A Radically Centrist Ranking of the 2024 Presidential Candidates

My ranking of the 2024 Candidates:

A: Robert F. Kennedy Jr (independent)   

B+: Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai (independent), Peter Sonski (American Solidarity), Michael Rectenwald (Libertarian)

B-:Donald Trump (Republican), Vivek Ramaswamy (Republican, withdrawn), Russell Cohen (independent),

C+: Marianne Williamson (Democrat), Jill Stein (Green), Chase Oliver (Libertarian) 

C: Ryan Binkley (Republican), Cornel West (independent), Cenk Uygur (Democrat)

C-: Francis Suarez (Republican, withdrawn), Doug Burgum (Republican, withdrawn), Larry Elder (Republican, withdrawn), Ron DeSantis (Republican, withdrawn), Dean Phillips (Democrat), Claudia de la Cruz (Socialist) 

D+: Joe Manchin (independent, undeclared)

D-: Joe Biden (Democrat), Tim Scott (Republican, withdrawn)

F: Nikki Haley (Republican), Mike Pence (Republican, withdrawn), Chris Christie (Republican, withdrawn), Asa Hutchinson (Republican, withdrawn)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s signature issues include, civil liberties, taking on the oligarch/corporate control over government, promoting good health, and environmentalism. RFK jr. has the most crossover appeal, with some more conservative and libertarian stances. For instance, he is moderate on guns and immigration. Basically RFK jr. is most in line with a kind of centrist populism or anti-establishment center, which combines aspects of both the left and right.

Trump’s initial appeal was this populist centrism, though he went in a much more conservative direction. RFK Jr is also much more intellectual and thoughtful than Trump. Like with Trump, RFK jr. is detested by the corporate media, which shows he is a major threat to power. RFK jr. is the closest to my views of any candidate, except he is more to the left on race relations. Maybe if RFK jr. were for freedom of association, which not even Trump would support, and a bit more to the right on racial issues, he would be close to perfect politically. However, it’s rare that a candidate perfectly matches my views.

Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai

Source: wikipedia.org 

Like RFK jr., Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai strikes me as a nonaligned populist, though he detests RFK jr. Dr. Shiva takes a lot of similar stances as RFK but says he is a phony, with his main disagreement with RFK jr. being that he is a staunch opponent of Zionism. Dr. Shiva uses heated rhetoric, like saying that he is the only candidate who does not suck Zionist c*ck, which is funny and appeals to some, but probably turns off a lot of people, including those otherwise open to his message. Regardless, he invented the email and has impressive credentials, including MIT, so he is not some conspiracy crank. Not to mention he was married to Fran Drescher.

Like RFK jr., Dr. Shiva is outspoken against Modern Monetary Theory and the technocracy, and is also sympathetic to old school left concerns, such as labor rights and income inequality. Dr. Shiva also has more libertarian views, and previously ran for Senate as a Republican. Like RFK jr., he calls out a rigged system, favoring the ultra-wealthy, where many just can’t compete. He is also sympathetic to the decentralization of power, while warning against a globalist homogenized world where most people become slaves. However, he supports an amnesty for illegal immigrants who want to work while wanting to deport Americans who refuse to work, which sounds more neoliberal.

Dr. Shiva stands out as brilliantly unique from all other candidates in his embrace of the engineering Systems Theory and physics as a force for political change. He says that one needs a clear vision for what one wants and then a clear framework, which is how engineering works. The science of systems is a mechanism to uncover scientific principles and create self-organizing, self-sustaining systems. This is crucial for creating alternative institutions and one can’t defeat the elites without a knowledge of Systems Science.  

Dr. Shiva also calls out the neo-caste system, making parallels between the Hindu Caste system and America’s elite and corporate structure. Like RFK jr., he talks about the breakdown in community as a major reason for the decline in life expectancy. He is also kind of New Agey, which I like, such as talking about change via raising consciousness and reviving ancient systems of knowledge. He also has interesting things to say on psychology, such as a video on different types of intelligence, with the highest being intuition.  

