It’s REALLY early to make such a prediction. Their party convention is still a year away. But it’s NOT too early to begin the elimination process of those 2-dozen declared Democrats who long ago began the feeding frenzy that is American politics. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) was the first to drop out of the race. But there is plenty of room on the “ex-candidate” roll. But after it’s all said and done, the convention floor has been swept clean of all the confetti and helium-depleted balloons, after half-a-thousand delegates have formally nominated their candidate to run on the 2020 Democrat ticket for President, who will be the last man (or woman) standing?
The Process
Isn’t it crazy to watch the polls as they are released almost daily for the 2020 race? Let’s be honest: NO ONE has any real idea at this point who will win the Democrat Party nomination. Certainly, no one has any idea who’ll win the election. After all, it’s not an absolute certainty that President Trump will even be in the race though he has declared. But in this political climate, nothing surprises anyone!
Beto
Conventional wisdom early on was that Beto O’Rourke would probably land the Democrat bid for the White House. That was based on the extremely close race he ran against Senator Ted Cruz for the U.S. Senate in 2016. It was shocking that he almost upset the incumbent which catapulted him into the 2020 race. And those Texas race results garnered him millions of dollars early on for a presidential bid.
But times change.
Uncle Joe
Everyone waited breathlessly to see what Joe Biden was going to do. He waited until late to put his toe in the water. Not surprisingly when he did enter, he zoomed to the top. Though he has lost some ground in large part due to his own campaign trail gaffs and previous clouds left from numerous incidents in his ages-long Washington political career, he’s still slightly in the lead in the polls. But many don’t expect that lead to last.
Bernie and Liz
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren both have that liberal star power and the history of being front and center on the Democrat national stage. That history and their name recognition has kept them close. But the pair seem to move further and further to the left. It seems that their doing so is eating away at whatever chances they may have had to represent Dems next November.
Mayor Pete
“Mayor Pete” hit with a splash — mostly because he is a new fresh face with no national political baggage. His being gay with a husband certainly gave him instant support from the LGBTQ community. But his early success has also slowly eroded. He started with a big pot of cash. But as his popularity dwindles, so does his staying ability. I imagine the people of South Bend will be dealing with Mayor Pete on the local level against after the 2020 election.
Spartacus
Cory Booker had a good shot in the race for two reasons: he’s an African American Senator, and he’s been in the national political spotlight for some time. But several things have tripped him up: the first was his Spartacus moment when he falsely volunteered to be expelled from the Senate for his release of some confidential Senate documents during the Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings when before his Spartacus speech those documents had already been released. Secondly, the New Jersey Senator exhibits a propensity for grandstanding on racial issues and seems to jump on every identity politics tidbit as they show-up seeming to be looking for an edge — any edge — to give him credibility with a dwindling group of American supporters.
Who’s Left?
At this point based on debates, speeches, legislation (for those in Congress) and specific political positions, I simply put the remaining candidates in an “other” basket. I think none of those left have a real chance to upset President Trump. The Democrat National Committee knows it is senseless to spend the money that a 2020 race will cost, (reportedly $1 Billion or even more) to try to elect a candidate that simply has little or no chance to send Donald Trump packing. I think after these above, there’s just a bunch of “also-rans,” except one.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)
The cat’s out of the bag at TruthNewsNetwork. Our pick to carry the Democrat banner in the 2020 Presidential election is Kamala Harris. Why is that?
- Democrats are in a tough spot looking for their candidate. All of their candidates espouse pretty much all of the liberal ideas. There aren’t great differences among them — at least policy differences. Whoever they nominate MUST be able to defeat Donald Trump.
- Harris is hardcore, confrontational, never hesitates to take on any and all opponents, and despises Donald Trump. Dems feel she will not back down from the President and can go toe-to-toe with him on pretty much every issue.
- She toes the Democrat Party line. While many who are running differ with the party on one issue here and there, Senator Harris is right in line on pretty much ALL Democrat Party issues.
- She’s mixed race, which is proving to be a plus for candidates more and more. Her father is Jamaican and her mother is Indian. While she’s not African-American, she certainly is a woman of color which gives her an ethnic benefit over the “Old white guy.”
- She’s an excellent speaker. And she’s delivered almost uncountable speeches while an attorney, a state politician (California Attorney General), and a U.S. Senator. That will help her tremendously on the national stage.
- She’s a woman. That linked with her race and legal background and communication skills fit well with her Party’s plans.
- She has the Obama Machine in her corner. No, the Obamas have not come out in support of any candidate yet. But there are details already leaked that they are in support of Harris and are prepared to put that significant machine behind the Senator. In a bitter political race that this certainly will be, having the financial, political, and fully resourced organization that shocked the world twice sending Barack to the White House twice has twice been insurmountable. The Obamas will be a significant source for Harris.
- She’s a she. That cannot be minimized. There are numerous Americans — especially women — who feel the nation owes its people a female President. Female voters outnumber male voters. That cannot be minimized in this race.
