Primarily Speaking

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Tuesday, July 16, 2019
image of a cartoon version of me wearing a large foam finger pointed upward at 'Let's do this thing,' pictured in front of a patriotic stars-and-stripes graphic, to which I've added text reading: 'The Democratic Primary 2020: Let's do this thing.'

Welcome to another edition of Primarily Speaking, because presidential primaries now begin fully one million years before the election!

I'm going to start off with some cute stuff today, because who doesn't need some cute stuff, right?!

1. Outtakes of Senator Cory Booker recording messages to his supporters:


[Video Description: Various clips of Booker looking into the camera and stumbling over his words, stammering and making funny expressions and laughing.]

I especially like that big belly laugh at 0:30!

2. Senator Elizabeth Warren had some fun in Philly, and the really cute part is that photo of her shaking hands with a little girl who is looking very serious about the opportunity to speak to a presidential candidate! OMG my heart.

3. Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro melted my heart by refusing to hold a baby. Yes, you read that right! He didn't want to get the baby sick after he'd been shaking hands all day. COME ON. That's too sweet!


I hope he's as good a dad as that makes me think he must be!

* * *

And now to the decidedly less cute news...

[Content Note: Nativism; racism] I probably haven't read all 200 candidates' responses to Donald Trump's reprehensible racism directed at sitting members of Congress, but the best of the ones I've seen was Julian Castro's, for its needed and deserved bluntness: "Everybody knows that the president acts like a white supremacist. He is a racist; he's made that clear on so many different occasions. ...The question is: What are we as Americans going to do about this?"

Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders tied for the worst responses.

Although Biden at least did say plainly that Trump's statements were "a flat, racist attack," he then suggested that Trump "should go home." How helpful! I bet he'll definitely do that!

Sanders meanwhile just decided to use it as a fundraising opportunity, because of course he did. His tweet contains a donation link and text reading: "I've said all along that Trump is a racist. He is proving that point yet again by attacking Reps. @IlhanMN, @RashidaTlaib, @AyannaPressley, and @AOC. Split a contribution between their campaigns and ours to send a message that his racism will not stand."

Split a contribution between their campaigns and ours. JFC.

* * *

Senator Kamala Harris is making the case that issues affecting women of color are universal issues about which we should all care:
When Kamala Harris thinks about the range of issues that impact women of color — the gender pay gap, the lack of access to affordable housing, and America's high maternal mortality rate for black mothers, among other things — the California senator says she sees universal concerns over the economy, home ownership, and healthcare.

It's a point Harris plans to make Tuesday in Davenport when she joins several women of color at a round-table co-hosted by a local chapter of LULAC, the nation's oldest Latino civil rights organization.

"These are issues that we should all care about," the Democratic presidential candidate told the Des Moines Register. "Where we, as a nation, stand on these issues is a reflection of our collective identity."

..."I really credit the leaders of Iowa for understanding that regardless of what might be the majority population or demographics of the state, that anything that impacts anyone impacts all of us," she said.
[CN: Nativism] Senator Elizabeth Warren is tweeting about Trump's move to end asylum for Central Americans: "This is another targeted, xenophobic attack from the Trump administration. As president, I'll reinstate TPS designations and Deferred Enforced Departure to protect those at risk back in their home countries, including migrants from Central America."

Senator Cory Booker is also tweeting about that move, noting: "This is as illegal as it is immoral." [CN: Violence] He's also remembering Sadie Roberts-Joseph, the Baton Rouge civil rights leader who was found murdered: "Sadie Roberts-Joseph was a pillar of the Baton Rouge community as a civil rights leader and activist who will be missed by so many. I hope and pray for swift justice. As we mourn her loss we must honor her life by continuing her work."

Joe Biden says he'll challenge Trump to some push-ups: "'If [Donald] Trump makes of fun of his age or questions his mental state during a debate, Joe Biden has a response at the ready: He'll challenge him to do push-ups on stage,' the Washington Post reports. Said Biden: 'I'd say, 'C'mon Donald, c'mon man. How many push-ups do you want to do here, pal?' I mean, jokingly. ...C'mon, run with me, man.'" NOPE.


Biden also says of Nancy Pelosi, who inexplicably believes that a meaningless resolution condemning Trump's racism is enough while he's torturing children in concentration camps: "I think she's doing a masterful job. I have great respect for her." Noted.

[CN: Racism; police brutality] The white police officer who fatally shot a Black man last month in Mayor Pete Buttigieg's town of South Bend, Indiana, has quit his job, with the police union president attributing the resignation to "job-related stress, a lawsuit, and national media attention. He said 'hateful things said on social media have been difficult' for the officer and his family. Mills said the 'fights' over the killing are 'just too much for Sgt. O'Neill and his family to undertake right now,' and added: 'Resigning will allow him to focus on these challenges, as well as assist his wife with their three children.'" I would like to know if Buttigieg had any role in orchestrating O'Neill's resignation.

In fundraising news, Beto O'Rourke's fundraising is falling off, and Castro "had the highest rate of donations under $200 of any 2020 candidate. No PAC money, no corporate PAC or lobbyist money — this campaign is driven by grassroots support."

John Delaney is still definitely running for president.

Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
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