Peter Sonski

Source: wikipedia.org  

I appreciate how Peter Sonski’s Christian Democratic, American Solidarity Party is for the economics of Distributism, which  rejects both state socialism and laissez-faire capitalism as two heads of the same coin. The American Solidarity Party’s strengths are on economics and a return to community based values, though I find them too rightwing on social issues, like abortion, and too leftwing on racial justice issues. Regardless, RFK jr., Dr. Shiva, and Peter Sonski are all superior to any Democrat or Republican running, and you could say are all dissident or radical centrists.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign seems much more promethean, with talk of building new cities, a civic beautification campaign, flying cars, and launching a baby boom. However, I don’t have a lot of hope for positive change with Trump, as far as policy. Though his second term might be more anti-establishment. Trump is still further from conservative orthodoxy than all other GOP candidates, except perhaps Vivek, even if a lot is just rhetorical. I voted for Trump in both the primary and general in 2016, but I did not support him in 2020. Overall I found Trump’s presidency a major disappointment. Trump’s flaws include, a lack of anti-establishment policy and lack of action on institutional power, as well as surrounding himself with sycophants rather than the best people, due to his narcissism.

Source: Loganclarkhall on X

The case for Trump is that he is a giant middle finger to the establishment, and is overall accelerationist and obstructionist. Trump is hated by all the most contemptable people in power, from the Deep State, to the gatekeeping class of over credentialed “experts,” to the anti-White, and shrill woke partisans. Trump is not the great savior but rather he is the great revealer, causing those in power to take off their masks. Trump is basically an outlaw now, so him getting elected would be a massive disruption to the system.

Trump is also a symbol of White populist rage and an avatar for non-liberal Whites, which has its pros and cons. The downside is that Trump energizes the establishment and Left while coming short at doing anything radically anti-establishment. While I’ll give Trump’s presidency a C+ on policy, I will give him a B- due to being a radical disruptor.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Source: wikipedia.org

Vivek Ramaswamy’s political roots are libertarian leaning, pro-business, economically conservative, but more liberal on race and social issues, including immigration. His economic policy outlook reflects Reaganite, Chamber of Commerce, neoliberalism. I am generally skeptical of candidates from the business community, who show up with no political track record. Vivek calls out managerialism and DEI bureaucracy, which is great, but then puts the focus on government, while not having a solution to take on the private sector, Woke Capital.

Vivek epitomizes the immigrant striver archetype. I find someone from a recent immigrant background embracing Reaganite patriotism, that America is not a place but rather the idea that anyone has the opportunity to become rich, to be vulgar. There is also an element of tokenism of a brown person being allowed to say based things, such as speaking out against the Great Replacement. There are also apt comparisons to Andrew Yang, though Yang was more upfront about post-Americanism, being from a foreign background, as well as economic realities.

Source: @russian_cosmist on X

In a talk with Elon Musk, Vivek said that “We should have merit-based immigration. There seems to be an anti-legal immigration backlash in the Republican Party and I’ll be bringing this up at the debates.” Vivek had endorsed increasing legal immigration past the 1.2 million that are already brought in each year. However, he latter shifted his tone on immigration in a more hawkish direction. If in power, I could see him cracking down on illegal immigration while also pushing for more legal “high skilled” immigration from India.

Vivek was by far the most non-interventionist Republican, even criticizing US aid to Israel, which breaks a major political taboo. In contrast, Trump is more isolationist on Russia, though I could see him attacking Iran for Israel. However, Trump’s both sides comments on Israel vs Gaza are a positive sign. Vivek was the only Republican to take a strong stance on civil liberties, calling to abolish the FBI, and strongly opposing the Restrict Act, which would have been the Patriot Act on steroids, as well as the Espionage Act. In contrast, Trump has made the focus on the persecution of MAGA by Biden’s Justice Department rather than civil liberties in general. 

