I could easily make a long list of my favorite Democrats. Even limiting it to my lifetime, there are quite a few who would make a favorites list for a variety of reasons. Many of the current high profile figures would be near the top, specifically Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I've been to three or four Bernie Sanders rallies, and had the opportunity to stand in line for a handshake after a couple of them. After all the campaigning he'd done, he remembered me the second time we met, not my name, but remembered shaking hands and our short conversation. I'll be honest here, Bernie Sanders is a missed opportunity. If he were ten years younger, and if he'd started in 2000, we'd have had two terms with him and a lot of what's happening now wouldn't be.
I've also met Adam Schiff. I was walking down the hall of the Rayburn building in Washington and spotted him coming the other way. He had absolutely no idea who I was but responded to my smile and putting out my hand. And of course, another of my favorites is Nancy Pelosi. During that same Washington visit, I was eating lunch in the basement cafeteria in one of the house office buildings with the group I came with, and one of them quietly pointed out that Nanci Pelosi was sitting with her back to me at the next table. She heard, and turned around right about the time I glanced over my shoulder and put out her hand. She's one of the best speakers of the house Democrats have ever picked.
But those are personal favorites. As conversation starts to get serious about the 2022 mid-terms, and the old discussions about how many seats the Democrats will lose because they are the party in power in the White House get dragged out, I'm pretty serious about seeing those odds change. They have to. Democrats need to get their message right up front by any means available. We are fortunate, at this point, to have podcasts and social media, blogs and other means of communication because it means that the commercial media doesn't get to control the narrative. Republicans have openly biased networks who support them and who basically report propaganda, not real news, to puff their agenda and candidates. Democrats don't have that in spite of all the whining about the "liberal news media." It doesn't work that way.
There are five Democrats whom I think are essential to winning the mid-term elections and adding to the house and Senate majorities for the last two years of Biden's term. The filibuster needs to go, the Supreme Court needs four or five new progressive, liberal justices and voting rights need to be protected.
These choices are based on my opinion. Of course, there are others who could join this list and do the same thing, but I wanted to give it some thought and limit myself to five. And you may have some different ideas. That's fine. Click on the link and post your opinion. If you're respectful and reasonable, I'll publish them, including if you want to argue with my choices.
Stacy Abrams
A former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, Abrams represents the very best that Democrats have at the moment. In her first run for governor, against the current governor, she fought against voter suppression tactics, primarily the removal of thousands of mostly African American Democrats from the voter registration rolls prior to the election by her opponent, attempting to set up the win for himself. She made it a nail-biter, not an easy task for a single, African American female.
This woman is a powerhouse. She's a legal scholar, and all I can say is that she knows how to communicate with the people and she gets things done. She'd have been my pick for Chairwoman of the DNC, except that someone like Abrams, with her talents and skill, would be wasted in a job like that. She needs to be on the forefront for the party, and she will be in her next run for Governor. I'm betting on her to win it this time. Her presence in that race will boost a lot of candidates across the board, including Raphael Warnock's Senate candidacy. She motivates voters and isn't afraid to challenge the kooks and liars.
Pramila Jayapal
Another "get things done" Congresswoman, this lady was the engine behind the passage of the infrastructure bill and is one of the main negotiators and deal-makers for Build Back Better. She is direct, honest, admits when things aren't going well, and buries her critics with fact. She is articulate, thinks on her feet and properly balances her intelligence and experience with graciousness and tact.
When I've seen her in interviews, mainly on MSNBC or CNN, she sets the record straight when the questions don't line up with the facts. She doesn't let reporters make assumptions, put words in her mouth or continue to push incorrect assumptions. She gives a very sincere impression that she is a representative of her constituents, not a party hack. The Democrats need an intelligent, articulate, experienced, genuine, progressive politician who can baffle their opponents with facts and reason, and Congresswoman Jayapal fits that bill perfectly.
Eric Swalwell
Eric Swalwell is young, a family guy with three kids, a target of a bogus, phony Trump investigation as a result of his participation in both impeachments, and gets 70% of the vote in a congressional district that isn't quite that dominated by Democrats. He's another Democrat who confidently does interviews with the media because he knows the facts and is familiar with the issues and considers himself a representative of the people.
