Category: Elections (Page 18 of 20)

Source: Lorie Shaull (https://www.flickr.com/photos/number7cloud/32568282327)

Julián Castro’s campaign isn’t getting a lot of attention. Admittedly, I’d have probably forgotten about him as well, if not for the fact that I know people caucusing for him in Iowa or thinking about doing so. He’s polling very badly.

But Castro’s worth a look. He seems to be running the leftmost campaign other than Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. And, on closer inspection, I think that assessment holds up well enough. I’ve written a couple of posts on Sanders and one on Warren. Castro merits one, too.

Here’s what’s going on with his campaign, as I see it.

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Source: Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Warren_speaks,_May_19,_2014.jpg)

2004 was the first year I was old enough to vote in presidential elections, and I quickly found it’s a depressing experience. But it’s easy to do. I’ll start thinking about voting for someone once I’m convinced they’ll work hard to leave the world a better place than they found it. Democratic presidential candidates never met that standard, so I never seriously considered voting for one. Depressing, but easy. Bernie Sanders complicated that in 2016. He met the standard, but he lost to Hillary Clinton. But what if there were a candidate clearly to Hillary Clinton’s left, and still to the right of Bernie Sanders? Did someone say ‘Elizabeth Warren’?

What’s going on with the Warren campaign? That’s my topic here.

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With Joe Biden in the race, the presidential candidate field is more or less complete. I promise I have something a bit more substantive on the way. For now, let’s get on with ranking the Democratic candidates! Who’s deserving of a vote?

I’ve written previously about how I vote. But it’s easy enough to summarize. I vote for candidates who have a chance to win and won’t leave the world worse off than they found it. In practice, the decision for President is usually pretty easy. Almost all presidential candidates would harm the world. Usually Democrats harm it less, and Republicans harm it more. But both cause harm. Therefore, in presidential elections, I usually face a decision between voting third party or not voting at all.

Local elections are less bleak, as lower ranking officials have less potential to cause harm.

But here we are, ready for yet more voting in 2020. Should the left support Bernie again? Support someone else? Should we support no one at all?

Let’s think about this. Right now, I’m just giving the presidential candidates a quick first look. I’ll have more to say later about the three or four best.

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A brief word on the presidential candidacy of Joe Biden.

1. No, I’m not considering voting for Joe Biden in the caucuses/primaries.
2. No, I won’t vote for Joe Biden in the general election if he’s the nominee.
3. No, I’m not interested in reconsidering this position.
4. Yes, I’ll think less of you if you vote for Joe Biden.

That’s OK, though. We can still be friends. Carry on with your day.