San Antonio Mayor

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 Castro Brothers, Julian And Joaquin, Big Time Political Stars

Ronald Leave a comment

Two Texas brothers and identical twins, Julian and Joaquin Castro, have become big time political stars, with Julian running for President, and Joaquin leading the charge as his campaign manager, and the leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 116th Congress.

Julian was Mayor of San Antonio, the seventh largest city in America, from 2009-2014, and was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014-2017 under President Barack Obama. If elected, he would be the first Hispanic/Latino President, and the first President since Herbert Hoover whose highest federal position was as a cabinet officer under a President. He was considered a finalist to run for Vice President with Hillary Clinton in 2016, and some observers think he would have helped Clinton to win the Electoral College, but that subject to debate. He gained notice in 2012 nationally when he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

If Julian Castro was elected, he would be the third youngest President, behind Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. He supports comprehensive immigration reform; free trade; first two years of public higher education tuition free; universal health care and Medicare For All; the Paris Climate Accord; refusal to take PAC money as part of his campaign; Affirmative Action; and assault weapons ban; gay rights; and abortion rights. So that makes him a progressive on the left of the Democratic Party, but not seen as far left as Bernie Sanders.

Brother Joaquin Castro has been a Congressman from the San Antonio area since 2013, so is in his fourth term in the House of Representatives. Earlier, he was a member of the Texas State House of Representatives from 2003-2013. This year, Joaquin has been the leader in organizing to oppose Donald Trump’s Border Wall Emergency Declaration, and has been standing out as one of the leading members of the Democratic caucus.

To differentiate himself from his brother, Joaquin has grown a beard, as otherwise, it is impossible to tell which brother is Joaquin or Julian. Some humorists have said Joaquin could replace Julian in a public sphere, and most people would not know the difference.

It is rumored that Joaquin, while running his brother’s campaign for President, might also seek the Senate seat of Republican John Cornyn in 2020.

It is clear that the Castro brothers will be national figures for the long term future, no matter what happens.

This author and blogger, at this point, is quite enthused by Julian Castro, who is seen as on his short list of favorites for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

It would be fitting if we had a Latino President after Donald Trump has bashed Latinos and people from Mexico as part of his nativism as a candidate and as a President.

It is felt that if Castro was the Democratic nominee in 2020, the state of Texas, with 38 electoral votes would be in play, and if won, the Midwest battleground everyone talks about would not be as crucial in winning the Electoral College.

The Likelihood Of An Historic Vice Presidential Nomination For The Democrats: A Woman Or A Person Of Minority Heritage

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Speculation has begun about who Democrat Hillary Clinton’s potential choices for Vice President might be, but it seems more and more likely that it will be an historic choice, likely NOT to be a white male, but rather a woman or a leader of minority heritage.

It is true that Democrat Walter Mondale selected New York Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and that Republican John McCain selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2008, but this time around, the possible candidates for a woman are much stronger choices.

If one is considering a woman, which some think is “radical” to do, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is seen as the most likely choice, but her fame and her age work against her, and it would make more sense to pick a woman who is substantially younger, and could be a potential successor eight years from now–such as Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota or Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State.

If Hillary wants to select someone from a minority heritage, the best would be Latinos, such as former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, presently Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; or Secretary of Labor Tom Perez of Maryland; and if African American, the best would be New Jersey Senator Cory Booker or former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

In another blog entry forthcoming tomorrow, we will consider white males as potential Vice Presidential nominees, with quite a long list of such candidates!