Absolutely no one was clamoring for me to turn into an OP this reply

[tblue37]

Last edited Sun Nov 17, 2013, 08:37 PM - Edit history (2)

(which I posted in a thread about whether Hillary will be our 2016 nominee), but think it is an interesting line of speculation, so I decided to OP it anyway.

When the first Iraq war made Bush I undefeatable, all the Dem heavy-hitters kept their powder dry for the next presidential election, clearing the way for a young governor from the small, backwater state of Arkansas to win the first of two terms, creating a situation in which the timid potential Dem candidates from the 1992 election season had no chance of being nominated for 2000.

If Hillary's juggernaut scares well-known Dem candidates away, a lesser known one might appear to challenge her.

Bill Clinton delivered the 1988 keynote speech at the DNC. Barack Obama, the 2004 speech. Mark Warner (2008 speech) is too old and too Old Guard.

BUT the 2012 keynote speaker, young, uber-appealing Julian Castro, might be just the candidate to appeal to the fastest-growing voter demographic, especially while the Repubs are being so obtuse on immigration, and when THEIR Great Latino Hope is the guy who scares most Repubs as much as he scares most Dems and Independents!

Not quite a "prediction," but. . . .

[tblue37]

1. Thanks for the rec, but I am hoping for the occasional "K" as well, because

I do consider this line of thought to be interesting and important--especially considering the trajectory of Clinton (Bill, I mean) and Obama from their keynote speeches, and especially since both were unexpected challengers to an "undefeatable" candidate at a time in their own political development when they were seen as promising future party stars.

[WinkyDink]

2. "President Castro." Yeah, I don't think so.

[tblue37]

3. President Barack HUSSEIN Obama? nt

[tecelote]

21. Liberals sure do know how to f**k with republicans

[WinkyDink]

42. Point taken. But we don't actually say the middle name, do we? A surname is right there, though.

[treestar]

40. That would be rather ironic.

Interestingly so.

[broiles]

4. Okay, kick.

[tblue37]

6. Thanks a bunch! nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Interesting line of thought...

I don't know Julian Castro well at all...

Time to do some research.

K&R

[tblue37]

8. I assume he would not have been handed that keynote speech if he had not been chosen by TPTB

in the Dem Party as one of our most promising rising stars.

The keynote speaker is often someone being groomed by party honchos for a future presidential run.

[zeemike]

25. Or VP choice for Hillary.

Hit both the woman and Latino note.

[DonCoquixote]

43. this goes double

IF CC runs and has that new Miexcian governor Susanna Martinez.

[zeemike]

44. She is not a Mexican.

Although those who don't know the history of the southwest would think so.
But the Spanish have been in NM for 400 years and they are far removed from Mexico.
But you are right, they intend to bring a hispanic into it to get the hispanic vote...whether it is Martinez, Rubio or Cruz to siphon off some of the democratic support.

[DonCoquixote]

45. I typed New Mexican

which she is

[tblue37]

12. Exactly, CP. That is what I am hoping people will do if they start thinking along these lines and

stop just obsessing over Hillary as the only possible candidate--or the only possible one who is not a white man.

[madokie]

7. This old mostly white man would vote for him

[tblue37]

10. As much as I would love to see a woman as president in my lifetime (I am 63),

I am also happy to see other marginalized demographic groups find their place in the sun as well.

I imagine Castro is not as extremely liberal as I am--if he were, the party powers would not be grooming him for national office as they obviously are doing. But I also believe that no one as liberal as I am has any chance at all at the presidency.

And although I would love to see a woman become president before I die, I kinda wish that woman would be someone with less powerful ties to corporations, big finance, and the underground Christian shadow government (i.e., the Family).

[madokie]

13. Like Elizabeth maybe

I'm pretty much where you are

[tblue37]

14. Not necessarily. I love EW, but we also need strong senators.

The president's power is limited (as Jimmy Carter once pointed out in an interview*), and if we constantly remove our strong senators and representatives** from seats where they are doing real good, we are only weakening the legislative foundation the president needs to get anything done.

When Ted Kennedy stopped trying to be president, he became a true force for good in the Senate--and also achieved a greatness he would probably not have achieved as president.
______________

*When asked what surprised him most after he became president, Carters said it was how little power he actually had as president.

**I keep seeing calls for Pelosi to run for president, but why wouldn't we want to keep her as Speaker of the House if we manage to take the House back in 2014?

[fadedrose]

9. I've been thinking the same thing,

not about Castro, but about a Latino running. He'll probably lose to a better known one, but there's always the VP slot...

Latinos would be so happy.

[tblue37]

11. Woo-hoo! Thanks for getting this up to 5 recs for visibility! nt

[monmouth3]

15. I definitely see Julian as a VP candidate. He has a very promising future..n/t

[tblue37]

16. Yeah--I was thinking he might be tapped for a VP slot--more likely than as a presidential contender.

[TBF]

17. Love him - but

if I were the party I'd save him for 2020 or 2024. By that time we will have better demographics down here and if we can turn Texas blue he will be our president. In the meantime he can keep growing San Antonio and/or be a great VP.

[tblue37]

18. Yeah, I hear you. But I do think people need to look a bit further than just

Hillary, Hillary, Hillary!!! for 2016, and it wouldn't hurt his future opportunities to get people researching him now (as California Peggy says she plans to do now in her post above).