I don’t trust Vivek and he gives off sleazy, opportunistic vibes, but in rhetoric, he is actually more based than Trump. He is also more in tune with where the youthful energy on the Right is, and willing to engage with the edgier anti-establishment Right. Vivek was by far the best at the GOP debates, with the other candidates sounding like Reagan or Bush era Republicans.

Vivek is also much more articulate than Trump, and seems more competent at getting things done. Trump is more likely to select someone like Elise Stefanik for VP, but I could see Vivek as Trump’s Secretary of Commerce. Vivek’s upsides are his rhetoric pushing the Overton Window, strong stances on dismantling the Administrative State, civil liberties, and non-intervention. Vivek’s main downsides are being too hyper-capitalist and pro-corporate, and that he can’t be totally trusted.

Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson strikes me as a New Age huckster (a televangelist of the Left), but I get the appeal, and actually appreciate aspects of that. Williamson’s appeal is that she eschews compassion, and has a soothing quality to her voice. Williamson’s message is very feminine, and appeals to emotions and morality. Overall she is a mixed bag, and way to the left of my views. However, I like her on a personal level, and may even vote for her as a protest in the Democratic primary.

Williamson has massive spending proposals, of which some are good but also a lot of woke stuff, and proposals that will increase bureaucracy and inflation. She was also quick to throw RFK jr. under the bus as racist, for his statement on ethnic specific vaccines. However, she occasionally says things that are very insightful and spot on. For instance, Williamson said that “changing the politics doesn’t change the people, changing the people changes the politics,” which is unintentionally based. Though she is woke, this statement is a rejection of the liberal idea that people are all interchangeable cogs. She deserves credit for challenging Biden and is superior to most Democrats, which is an extraordinarily low bar. 

Cornel West

Source: wikipedia.org

When Cornel West temporarily switched to the Green Party from the Left-Populist, People’s Party, his platform replaced many populist planks with more standard leftist positions. Cornel West’s shift from big tent populism to leftism was expected. However, I disagree with Jimmy Dore, who desperately wanted West to be something that he is not, a colorblind class-based leftist. West is very much a racial leftist, and of the radical Black activist tradition, which does not appeal to me, but he is being his authentic self.  

Source: @PeoplesParty US on X   

Cornel West is ideologically very leftwing but the question is whether he is really more principled than Marriane Williamson. He doesn’t strike me as someone who listens to consultants, like a managerial liberal, but rather speaks his mind. West is also more radical than Williamson, with Williamson being more of a Social Democrat, like Bernie Sanders, while West is practically a Marxist. I ranked Marianne Williamson higher than other left candidates, because Cenk Uygur is a grifter, though some of his recent shows are decent, and Cornel West and Claudia de la Cruz are far too leftwing, with De La Cruz being more blatantly anti-White. Not to mention that, like Dr. Shiva, Cenk is ineligible to be president, due to not being born in the US.

Libertarian Candidates

Source: @RecTheRegime on X  

Of the Libertarian candidates, Chase Oliver is more of an open borders libertarian, though good on some stances. Michael Rectenwald is much better and sounds more like a Paleolibertarian, like Ron Paul. Rectenwald’s immigration proposal of having citizens invite and sponsor immigrants, thus being responsible for immigrants, sounds close to my proposal for linking immigration to enclavism.

Ron DeSantis

Source: wikipedia.org

On policy issues, DeSantis’s record as governor was mixed. His best policy accomplishments were taking action against woke corporations, like Disney, cracking down on illegal immigration, and some nature conservation issues. Some of his worst policy decisions were insurance reforms, that enriched insurance companies while screwing over customers, and his anti-free speech law, in regards to antisemitism.

