Beto O’Rourke

12 Days To Go, and A Nail Biting Election Coming Up!

Ronald 6 Comments

This author and blogger cannot recall the tension and emotions that are being felt around the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2022 ever being quite as intense in past cycles.

It could be a poor memory, or seeing the past with rose colored glasses!

But literally, EVERY Senate race, EVERY House race, and EVERY Gubernatorial race is so significant for the future of American democracy, which is on the verge of being lost to the MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump!

With only about six vote margin in the House of Representatives, and an evenly split US Senate for only the 4th time in American history, and with Governors having tremendous power and influence on an issue such as abortion rights, every citizen needs to vote!

Last night’s debate in Pennsylvania leaves one worried about the performance of John Fetterman, as it could be the Senate election that decides Senate control in the 118th Congress. But also, the Georgia race of Raphael Warnock; the Ohio race of Tim Ryan; the Wisconsin race of Mandela Barnes; the North Carolina race of Cheri Beasley; the Florida race of Val Demings; the New Hampshire race of Maggie Hassan; the Nevada race of Catherine Cortez Masto; the Arizona race of Mark Kelly; and the Iowa race of Michael Franken, are all crucial.

And Governorship races, particularly in Michigan with Gretchen Whitmer; in Arizona with Katie Hobbs; in Florida with Charlie Crist; in Texas with Beto O’Rourke, are all significant for the future!

The Urgent Need For Beto O’Rourke And Charlie Crist To Win Governorships Of Texas And Florida!

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Texas and Florida are the second and third largest states in population, and have a massive influence on Congress and on state government policies beyond their own states.

These two states are strongly “Red”, Republican, in the past 25 years, and have had a deleterious effect on American politics!

Their US Senators and many of their House of Representatives members are horrendous examples of how evil politics has become, and their state legislatures are so one sided as to give a sense that both states are “lost” to any sense of sanity or common decency!

But as long as America is a democracy, which is under vicious attack now in the age of Donald Trump, one must not give up the fight to convince the growing Hispanic-Latino populations of both states to “see the light”, and participate in restoring decency and compassion to American politics, and setting an example for smaller, less populated states!

So therefore, the battle to defeat Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida is in full motion, as defeating both of them would eliminate either as a potential Presidential nominee in 2024!

The Democrats have excellent candidates in Beto O’Rourke (former Congressman from El Paso, and giving Senator Ted Cruz a close race in 2018); and Charlie Crist (former Republican Governor of Florida 2007-2011, and Democratic Congressman since 2017).

Both would restore dignity and principle to the Governorships, that combined, represent 52 million Americans, approximately one of every six Americans!

A Suggested Joe Biden Cabinet For 2021 Difficult To Formulate Before The Election Results Are Clear!

Ronald 3 Comments

Thinking ahead about a suggested Joe Biden Cabinet for 2021, it is difficult to formulate before the election results are clear.

If the Senate goes Democratic massively, to say 53-55 seats, then it might be possible to have one or two US Senators in the Cabinet, but having to take into consideration whether the governor in such states is a Democrat, so that Republicans do not gain a seat by such Senator joining the Biden Cabinet.

The same goes for the US House of Representatives, which hopefully will see a 10 gain seat for the Democrats to about 245-250 seats, and then allow some House members to be Biden Cabinet officers.

Of course, there are former members in the Cabinet or sub Cabinet from the Presidencies of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who might be factored in to possible Cabinet posts under Joe Biden, with one example being former National Security Adviser Susan Rice in the Obama Administration.

So trying to formulate a list is difficult, and much of it may be too speculative and or unrealistic at this time.

So just a few suggestions of who might be selected to be part of the Biden Cabinet or other top aides and advisers. besides Susan Rice mentioned above.

It would seem likely at least one Republican would be put into the Biden Cabinet, as is customary, and it would seem to me that the most appropriate would be former Ohio Governor and former Congressman John Kasich.

Also possible is former Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent or former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake.

