

Shark Tank

If you are unaware, Shark Tank is one of television’s most popular shows. The show has been on since 2009, has aired for 11 seasons and has won 2 Emmy’s. It features entrepreneurs with small businesses across the US pitching the “Sharks”- Cuban among them. The Shark’s value is not only their capital and connections, but also an experienced voice helping companies make the right strategic decisions to grow and provide employment opportunities. Though Cuban is connected to the media in many more ways, I wanted to highlight his involvement here as this premise encapsulates how Capitalism should work, how it has worked, and the US’s primary competitive advantage in the world i.e. Governmental deregulation fostering a free-market economy, and allowing entrepreneurs to start businesses in a short timeframe. In no other nation is it this easy to set up an enterprise. Cuban has profited immensely in his career from starting and selling extremely successful ventures, all made possible because of a unique government and economy that fosters and rewards entrepreneurship. What’s more is that he has used this wealth to generate exponential societal value by investing in hundreds of small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who have founded them, across the country. This is evidenced in his role on Shark Tank.

His experience on this show has done two things important for making a successful 3rd party run:

1. Putting him in the national spotlight and making him a household name, without having to “gain momentum” through conventional Democratic and Republican nominating processes.
2. Proving to middle America that he knows how to create jobs by encouraging, and making it easy, for entrepreneurs to start businesses that provide market value and job opportunities in communities across the US. This is the only real and viable alternative to “bringing back manufacturing jobs”; a dialogue that keeps getting dishonest politicians elected (including POTUS) and has not been acted upon for 20 years.

Texas

Mark Cuban grew up in Pennsylvania, went to college in Indiana, and has spent the majority of his working career in Texas. If there were 3 states that could move red to purple, these might be the top choices. A swing state, a token rust belt and the reddest of the red. Not only has he lived in TX for multiple decades, he is the embodiment of the “shoot from the hip” mentality that is lauded in the area. He calls it like he sees it with no hidden agenda.

People are yearning for this kind of honesty. Exhibited by the demand for Trump’s anti-political, political platform. Though they think they might, voters don’t care what political party you’re affiliated with, they are mostly just sick and tired of politicians over-promising and under-delivering. While the 2016 anti-PC beta launch proved that you can win the presidency by being patently undiplomatic, the past few years has also proved that actual leadership skills are required to maintain a functioning country.

As a non-traditional owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Cuban’s made a career of being high-energy and combative during games. Unafraid to speak his mind and passionate about results and winning. It doesn’t matter where your allegiance lies, if you’re a fan of competition you love watching this and are rooting for him to win.

Texas is like Vietnam; once that domino falls to purple, so will the rest of the south.

Apolitical

During the COVID driven economic crisis, Cuban has been making the rounds on a wide-range of media outlets providing advice and opinions on how the government should help small businesses weather the storm. He praised Trump’s early economic policy for stimulating growth, but then trashed his leadership abilities and proclaimed he’s voting for Biden on Hannity. Which, on that show, is akin to saying you‘re voting for the devil. Most recently, he made an appearance on Andrew Yang’s podcast relaying that he is “coming around” to the idea of Universal Basic Income; a socialist policy central to Yang’s platform during his run for President. Cuban is clearly not pandering, and if you watch these interviews he comes across as genuinely wanting to help the American people. He doesn’t need the presidency (he’s a billionaire but without a Napoleon complex), but would run if he thought he could genuinely fix a broken nation.

I’m confident that if he led a cultural shift of anti-political, governmental productivity, the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham (politicians who have produced nothing during their long, tenured careers in politics, but are continually reelected based on their ability to pander to their bases) will be exposed as the root of the problem, and then ousted. The days of political theater will be over. A new age of politicians creating policy that serves the American people (i.e. doing their job) will emerge. Make no mistake, I am wholly uninterested in Cuban running if he were to seek the Democratic or Republican ticket. Even if his efforts pulled one or the other to the center, polarization at the congressional level would still exist resulting in continued gridlock.

To summarize, we must think long-term about dismantling and uprooting existing systems to pave the way for policy implementation that will progress racial and economic equality. The only way this will be achieved is by reenergizing the center, and successfully electing a 3rd party candidate uninterested in short-term political gains. There may be someone else that fits the bill, but in my mind, Cuban’s the guy.