DeSantis is both an economic and social conservative, as well as more hawkish on foreign policy. DeSantis has shown his neocon colors after Israel’s war, calling for a tougher stance against Iran. DeSantis represents a reversal of Trump’s realignment that undermined the old guard GOP alliance, of foreign policy hawks, business conservatives, and the Religious Right. A lot of neocons and Reaganites backed him, and I suspected he was a trojan horse for the Bushes and Reagan Republicans to take back power.

DeSantis is basically a compromise between the GOP establishment and MAGA. There are apt comparisons between DeSantis and Elizabeth Warren, as Warren was a compromise between the DNC establishment and Bernie Sanders’ movement. This compromise position failed, as MAGA wants Trump and Trump-skeptic Republicans prefer an outright establishment candidate, like Nikki Haley.

Source: @SohrabAhmari on X  

The main positive of DeSantis is taking action on woke corporations, while Trump came short on taking action on institutions. There is also a case that DeSantis is more competent at governing than Trump. DeSantis lacks authenticity, though I don’t care if he is not super charismatic. Regardless, DeSantis’s rhetoric cheapens fighting wokness to just another GOP wedge issue. Just because something is anti-woke does not mean it is good, as the neocons and Reaganites were a reaction to the excesses of the New Left counter-culture and 70s/80s urban crime wave.

Nikki Haley

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Nikki Haley is basically a Dick Cheney/Kamala Harris or George Bush/Hillary Clinton hybrid. I am inclined to say that Haley is even worse than Biden, with Biden slightly less awful on some issues. For instance, Haley is much more likely to start a foreign war than Biden. Like Trump, Biden is also more accelerationist while Haley is like a return back to the Bush era. Also many oligarchs now favor Haley over Biden. Nikki Haley is a warmonger, for austerity, for mass immigration, terrible for civil liberties, wanting to ban anonymous social media postings, and bad for the environment. Despite chiding wokeness, Haley is basically a watered down version of wokeness, engaging in identity politics about her ethnic background and gender. 

Source: @SohrabAhmari on X  

Other Republicans

Ryan Binkley sounds like a moderate Republican from 20 years ago. I don’t have a strong opinion on Dough Burgum, but he strikes me as a fairly standard true conservative. I don’t know what to make of Tim Scott. He is a Reaganite neocon, who also has a slight libertarian bent, and tries to appeal to MAGA, unlike the outright establishment candidates like Christie, Haley, and Hutchinson. Scott is far right on economics and a foreign policy hawk while more liberal on race, which is a terrible combo.

Larry Elder is a Reaganite ideologue, who presents himself as a principled small government, small “l” libertarian. I remember how dismissive he was of Ron Paul, as a supposed libertarian. Plus Elder was supportive of George Bush. Basically he is a hybrid between mainstream conservativism with libertarianism. Though to be fair, he should have been allowed to debate.

Francis Suarez did a semi decent job as Miami mayor. As mayor, he is known for being pro-Crypto, as well as pro-urbanism/walkable development, and for mass transit, while avoiding the urban decay of other major cities. Suarez is also much more pro-environment than other Republicans. Suarez has backed Democrats, which is not inherently bad, but makes him seem like an opportunist. He was likely running for a cabinet positions and to boost his political future, like most other lower tier candidates. He was a blank slate, and we don’t know much about his national policy positions. He may very well be a neocon or Clintonite neoliberal. Not to mention he is fairly liberal on immigration. Regardless, Suarez shows the pros and cons of centrist politics.

Dean Philips

Congressman, Dean Phillips, seems like a neoliberal centrist, who talks about coming together and is willing to talk to people across the aisle, with this wholesome Midwestern image. Dean Phillips comes across as nuanced but also double faced. This is because he is an establishment politician who is also running against the DNC, and protesting a rigged system. In an interview on the All-In podcast, Phillips spoke out against the military industrial complex but also said that we have to hang in there with the war in Ukraine. He also revised his platform to remove woke CRT planks to appeal to centrists. Philips appeals to affluent, centrist, neoliberal voters who find Biden too socialist, or want to return to the bipartisan consensus. He reminds me a bit of Michael Bloomberg, as well as a moderate Democrat from the 00s, like John Edwards.  

