Friends, are you up for taking a DU VP poll?

[Firebrand Gary]

I haven't seen anyone do this in awhile, so why not? Let's have some fun in light of the recent New York Times article.

Hillary Clinton is still battling Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont for the Democratic presidential nomination, but her campaign team has already started thinking about the qualities that would make a good running mate. Here are some likely contenders — according to allies and advisers of the Clintons and prominent Democrats — and a look at their strengths and weaknesses.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/04/24/us/politics/hillary-clinton-running-mate.html

Who are you pulling for?

5 votes, 3 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Sherrod Brown
	0 (0%)
	Julian Castro
	3 (60%)
	Tim Kaine
	0 (0%)
	Amy Klobuchar
	0 (0%)
	Deval Patrick
	0 (0%)
	Thomas Perez
	1 (20%)
	Mark Warner
	0 (0%)
	Elizabeth Warren
	1 (20%)
	3 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Firebrand Gary]

1. I'm going with Perez.

I'd easily go for Warren, however I think that we need her to keep kicking ass and taking names in the Senate.

[2naSalit]

2. I would think

that there are other choices too. Sen. Franken would be an interesting choice and then , why would it have to be someone already in government? And maybe a current cabinet member would be good. I think that Sherrod Brown would be a good choice too. Haven't given it much thought until now.

[jmowreader]

3. Are you thinking, maybe a business person?

Who runs a good ethical business with an excellent labor and environmental record, is a Democrat, has a strong board and wouldn't mind taking a pay cut for a few years? And most importantly, is NOT from the state of New York? The first person that comes to mind is John Warnock, who helped found Adobe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Warnock

[Firebrand Gary]

5. Interesting, I will read up! Thanks for the tip!

[MBS]

11. given the volatile state of the world right now

and, to be pragmatic, Hillary's age, I think it's extremely important that the VP be someone experienced - someone truly qualified to step into the duties of the presidency. So someone with substantive government experience is for me a must.

Franken and Brown would be good choices.

[Firebrand Gary]

19. Qualified is a must.

I think it's also important to make sure the ticket is representative of our party as well, therefor as great as Franken and Brown are, I think diversity is a must. We've got a lot of options, it will be interesting to see where this goes.

[MBS]

20. It will be interesting, for sure.

I agree with you about diversity. Just not (at this point, at least) convinced that Castro is the guy right now (though he for sure has potential later on). Thankfully, as you said, we've got a lot of options.

[72DejaVu]

18. I tink Sherrod brown is great

but he'd be replaced in the Senate by a Republican.

[MBS]

21. good point. n/t

[brush]

26. I'd suggest Nina Turner. She'd help bring in Sanders' supporters. My one bit of hesitancy is . . .

Last edited Sun Apr 24, 2016, 01:27 PM - Edit history (1)

why I wouldn't go with Warren as well, who I like immensely.

They are both women and I don't think a two-woman ticket will fly yet in our country unfortunately.

[DesertFlower]

4. how about martin o'malley?

[Firebrand Gary]

6. That's a good question, his name really is not floating around is it?

I wonder what that's about? O'Malley is essential to our party, maybe he'd be willing to go to the cabinet? At some point Cardin is going to retire as well, I wonder if his eye might not be on that as well?

[MBS]

12. I don't think he'd be helpful as a running mate.

I just don't see him adding energy to the campaign.
Plus, demographically, MD is already a pretty much sure thing for the Dems.

[BlueMTexpat]

7. I believe that there are many possibilities

that are not included in this list, although of those listed, I prefer Castro.

Personally, I do not want to see ANY sitting liberal Dem US Senator selected. We NEED those powerful voices in the Senate and do not want to risk losing any of their seats. They will also be more powerful in the Senate than as Veep.

Ditto for sitting Dem governors. We need to keep them and turn ALL red states to purple at least. JMO.

[spooky3]

8. Al Franken

[Walk away]

9. If Castro can turn Texas Blue in this election...

...the REAL revolution has started and the Clinton Presidency could make it happen!

[MBS]

10. I completely agree with this assessment of Castro:

I get the demographic considerations, but, speaking for my own admittedly limited knowledge, I haven't been overwhelmed by the speeches and interviews of his that I've heard to date. This excerpt from the NYT article (the paragraph, "Why he might not be on the ticket&quot mirrors my own views:

At 41, Mr. Castro is young, often comes across that way, has relatively limited experience, and has few accomplishments outside of politics and government. Many Democrats think he will be on a ticket someday, but needs more seasoning.

