I wish that, in the USA, we had just four primary voting days, and the first one started on February 1, and the four primaries were all over by the end of May. And then I wish the Presidential campaign between the parties went from just June 1 to election day in November. Wouldn't that be nice?
But that's not how it is, and with more than 300 days until the November 2020 election, without even one primary happening yet, the race for the Presidency is already well underway, some of candidates I really liked have dropped out, and if you don't express your opinion NOW, if you don't donate to your candidate(s) NOW, that candidate, or those candidates, may not even be around for the first primary.
I want to make it clear that I am very likely going to vote for whomever the Democrats nominate. I hate to say that, because I know it empowers center-right candidates. But without ranked voting - something we should have in both primaries and the Presidential election - we are very likely going to end up with a candidate I feel tepid about. Yes, I want my precious, powerful vote to go for someone I believe will not just be able to be competent - I want to vote for someone who will be a GREAT President, who will be the President I think our country so desperately needs now.
But almost any of the candidates will be better than the horror show currently in the White House, and I don't have the privilege to not vote at all. I am still furious with every person who voted for President Obama and then didn't vote at all in 2016 - YOU are why this current Presidency has happened, more than anything else, more than votes for third party candidates, more than write-ins. And I will be furious at any person who does not vote at all in 2020.
For all my complaints about Hillary Clinton - her coziness with Goldman Sachs, her many fundraising events only for huge donors and closed to all media, her oh-so-late support for things like marriage equality, her praise of Nancy Reagan's AIDS work (I still can't believe she did that), and on and on - I voted for her. And she deserves an extraordinary amount of praise for winning the majority votes of the American people, and if we were a real democracy, she would President now, per getting a majority of votes - and it would be well-earned. I do not regret any of my criticisms, but I do regret not being clear that I was voting for her and that I felt, absolutely, she was probably the most qualified candidate to ever run for office.
(And my jaw drops every time one of my friends that was SO passionate about Hillary Clinton and so angry at my criticisms are now using some of those same criticisms against various Presidential candidates they don't like.)
Okay, with all that said, who am I supporting in the 2020 Democratic Primary? Elizabeth Warren.
I listened to all of the candidates - and I will continue to - and I read and read and read - and will continue to do so. She wasn't a lock from the get-go - I was staunchly, firmly undecided for most of the summer, and even when I started to lean, I had a top three, not just one. But the more I read, the more clear it has become: Elizabeth Warren has the best combination of experience and ideas and heart. Yes, heart - we need heart. We absolutely will be a better country with Elizabeth Warren as President. She is the capable, knowledgeable, visionary, experienced, compassionate leader the USA needs right now. And she's even changed my mind on a lot of things - like the US involvement in Afghanistan. The bombshell Washington Post article yesterday pretty much-confirmed everything she's said all along. I also believe she will evolve - I believe she listens, and facts sway her. We need someone in the office who will listen and who will be willing to say, "I made a mistake - and here's how I'm going to address that."
What about the other candidates? Here they are, in order of my preference:
If he's nominated, I will vote for Julián Castro. I think his track record, including as former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development and as mayor of a big USA city, San Antonio, plus his policy positions, make him an outstanding candidate. He would be my number one candidate were it not for Elizabeth Warren. I think he brings that perfect balance of understanding a range of American experiences and understanding foreign policy. I not only think he's well-qualified and has the right policies - I also would love to see a person of Latino heritage in the top office of our nation.
If she's nominated, I will vote for Amy Klobuchar. I wish she was more to the left, I disagree with her on a lot of policies, but she's capable, she's knowledgable, she's highly-experienced, and I think that, ultimately, we're on the same side. She would make me both proud and comfortable as President - even when I disagreed with her. And I fully admit it: I want a woman President, and that gives her an edge over others.
If he's nominated, I will vote for Cory Booker. I find his approach to public schools utterly distasteful and I worry that, like others, he'll cater more to people on the center-right than people like me. But I also think he might really surprise me as President - in a good way. I would be proud to see him representing the USA, domestically and abroad. He's qualified for the office and I think he would work hard to repair the damage the current President has done, both domestically and abroad. He would make me both proud and comfortable as President - even when I disagreed with him.