Let’s Bullet-Point 10 things you may or may not know about the Senator
1. As both a district attorney and state attorney general, Harris pushed for a new statewide law that lets prosecutors charge parents with misdemeanors if their children are chronically truant. “We are putting parents on notice,” she declared. “If you fail in your responsibility to your kids, we are going to work to make sure you face the full force and consequences of the law.”
3. Harris also has been a strong advocate of civil asset forfeiture. She supported a bill in California that would have allowed prosecutors to seize assets before initiating criminal proceedings — a power now available only at the federal level — if there were a “substantial probability” they would eventually initiate such proceedings. Besides cases involving violent crimes, the legislation allowed seizures in cases involving such crimes as bribery, gambling, and trafficking endangered species. Harris endorsed the bill after then-attorney general Eric Holder sharply limited civil asset forfeiture among federal prosecutors. She argued that the practice gave local and state law-enforcement officials “more tools to target the illicit profits [of transnational criminal groups] and dismantle these dangerous organizations.”
4. As San Francisco district attorney, Harris created “Back on Track,” an anti-recidivism program that she expanded as state attorney general. The program received $750,000 in federal funding and quite a bit of praise from crime-policy experts. But it faced criticism early in its history, when illegal immigrant Alexander Izaguirre, who had pleaded guilty to selling drugs, was selected and graduated, only to later grab a woman’s purse and run her down in an SUV, severely injuring her.
As the Los Angeles Times put it, “Harris’ office had been allowing Izaguirre and other illegal immigrants to stay out of prison by training them for jobs they cannot legally hold.” Harris said she had been unaware that Back on Track had been training illegal immigrants and that they would no longer be eligible for the program.
5. In 2012, she submitted a brief supporting an illegal immigrant’s application for a law license. In 2014, the California Supreme Court ruled in the immigrant’s favor, even though the California State Bar’s rules state that it is disqualifying professional misconduct to commit a criminal act.
6. In her first speech on the Senate floor, Harris declared, “An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.” She later avowed the belief that illegal immigration is “a civil violation, not a crime.”
This classification applies to only a portion of those in the country without permission. First, entering the country illegally has criminal penalties. Overstaying a visa is considered a civil violation, not a criminal one, with deportation as the appropriate penalty. But reentry without permission after deportation is a crime, as is, in most cases, working in the United States without legal residency, since it almost always involves some falsification of documents or lying on work forms under penalty of perjury.
7. Harris’s reputation as a tough prosecutor has played a key part in her political rise, and she continues to tout the high rate of felony convictions on her watch. But in 2010, SF Weekly reviewed the work of her office and concluded that “felony convictions for cases that actually go to trial and reach a jury verdict — a comparatively small group that nevertheless includes some of a district attorney’s most violent and emotionally charged cases — have declined significantly over the past two years.” The review found that in 2009, San Francisco prosecutors “won a lower percentage of their felony jury trials than their counterparts at district attorneys’ offices covering the 10 largest cities in California,” and San Francisco’s rate dropped further in the first quarter of 2010. Harris’s 71 percent conviction rate on felony cases had been boosted by a significant increase in pre-trial plea agreements.
8. In October 2017, Harris declared that she would rather shut down the government than vote for a spending bill that did not address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and ensure those covered by the program would not be deported. “I will not vote for an end-of-year spending bill until we are clear about what we are going to do to protect and take care of our DACA young people in this country,” she said. And she has kept her word, at least so far.
9. In April 2018, Harris urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to “reduce funding for beds in the federal immigration system,” reject calls to hire more Border Patrol personnel, and “reduce funding for the administration’s reckless immigration enforcement operations.”
10. In 2010, a California Superior Court judge declared that as San Francisco district attorney, Harris had violated defendants’ rights by hiding damaging information about a police drug-lab technician and was indifferent to demands that the lab account for its failings. The crime-lab technician had been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence in 2008; district attorneys are obligated to hand over to the defense information about prosecution witnesses that could be used to challenge their credibility. Prosecutors’ failure to disclose the information about the technician led to the dismissal of more than 600 drug cases.
Summary
There are many more things America needs to know about Senator Harris. In Part II of this story, TNN will give you 10 more things about Harris few know and that are very important as the Democrat race tightens and candidates begin to take a bow.
Back at the 10,000-foot level, we all need to understand that without question, the 2020 presidential election may be the most important election of this century. It will speak volumes to this generation and several to come about whether the greatest country on Earth will abandon the foundation that allowed the creation and perpetuation of that title for 200+ years and become an also-ran Socialist model of some combination of that from several European countries. Many scoff at this idea, but we must not make that mistake. A generation or two of our nation’s educators have filled the minds of corresponding in age young Americans with untruths about capitalism and our representative republic. That explains why so many are marching FOR Free Speech while demonstrating and rioting AGAINST actual proponents who attempt to trumpet the values and benefits of the First Amendment. The paradox of that very chapter in American history illustrates how our teenagers and young adults are acting on what they have been taught and summarily reject the tenets of our social, economic, and judicial foundation.
It’s scary, folks. And there’s more! Make sure to come back tomorrow. We’ll give you those other 10 facts about Senator Harris that most don’t know and we’ll discuss in detail some of her political policies she’s trumpeting that probably will take many aback.
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