At the same time, some former Democratic contenders in the Presidential Primaries of 2020 would seem fit to put into the Cabinet, including possibly the following:

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Former San Antonio Mayor and Secretary of Housing And Urban Development Julian Castro

Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke

Notice just from this list the wide diversity of just this short list of potential candidate for the Biden Cabinet—African American female; former Republican Governor, Congressman, and Senator; former Mayors; former Obama Cabinet member; a gay male former Mayor Presidential candidate; and a Latino and Asian contender for President

The Democratic Presidential Race Thins As Tim Ryan And Beto O’Rourke Withdraw From Race

Ronald 5 Comments

The Democratic Presidential race is thinning as Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke have withdrawn from the competition in the past week.

Both were considered moderates, and some thought O’Rourke had a real chance to move ahead, but both candidacies floundered without much public support in polls and in fund raising.

Both Ryan and O’Rourke were the rare white men running for the nomination, with the only serious such candidates left being Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg.

There is also Michael Bennet, Steve Bullock, and Tom Steyer, but the most competitive white men are Biden, Sanders, and Buttigieg.

The odds of a woman or a minority person being the nominee seems more possible, which is fine, but if that happens, it will mean the Democratic Party has not nominated a white man for President since 2004.

Impressions Of The Fourth Democratic Presidential Debate In Ohio–Eight Of The Twelve Should Continue

Ronald 20 Comments

The Democratic Presidential debate last night showed strong performances right from the beginning by Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar on the subject of health care, challenging Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders on their promotion of Medicare For All.

Joe Biden held his own, which is significant, and Julian Castro and Kamala Harris improved their position. Bernie Sanders looked in good health, and Cory Booker made some good points regarding the need to focus on the record of Donald Trump, more than criticism of some candidates by others.

Totally unimpressive were Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, and Andrew Yang, and they should drop out of the race, as there are simply too many candidates.

Beto O’Rourke harmed his candidacy by his consistent stand on gun regulation including confiscation of weapons, not a winnable tactic.

In realistic terms, there should be eight Democrats left in the race—Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.

Ohio Debate On Tuesday Will Start Winnowing The Field Of Democratic Candidates For President

Ronald 45 Comments

The Columbus, Ohio debate among 12 Democratic Presidential candidates will likely start the winnowing of the field, which is much too large.

As things stand now, Senator Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg seem like the candidates that are gaining.

Warren is taking support away from Bernie Sanders, who is recovering from a heart attack, and will be watched closely on Tuesday for signs of weariness. Sanders knows Warren is a problem for him, and has pointed out that she is a believer in capitalism, and is not a Socialist, which actually helps Warren’s image.

Mayor Pete is likely the major moderate Democratic alternative to Joe Biden, who has to deal with the issue of his son, Hunter Biden, and Ukranian connections, although it seems clear there is no corruption involved, at least as far as we know at this point. Also, Joe Biden is coming across, sadly, as not quite up to par mentally at times, a very worrisome situation for him. Meanwhile, Mayor Pete continues to make a great impression, including in the CNN gay-lesbian-transgender debate this past Thursday, and has gained a lot of financial support.

Whether Kamala Harris can recuperate from a decline in support is debatable. Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro have also failed to take off in recent months, and have made some errors that harm them.

While Cory Booker gained enough financial backing to stay in the race, it still seems unlikely that he is going to be a serious candidate for the Presidential nomination.

Andrew Yang has had unexpected good fortune, but still it seems a real long shot that he can get anywhere gaining enough support to move forward.

Amy Klobuchar so far has not made much of a dent, and Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Steyer, in their first debate, do not seem likely to make any real move toward serious contention.

So Tuesday’s debate will likely narrow the field as we move closer to the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary four months from now.

CNN Makes Major Contribution To Addressing The Issue Of Gay, Lesbian, And Transgender Rights, Essential For Social Justice

Ronald 29 Comments

CNN made a major contribution last night to addressing the issue of gay, lesbian and transgender rights, essential for social justice.

Nine Presidential candidates had a half hour each to answer questions and make clear their views on this crucial topic.

Cory Booker, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro, and Tom Steyer participated between 730 pm and midnight.

Bernie Sanders did not participate due to his recent heart attack, and Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang claimed scheduling issues made it impossible for them to be present.

Particularly impressive, in the mind of this blogger and author, was Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay Presidential candidate, who has made a good impression on many people on many different issues, and has been successful in raising millions of dollars in the third quarter of 2019, and is fourth in most polls.