If he's nominated, I will vote for Joe Biden. I prefer most of the other candidates to him. Like Hillary Clinton, he's WAY too cozy with billionaires and won't do anything regarding pushing for drastically-increased taxation against billionaires. He does not at all comprehend at how much people in this country are struggling to get health care access - he just wants to cater to people who want to "keep" their doctors and offers no real solutions for others. I feel that his mindset about how to behave with women is out-of-step with modern times (but he hasn't bragged about sexual assault, the way the current President has, nor has he paid any porn stars, so, that's a plus). But, yeah, I'll vote for him - he's perfectly qualified, his support and guidance for President Obama was sincere and valuable, and his qualifications are almost overwhelming.
If he's nominated, I will vote for Bernie Sanders. I know it's a shock that he's not higher, given how I preferred him over Hillary Clinton in 2014. I stand by that 2016 support and believe people like me, in supporting Sanders, pulled Clinton to he left - something that gave her the majority of votes in the end. My problem with Bernie is his hires: staff members with very questionable past behavior online, the allegations of sexual harassment that didn't get taken as seriously as it should, etc. Plus, he needs to be so much stronger in speaking out about people - mostly men - who harass people - mostly women - online in his name. And his support for Tulsi Gabbard is really disturbing. But I also think he could do what is required as President, that he has the qualifications, and I still really like his policy ideas.
If he's nominated, I will vote for Pete Buttigieg. His lack of experience really worries me, his Hillary-like missteps, like when he smugly refused to say if he would allow the press into his fundraising events, his slights against policies like universal health care coverage as being to radical - it's all very, very troubling. I think he really, really needs to mature as a leader, not just as a candidate. I think in eight years, with some service at the state or national level, he'll be a much better candidate or leader, and I might even feel way, way more strongly about him then.
If he's nominated, I will vote for Andrew Yang. His profound lack of experience in any government office is deeply disturbing - and we see the consequences of that in the current President, among other things. Like Pete, in eight years, with some service at the state or national level, he'll be a much better candidate or leader, and I might even feel more strongly about him then.
If he's nominated, I will vote for Michael Bloomberg. Like Biden, he also won't do anything regarding pushing for drastically-increased taxation against billionaires. He also does not at all comprehend at how much people in this country are struggling to get health care access. I think he'll spend most of his time catering to people who are center-right, ignoring issues that are affecting poverty and the environment in this country. I think he'll say anything to get elected - and then do anything to please the wealthiest people in this country (people like himself). Big business is going to LOVE this guy. Anyone who criticized Kamala Harris for her background in law enforcement needs to be SCREAMING about this guy. But I do believe he can do the job as President.
I will not vote for Tulsi Gabbard - she's a Russian asset, just like the current President.
I will not vote for Tom Steyer - his stance on term limits alone (I do NOT support them) is enough to ever make me vote for him - his lack of ever holding an office is also a deal-breaker.
I am not even going to say anti-vaxxer, anti-science person's name.
If I haven't named anyone else, it's because I have no idea who in the hell they are.
And I am going to keep reading the candidates' own words, keep watching them when they speak and keep trying to be informed about their positions and not let anyone make up my mind for me. I remain committed to checking out any criticism I hear or read online, even those criticisms I agree with, before jumping on board with them. I will not post anything that I cannot verify does NOT come from an established organization I know and support (not just one with a name that sorta sounds like something I might have heard of before).
And, no, I'm not going to stop offering commentary. I'm not going to stop speaking out. I've been so beaten down since November 2016, mostly by people who vote Democrat, who aren't affected personally and professionally by what Donald Trump is doing and, therefore, would just like to pretend it's not happening. Or men who really don't want to pay attention to what state legislatures are doing regarding women and children. Or people who control a council or community group and really don't like my questions. I've withdrawn from so much. But I'm not withdrawing from this.
Please register to vote. Please make sure you are registered to vote if you haven't voted since 2016. Please register friends, family and neighbors to vote. Please vote.
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