[TBF]

19. I'm sure the party is vetting him -

there's a reason Hillary met with him recently in LA (here is my journal entry on that: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251337790).

I'm just giving you my thoughts regarding Julian - and knowing the situation down here.

I like Hillary but I campaigned for Obama in '08 - I don't have a strong preference on primary this time around. Maybe as potential candidates make their plans known I will feel differently about that. Much more concerned about messaging re the ACA and 2014 right now.

[libdem4life]

27. I saw that photo...didn't save it...thanks for reposting.

[jtuck004]

20. K&R

Oh, and btw - > "Absolutely no one was clamoring for me to turn into an OP this reply..." <- that's funny

[tblue37]

22. I couldn't resist. So many OPs are posted that claim (perhaps many of them quite honestly)

that the only reason for posting the OP is that people in the original thread it was a reply to kept begging the OP to start a thread with the same post.

Heh. I think I probably did that once myself a few years ago. In fact, yes, I know I did--and it was actually true then, too! (I mean I posted a reply as an OP because of demands from other posters in a thread.)

I know that many OPs actually are a response to people in another thread demanding that a particularly good reply be posted as an OP in its own thread. I have even made such requests myself from time to time after reading a particularly cogent post.

But I also suspect that quite a few OPs who claim that are just claiming it, and I find that worth a chuckle.

[lastlib]

23. Repeat after me: 2014....2014....2014....2014....2014....2014.......

...2014....2014....2014....2014....

SCREW 2016 until we get 2014 taken care of! We have almost no hope of winning 2016 UNLESS we accomplish what we need to do in 2014! And that's: 1) Win back the House; 2) Make big inroads in state legislatures and Governors' races.

2014....2014....2014....2014....

(maybe this is why nobody was clamoring for you to post this....jus' thinkin' out loud...)

[tblue37]

24. Oh, I absolutely agree, but since everyone IS Hillarying for 2016, I thought that it might be a good

idea to point out that she is not as inevitable as they are insisting.

I think their conviction of her inevitability (and their desire to ensue it) drives a lot of the 2016 drumbeat.

It is true, though, as another person who doesn't necessarily want Hillary pointed out in another post, that anyone else would need to get started soonest--that waiting until after the 2014 elections would be waiting too long if that person wants any hope at all of being a viable primary candidate.

[treestar]

41. +1 everyone in this country is absolutely obsessed by the Presidency

and then "disappointed" to find that he/she can't do it all alone.

[libdem4life]

26. Julian and Joaquin Castro have deep Democratic roots. Mom Rosie, was part of La Raza Unida

Last edited Mon Nov 18, 2013, 02:13 AM - Edit history (1)

They are truly Southwest Mexican/Hispanic ready for the national stage.

Their education history is amazing, they are enigmatic, obviously bilingual, and the real deal. Their "political baggage" was that their mother was a part of La Raza Unida ... a very left leftist organization. They had to go right to be left. Amazing family. The face of the New National Hispanic.

Couldn't be more the polar opposite of Hillary, but she has posed for a photo with Julian, who seems to be the one with national aspirations...and lots of support as people get to know about him.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/From-political-matriarch-the-sons-also-rise-3905913.php

Rosie

http://www.castroforcongress.com/about.php Joaquin

http://www.sanantonio.gov/Mayor/castrobio.aspx Julian

[tblue37]

28. Thanks for the info and the links! nt

[libdem4life]

29. You're welcome. Realized I goofed up on the Rosie link ... fixed it.

[tblue37]

30. He and his twin are quite an impressive pair--

and who can resist twins?

I would love to see both of them in high national positions.

I just had an amusing thought--could you see them as President and VP in a few years? Twins!


On Edit: I realized that Joaquin is already a congressman. I thought at first that he was still in the Texas legislature.


[font size = "+1"][font color ="blue"]Why ALL those edits? I couldn't get the "update my post" button to work, so I kept clicking it.

[libdem4life]

31. Cause the first one somehow didn't take...I decided to post it...my first post.

[tblue37]

32. ?? I don't understand what you mean. nt

[libdem4life]

33. Just had an edit glitch and had to redo it.

[tblue37]

34. Oh--I wasn't referring to YOUR edits, but to my own. Notice that MY reply to your post

has 28 (Yep! 28!!) edits! That is because I couldn't get my "update my post" button to click, so I just kept clicking it. When the page finally updated, it showed that every one of my nonresponsive (or so I thought!) mouse clicks had actually taken.

[libdem4life]

35. Ha...thought I was the only computer-glitchy prone

[tblue37]

36. No--I am a computer moron. To me, computers are often just very expensive typewriters that

you have to sit and wait for, while things download or upload, or while the wireless mouse reconnects itself.

[libdem4life]

37. Typewriters? If you remember the Selectric, then you're bound to be around my age.

[tblue37]

38. I am 63. I remember MANUAL typewriters! nt

Last edited Mon Nov 18, 2013, 04:20 AM - Edit history (1)

[stevenleser]

39. The Castro's are definitely on my 2024 POTUS list and on my 2016 VP list.

I'm actually hoping for Grayson for VP in 2016 but I would like either of the Castro's too.