But all of the candidates are open minded and tolerant, a stark difference from the evangelical right wing Christian view advocated by Vice President Mike Pence, and promoted by Donald Trump, despite his total lack of religiosity his entire life. Trump has ended the policy of tolerance of gays in the military, and has shown no willingness to have an open mind on gay rights, including judicial appointments of nominees clearly anti gay, using religion as an excuse for discrimination.

The Likely Long Term Result Of The Third Democratic Presidential Debate: Probably Seven Of The Ten Are Still Viable

Ronald 3 Comments

Upon further reflection about the Houston Democratic Presidential debate last Thursday, it would seem that three candidates have lost the likelihood of having a real chance to be the nominee of the party in 2020.

Those would be:

Andrew Yang, who offered ten families $1,000 a month for the next year as part of his promotion of $1,000 a month for all adults over the age of 18, which drew some attention when he said it, but is seen as a death knell for his candidacy, even though Republican President Richard Nixon suggested a similar plan of $500 a month nearly fifty years ago.

Julian Castro, who by, seemingly, bringing up ageism as an issue about Joe Biden, made many enemies, and it is likely to derail his campaign, and probably kills any chance of him being the Vice Presidential nominee.

Beto O’Rourke, who by calling for mandatory buyback of AR 15s and AK 47s gave great propaganda to gun enthusiasts and the National Rifle Association, who will use what he said against Democrats to scare gun owners to vote Republican, not an insubstantial number. While one can understand O’Rourke’s sincere emotions after the El Paso and Odessa-Midland shootings in August, it is a guaranteed defeat for any Democrat to follow through as O’Rourke has, not because it is wrong, but because it is not winnable in a national election, despite all of the mass murders that have occurred in recent years.

Additionally, since the ageism issue has been brought up, it could be that the two oldest potential nominees–Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden–who would reach 80 early in the next term, might find that their candidacies might worry and concern voters, especially at a time when Donald Trump is showing signs of mental decline, even though he is four and five years younger than Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, respectively.

So more attention will likely be paid to other candidates—Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris.

With 141 days to the Iowa Caucuses, it is far from certain what will happen in the battle for the Democratic nomination for President.

The Third Democratic Presidential Debate In Houston: First Impressions

Ronald 13 Comments

Early impressions are as follows:

Julian Castro, Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, and Elizabeth Warren come across as the best.

Expect that Castro, Buttigieg, Booker, and O’Rourke will rise in polls, and Warren will continue to gain on Joe Biden.

Biden is not doing as well as one would expect, and neither is Bernie Sanders.

Kamala Harris has likely not gained by this debate, and the same for Andrew Yang.

Amy Klobuchar might gain, but is not shining as much as this blogger thought she would.

Overall, the ABC debate is much better than the two earlier debates sponsored by MSNBC and CNN.

The candidates are avoiding attacking each other, and clearly, any one of the group would be far better than Donald Trump!

Time For John Hickenlooper, Steve Bullock, And Beto O’Rourke To Give Up Presidential Candidacies, And Run To Help Create Democratic Senate Majority In 117th Congress!

Ronald 5 Comments

It is time for three Presidential contenders to give up their candidacies and run instead for the US Senate in their states, and help create a Democratic Senate majority for the 117th Congress of 2021-2022.

Former Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado; Montana Governor Steve Bullock; and former Texas Congressman from El Paso, Beto O’Rourke, have no real opportunity to continue further, although O’Rourke has qualified for the third Democratic debate in Houston in September. Despite that, and his courageous and outstanding reaction to the El Paso Massacre, it is clear that he is NOT going to progress any further to the top tier of candidates.

Bullock is fascinating, and did well in the second Presidential debate, but he came in too late, and has no traction, despite his being quite impressive.

And Hickenlooper, well, he is a massive dud, and apparently is leaving the race later today.

All three would be wonderful Senators, and the Democrats need a minimum gain of four seats, or three, if the Vice President in the next term is a Democrat, and can organize the Senate majority.

If the Democrats win the Presidency, but fail to win the Senate majority, then nothing will be accomplished, as Mitch McConnell or his successor as Senate Majority Leader, will bottleneck any agenda of any Democrat, whether it be Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, or Pete Buttigieg, the most likely choices at this point to be serious contenders for the Democratic nomination for President.