Hindsight 2020 - February 2019 edition

I would hope that most Americans learned their lesson from 2016 and stop to think, verify their sources, before sharing an article on social media. Just because an article reinforces what you already believe or fear, doesn't mean it is true or a real source of information. It is painful when I still see people sharing crap on Facebook or Twitter that is clearly garbage published out of Russia designed to divide us, not inform us. 

The 2020 election is creeping up on us. So far we have eight candidates officially announced that are running for the Democratic nomination for president. Some of them I have never heard of.  There are some big names that haven't officially announced yet: Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Beto O'Rourke,  Sharod Brown and Kirsten Gillibrand. I will discuss them once they have, if they do.

From the midterms, the Democrats learned that if they stay on message, namely health care and environmental protection, they can win. Medicare For All and The Green New Deal are two of the big flash points for the Democrats now. For a president to tackle even one of these would be a huge undertaking; tackling both seems to be setting us up for failure. I consider myself left of center politically. I usually vote for Democrats not because I consider myself a Democrat but mostly because I hate the Republican party so much. The worst the GOP gets, the more  Democratic I become. 

It is the intent of this Blog post to a log of my thought process of my decision making about the 2020 Presidential election. Whom I will vote for and why will be documented here. Please share your thoughts with me. If you have a candidate, tell me who. No Trump supporters please. The most important issue for me, is that we pick a candidate that can beat Trump. The second most important is the issues: environmentalism, health care, voter's rights and Judiciary nominees are probably my top four priorities.

I have to say I am impressed and excited with the diversity of these candidates.

The Candidates (in order of how well I know them): 

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts: I like Senator Warren but I believe she is probably too far left for the general public. She is probably further left than Bernie Sanders, who is a Socialist. Like Bernie, I question her ideas on the economy. I also doubt her appeal to the general public. Nominating her might just fire up Trump's base to a defeat in 2020, but maybe my opinion will change. She is from Oklahoma City from a middle class family so perhaps that will help her appeal to the American centrist. She has no executive experience. 

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey:  I like Senator Booker as well. He was born in DC but grew up in New Jersey in a middle class family. His parents were two of the first African American executives at IBM. As mayor of Newark, his environmental record is not great, but overall he was a good mayor. He is a Rhodes Scholar. I'd love to see Trump go up against someone this smart. 

Ex-San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro: Castro is a twin and his identical brother, Joaquin, is a member of the US House of Representatives.  He is from San Antonio and seems to be on the correct side of the issues for me. He was also the HUD Secretary in the Obama administration. He seems to be a political light weight. We'll have to see how he does on the campaign trail. He was one of the front runners for the vice presidential nomination for Hillary Clinton in 2016.  She may have won if she had picked him over the extremely unexciting Tim Kaine. The fact that he is Hispanic and from Texas might make him the perfect VP pick for whoever wins. 

Senator Kamala Harris from California: She is from a working class Berkley  neighborhood with both of her parents being economics professors and civil rights activists. Before becoming a Senator in 2017, she was the Attorney General of CA for six years and before that the AG of San Francisco for seven years. For a lot of people on the left this is a strike against her, but this will be a great asset to her in the general election. I could imagine her legal experience will be a great tool for her in the debates. She is a first generation American from Indian and Jamaican descent. 

Senator Amy Kobuchar from Minnesota: She is a seasoned Senator and with an excellent record on liberal issues. She is the daughter of a second grade teacher and journalist/sports writer/travel writer. Before becoming a Senator in 2006, she was an attorney. She has no executive experience. 

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii: Now we are getting to the people I know nothing about.  I had to look up all of this information. She is from American Samoa and is a Hindu.  She is an active member of the Army National Guard and did a 12 month tour in Iraq. Before she became a Rep., she was in the Hawaiian House and the Honolulu City Counsel. She seems to have a good environmental record but has no executive experience. 

Former Rep. John Delaney from Maryland: He actually dropped out of Congress to run for President. He was the first to announce. Before becoming a Rep. in 2012, he was a businessman in private sector in health care and commercial lending. He has no executive experience. 

Former tech executive and author Andrew Yang: He seems to be a one issue candidate. He supports a Universal Basic Income in response to the growing labor problem due to automation. He is from Schenectady and is another first generation American. His parents are from Taiwan. He has no executive experience nor any experience in government whatsoever.

If the election were held today, I'd have a difficult time picking from these eight because I know so little about them. Right now, my pick is Kamala Harris with Cory Booker as a close second.  I am looking forward to learning more about these candidates and I am sure I will change my pick several times.  Talk to you next month.