Source: @MichiganWave on X  

Joe Biden

By far, the worst aspect of Joe Biden is his domestic war on terror, suppressing civil liberties and weaponizing the FBI and Justice Department against political adversaries and dissidents. The Biden admin has pushed for DEI in government and corporate regulations, promoting systemic anti-White discrimination. Not to mention Biden opening the borders, with illegal immigration at a record high.  

Biden has shown recklessness on foreign policy, with the inept diplomacy of Jimmy Carter but much less dovish and more likely to provoke conflict with other nations. However, Biden is far from the most hawkish and has also shown restraint to the ire of neocons. For instance, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was messy, was still the right decision.

Biden is actually terrible from both progressive and rightwing populist perspectives. For instance, he pivoted to the center on the debt ceiling and agreed to the GOP’s austerity on the poor while not cutting government spending. Biden is the most fiscally liberal president since LBJ, if not more so. However, the economic benefits have disproportionally gone to the top income bracket and to institutions, while ordinary people are stuck with inflation. The Biden admin is one of the most corrupt in modern history.

Source: @charliekirk11 on X

Biden and Trump have both ushered in paradigm shifts away from neoliberalism, towards state capitalism and de-globalization. There is some nuance, as Biden has some old school Democrat stances, while Obama epitomized neoliberalism. For instance, Biden’s push to invest in infrastructure, with the Chips Act, and support for corporate anti-trust under Lina Khan. Biden also cracked down on overdraft banking fees, which is good. While there is likely a lot of corruption and cronyism with the Chips Act and Build Back Better, the fact that Biden got accused by the Economist of embracing affirmative action for poor rural Whites, means he must be doing something right. Not to mention that Corporate America is now betting on a Trump win, with Trump pursuing a much more merger-friendly antitrust policy than Biden. Either Biden is doing certain things right, or he is so bad on the economy that even oligarchs are getting cold feet.  

Candidate Quiz Results:

Source: isidewith.com/elections/2024-presidential-quiz

The I side with and on the issues presidential candidate quizzes came out differently, with neither matching my ranking. For instance, RFK jr. comes out on top with the I side with quiz but much lower for on the issues. It is also interesting that Ron DeSantis and Joe Biden, as well as Donald Trump and Jill Stein are tied. Chris Christie and Kanye West being ranked the highest on the I side with quiz is hilarious. Regardless, the rankings show my anti-establishment centrist views, that are neither conservative nor liberal. I side with pegs me as a moderate left-libertarian while on the issues as a left-leaning centrist. I am open to supporting a more mainstream centrist, but there is always something really awful about them. For instance, I ranked Joe Manchin low for sponsoring the Restrict Act, even though the I side with quiz ranks Manchin closer to my views.

Source: ontheissues.org/Quiz/Quiz2024 

In 2020, I voted for Tulsi Gabbard in the Democrat primary and voted for neither Trump nor Biden in the general election. I’ll support RFK jr. as an independent, but if RFK jr. is not on the ballot, there is a slim chance that I may tepidly support Trump. Who knows, I may look into another independent candidate, perhaps Dr. Shiva.

Since independents can’t vote in the GOP primary, I’ll probably vote for Marianne Williamson in the Democratic primary. There is interesting psychological/political symbolism, that is dualism/Yin-Yang or theosophy in voting for someone like Marianne Williamson and then Donald Trump. While some Trump supporters are voting for Williamson, just to undermine Biden, the ideal is putting forth the positive, egalitarian, progressive first, as a fig leaf, but then once the positive choice is rejected then embrace the darker, more fashy side, and give a giant middle finger. RFK jr. also reconciles those two forces, though is more positive like Williamson.