Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren (photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty)
19 March 15
would love to see Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, or another
progressive win the Democratic Party nomination and then the White
House. I will not be caucusing for Hillary Clinton here in Iowa. I am,
however, resigned to the position that if she wins the nomination, I
will vote for her in November of 2016. I will vote for whoever wins the
Democratic Party nomination.
Out here in Iowa I have a close-up look at the
Republican field running for president. They are a frightening bunch,
and I’m terrified of what they might be able to do in concert with a
Republican Congress. Then add another seat or two on the Supreme Court
and we are finished. If you don’t want to have to vote for Hillary,
you’d better get out there and help another candidate win the
nomination. Any thought that a third party candidate has a prayer in the
current system is delusional. The last time I voted for the Green
Party, I was in California and Al Gore had the state wrapped up. If
I had been living in Iowa I would have voted for Al Gore.
One thing that many people do is watch from the
sidelines and then complain when the nominee is not acceptable to them.
Hillary’s fundraising advantage will be hard to overcome. A grassroots
campaign is needed or we will have to settle. Just take a look at the
alternatives.
- Scott Walker - Look what he did in Wisconsin. A Walker presidency would be a disaster for working people. Collective bargaining would be on the chopping block. There wouldn’t be a social program safe from him and the Koch brothers. There are a bunch of really bad options here, and Walker is probably the worst. The scariest thing is he is a frontrunner. Unlike most extreme right-wingers, he will have the money to go all the way.
- Jeb Bush - 12 years in the Bushes was enough. He is already sounding some populist themes. He wants us to believe that he will save the middle class. He will do what his father and brother didn’t do and grow the economy so America can work for the middle class again. Of course his answer to our problems is entitlement reform. The phony empathy is new; the prescription is the same old same old.
- Rand Paul - Some of his libertarian views are appealing. Forget entitlement reform with him – for the libertarians it’s entitlement dismantling. His support of “getting government out of our lives” includes getting government out of the lives of people who need its help. For example, Paul called Social Security a Ponzi scheme.
- Chris Christie - Another one who has found empathy for the middle class all of a sudden. He is going to simplify the tax code and tackle entitlements. We have heard that before. With Jeb in the race I don’t see Christie raising the money to compete, but if he does the middle class will have anything but a champion in him.
- Rick Santorum - Had his chance four years ago. All he had to do was beat Romney after winning Iowa. It’s clear he is running for a cabinet position, one that he likely won’t get. The Kochs would pick Walker’s cabinet and Santorum won’t be on the short lists. If he wins the nomination, God help us. Wait, Santorum is on God’s team!
- Ted Cruz - Now this would be scary. Could you imagine — no, don’t do that, you will have nightmares. If Ted Cruz became president we would have the looniest leader in the world;yes, even loonier than North Korea’s leader. His obsession with doing away with Obamacare borders on psychotic.
- Rick Perry - Here is another one who doesn’t know when to give up. Message to Rick Perry: if you couldn’t beat the cast of characters that ran four years ago, what makes you think you can beat this field? While it’s full of nuts, it is a stronger field with Walker, Christie, and Bush 3.
- Ben Carson - Here’s the one Republicans love to support publicly to show how much they have evolved, but when it comes time to pull the lever in the voting both, can they really do it? He is trendy, but I don’t think the GOP is ready to nominate a black man. When he speaks, he reminds me of a motivational speaker, or one of those guys on an infomercial selling snakeoil.
- Marco Rubio - Vice President? He is not running as hard as the rest. I think he wants a spot on the ticket. He brings to the ticket the ability to deliver Florida and shrink the map for the Democrats. I think Jeb jumping in shrunk the map for Rubio, and he knows it. Maybe he can pass Jeb a glass of water.
- Mike Huckabee - The true nationalist in the field. When he was giving his nuanced answer on free trade, I realized that it was an answer Pat Buchanan would have given. Then he called himself a nationalist and bashed the globalists. Be very afraid. He always talks with a smile and cracks a lot of jokes, but his message is not funny.
- George Pataki - He really wants a job. He hung out longer than anyone at the Iowa Ag Summit even though he failed to support the most important issue to Iowa’s corporate farmers. Renewable Fuel Standards will help get ethanol to the pump. Pataki had the guts to oppose them and hang around and talk to the press and the crowd after the event was over. I think he would be in a GOP cabinet.
- Carly Fiorina - I am missing something here. After the Freedom Summit many pundits on the right said they were impressed with Fiorina. I just don’t get it. She speaks in one tone, boring. She trails Scott Walker in the Field Poll in California, her home state. Every time Fox News needs a response to Hillary saying it’s time to elect a woman president, they march out Carly. She has not shown any life in the polls, and I personally don’t see her poll numbers coming to life anytime soon.
- Lyndsey Graham - Late-comer to the race. He is hiring staff, so he is serious about a run. The New York Times did a feature article that called him the “maverick” of 2016. To get the GOP nomination, he would need to get all the moderate Republicans behind him, a tall order with Jeb in the race. The Tea Party hates him, and anti-immigration activists don’t likehim. I think he is at least 10 years too late for a run for the White House.
- Donald Trump - In a sign that he really is running this time, he did not renew his contract with NBC for his TV series. His main theme will be that he knows how to build and he will rebuild America. He will get some policy into his speeches around his love fest of himself. We will probably learn how old he was when he first used the toilet by himself. He loves to talk about one thing … himself.
- Jim Gilmore - Former RNC chairman, and former governor of Virginia. It’s okay if you don’t know who he is, most Republicans don’t either. He is not likely to even break 1% in any primary if he runs.
- Bobby Jindal - When will this guy go away? For some reason, the press likes to build him up as a contender, but he never gains any traction in the polls. What has he ever done to get so much attention?
- John Kasich - He is still listed as a prospective candidate in some places, but I don’t think he is crazy enough to join this field. Remember he had the audacity to work with President Clinton and help pass four consecutive balanced budgets. His presidential run in 2000 was a disaster. I’m not seeing many signs that he is is getting in this time.
- Marsha Blackburn - Talk about crazy, now we get to the real crazies! Yup, even crazier than The Donald. Blackburn, who opposed the Violence Against Women Act because it would protect lesbians and illegal immigrants, insists on being called Congressman, and doesn’t believe women want equal pay. She still believes Obama was not born in the United Statesand that Obamacare has death panels.
- John Bolton - Ready for World War III? The ultimate neo-con spoke at Steve King's Freedom Summit. John Bolton was ambassador to the UN, even though he didn’t believe in diplomacy with anyone but Israel. The military would be called on often if Bolton werepresident.
- Sarah Palin - Need I say more?
Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where
he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain
archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment
movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace
and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of
Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian,
and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural
events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be
spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.
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