He's a very active Congressman with a wide variety of interests, a likeable guy and willing to listen, rather than hold a hard line, partisan position. Endorsed in his original run for the house by both the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News, he is a favorite of both moderate and progressive California Democrats. I see him as a future, serious Presidential candidate.
Rubin Gallego
A Marine and Iraq War veteran, Gallego is the guy who organized and founded Citizens for Professional Law Enforcement in Phoenix, Arizona, a group formed for the purpose of ousting the notorious bigot Joe Arpaio from his position as Maricopa County Sheriff. Arpaio was particularly prejudiced against Latinos, and was also a big mouthpiece for the birther nonsense over President Obama's birth certificate and was pardoned by Trump for crimes he committed, especially financial corruption. The group's organization and presence helped lead to increases in Latino voter registration which ousted Arpaio in 2016.
The Latino vote is very important to Democrats, and got a nice boost from Trump's bigotry and racist comments about Latinos, Mexican immigrants and judges with hispanic last names. Gallego is a progressive with a record, able to mobilize Latino voters who can sometimes be a little bit equivocal when considering candidates to support. Gallego's presence in Arizona was a factor in Biden's win in what was once a reliably Republican state. The margin of Biden's victory came from Maricopa County, specifically from Gallego's district on Phoenix' south and west side.
Connor Lamb
Currently the Representative from Pennsylvania's 17th district, an area that leans Republican, but which Lamb initially won after Pennsylvania's districts were redrawn and he found himself a resident of it. He defeated a two-term Republican, Keith Rothfus, after initially winning a special election in the 18th district, caused by the resignation of Tim Murphy due to an affair and alleged abortion request of his mistress.
Lamb, another highly decorated Marine veteran, has broad appeal to both moderates and progressives. He has a mind of his own, which is an asset, considering the perspectives and opinions of his constituents. Don't you just love how many Democrats there are who actually do this? His participation in two caucuses, the Social Security Expansion caucus and the LGBTQ equality caucus seal his record as a young progressive with wide appeal, whose candidacy activated a large segment of younger voters. They have provided the margins of victory in his re-elections.
There Are Others Who Should Also Be Front and Center For 2022
These five are some of the best salespeople I've ever heard. They are extremely intelligent, well educated, but outstanding communicators who can change minds in a three minute sound byte and take you from the depths of despair to high hopes of the party's future success. They hit all the constituencies of the Democratic base, which is exactly what the party needs to win in 2022. They'll pick up the never trumper fringe of the GOP and most independents, but the base needs to turn out and these are people who have a proven track record of drawing segments of voters into that base.
I've limited myself to just five, but there are a few others who should also be part of the discussion. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who succeeded in helping turn Arizona purple and who won by a margin of 300,000 votes in a state Biden won by 11,000, has this same ability. So does Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff. They're both great crowd draws for rallies and they fire 'em up. And to put an experienced politician with grace, dignity, honesty and balance into the group, I would add Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.
I think it is also time to move New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez front and center. Forget about trying to get the fringe conservative vote, you want someone who will double the under 35 turnout for you and this lady is that one. She's the exact opposite on the Democratic side to extremists Boebert and Taylor-Greene on the Republican side. The difference is that Ocasio-Cortez goes high, while they go low. And she is articulate and intelligent, and they aren't either of those things.
The Vice-President
I know that it is customary for the Vice-President to operate a little behind and to the left of the President, with the primary responsibility of being ready to step in at a moment's notice. I don't for a minute believe all the media scuttlebutt about the Biden administration wanting to dump Harris. She's doing exactly what a Vice President ought to do, though the President gave her oversight over the border issue and she is doing exactly what they expect her to do with regard to border policy. We are the United States, and we are the hope of the oppressed. We give political asylum when it is wanted and needed, and that's what's happening on our southern border, we are being America, the haven of freedom to the oppressed, when they arrive at our borders.
She's not running around all over the place giving press conferences, which is doing exactly what a VP should be doing. I certainly hope that she is given the opportunity to make a timely run for the White House, is supported by all Democrats and becomes our country's first female President.
Anyone Else?
I'm not skulking for comments, but this is an open discussion and you should feel free to put your two cents in the pot. Are there others we should be considering as representatives of the direction of the Democratic party?
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