Presidential Cocktails

Cory Booker, the candidate: Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has a fascinating biography and progressive credentials to spare. His campaign website is  here.  Before he was Senator, Booker was mayor of Newark, during which time he became famous for being the kinds of hands-on politician who shoveled snow off his constituents' driveways and once, amazingly,  rescued a woman from a burning building.  As a senator, Booker is renowned for his lofty, impassioned speeches and morality-based worldview. Given all of this, it's probably not surprising that the New Jersey Senator has a reputation for being something of a superman. Policy Positions Common sense criminal justice reform (Introduced as a piece of legislation called  The Next Step Act ): This is a sweeping proposal that would include such things as banning solitary confinement for juvenile offenders in federal facilities, sentencing reform, and prohibiting federal employers from asking...

Bernie Sanders, the candidate: Yes, the Independent Senator from Vermont is once again running to be the Democratic nominee for President. . No, Senator Sanders is not a Democrat, but he has signed a pledge to govern as a Democrat should he win the nomination, and subsequent general election. Does his party affiliation matter? Well, yes and no. Sanders is an unapologetic progressive, and many of his policy positions mirror those of other candidates in the Democratic field. (Indeed, he is a cosponsor on some of their pieces of legislation, as they are on his.) However, I don't think the importance of party affiliation and party loyalty can be overstated in these hyper-partisan times.  All of this is to say, Bernie's running for president again, on the Democratic ticket.  Bernie Sanders was politically active as a young person in college, and after. He marched on Washington with Dr. King and fought for civil rights in Chicago and elsewhere. And the Independent Sena...

Elizabeth Warren, the candidate: Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's  campaign website  asks the question What will Elizabeth Warren do? And it answers:  This is the fight of our lives. The fight to build an America that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and the well-connected. It won’t be easy. But united by our values, we can make big, structural change. We can raise our voices together until this fight is won. This basically sums up Senator Warren's campaign, and also her stance on all the issues. She has positioned herself as the  Rupert Giles to the American voter's Buffy the Vampire Slayer:   that is, she's the older, wiser, more studied mentor that we need to help guide us through our struggles. She's The One With The Plan.  And Elizabeth Warren has a LOT of detailed plans. Where other candidates campaign in more broad strokes without the details (Beto O'Rourke and Bernie Sanders come to mind), or are staking their candi...

Kirsten Gillibrand, the candidate: Have you watched Senator Gillibrand's campaign launch video yet? If you haven't, take a couple of minutes and do so now: The Democratic Senator's campaign slogan, "Brave Wins,"is both a statement and a question. It asks: What does bravery mean in America? Has bravery always won? Will bravery win now? And it answers: Bravery means true equality (racial, economic, judicial, environmental). Bravery has NOT always won in America, but it CAN. And it SHOULD.  Senator Gillibrand is not the only 2020 Democratic candidate who put out a launch video, but by God, hers is the most inspiring. I'm not backing any horses yet, and I am not asking you to, but I submit that if you weren't fired up and ready to Fight the Good Fight by the end of that video, you might be dead. Or a Republican.  Policy Positions: A national paid family leave act. Senator Gillibrand has introduced legislation to create a national p...

Kamala Harris, the candidate: Democratic Senator from California, Kamala Harris has a deep background in public service and roots in activism. The Senator has written about the fact that her parents met while  protesting for civil rights at UC Berkeley.  Racial justice is something that the candidate feels intrinsically connected to. Her father, a professor of economics at Stanford, is Jamaican and her mother was an Indian immigrant. A transcript of Senator Harris's speech delivered at her  campaign launch  speaks to these roots:  We were raised in a community where we were taught to see a world, beyond just ourselves. To be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people. We were raised to believe public service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is everyone’s responsibility. In fact, my mother used to say “don’t sit around and complain about things, do something.” Basically I think she was saying. You’ve got to get up...