[Firebrand Gary]

13. Mine too, I love the guy but I'm not convinced he's ready for the job.

I'd love to see him as SOE or SOS. I also think that people are tired of VP Presidential candidates. Our country has unfortunately become highly disposable, people want constant change. If Castro wants to be POTUS one day, he'd be better of running from the outside. Imo.

[SharonClark]

23. Agree 100%

[NurseJackie]

14. Booker or O'Malley ... have either of their names been mentioned anywhere?

[Firebrand Gary]

15. Booker has, however NYT left him out of this article. I love that guy!

I could easily support him in any role.

[NurseJackie]

17. I do too ... but the finge left hates him.

I think that's kind of amusing (in a weird way). But then again, these are the same people who hate Obama too, so I guess it's to be expected.

[IamMab]

16. Someone young(ish) and NOT a Senator. We're trying to retake the Senate, fcol.

The last thing we need is another contested race, even in a blue state. And we need to introduce America to the next generation of Democratic leadership.

[Fla Dem]

22. My thoughts for what they're worth.

I posted this in response to another similar post on Friday.

5 people Hillary might name as her vice president.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1107&pid=112167

Sherrod Brown would be my pick.
As it says in the article:

" Clinton's opposite. Gruff to her polished. Populist to her, um, not populist. Blue collar to her white collar. And he's from Ohio — one of the swingiest states in the country. Brown could also be — and would likely relish — the traditional vice presidential role as an attack dog against the Republican ticket."

Plus he's 63, 8 years as VP would be a nice cap on his career.

He's been in the senate 9 years and the congress for 14 years. She needs a good operative to work those 2 houses to get things done and he knows his way around.

He has said he doesn't want it, but sometimes when you're asked....."I serve at the pleasure of the President".

Tim Kaine: Again, I think HRC will need the congressional experience to help her, especially if we don't increase our numbers this election. The one down side they had for him is; he's a white male with senator in front of his name. Well same thing for Sherrod Brown.

Amy Klobuchar: As much as I hate to say it, I just don't think we're ready for a female president AND Vice president. Maybe someday, but we've barely got this far with a female running for president. I wish it wasn't so.

Julian Castro: Would love to be able to say Sec Castro is my 1st pick, but he is so inexperienced. Mayor of San Antonio, Tx for 5 years before being appointed Sec of Housing and Urban Development in 2014. To me just not enough experience.

Tom Perez: Don't know enough about him, other than little or no legislative experience.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Now to add the others on your list:

Deval Patrick: would be a great VP. My only thought here is you would have a Pres and VP nominee, both from the Northeast.

Elizabeth Warren: again would be a great pick, but like Amy Klobuchar, not sure about 2 women on the ticket, then there is the fact they are both from the NE and I think she feels she can do the greater good staying in the Senate.

Mark Warner: I really don't have an opinion about him. Just don't know enough about him. However, he was a governor and is now a senator, so certainly has legislative experience. Also, technically from the South so the ticket would have some regional diversity.

[Firebrand Gary]

25. Thanks for the rundown Fla Dem! This is great!

I think you make a great point in Sherrod having the relationships necessary to navigate congress, in addition to HRC's tenure as a Senator, it could help move a lot of legislation.

When you get a chance read up a bit on Perez, this guy is unreal! Here's a snippet, his Wikipedia is much better and shows the breadth of his experience. I'm really exited about this guy!



Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician, consumer advocate and civil rights lawyer who is the current United States Secretary of Labor. A member of the Democratic Party, Perez previously served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Perez is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School. Perez worked as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado before serving in the Department of Justice from 1989 to 1995, where he worked as a federal prosecutor, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under Attorney General Janet Reno. He worked as a Special Counselor for Senator Ted Kennedy until 1998 when he served as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the final years of the Clinton administration.

Perez was then elected to the Montgomery County (Maryland) Council in 2002, serving as the council's president from 2005, until the end of his tenure in 2006. He attempted to run for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of Maryland, but was disqualified for not having 10 years of legal experience in Maryland (he was admitted to the Maryland bar in 2001).[1] Perez was appointed by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley to serve as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation in January 2007, until his October 2009 confirmation by the United States Senate as Assistant Attorney General.

On March 18, 2013, Perez was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the United States Secretary of Labor, replacing outgoing Secretary Hilda Solis. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 18 and sworn in on July 23, 2013.

In 2014 Perez received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Brown University.

On May 21, 2014, Perez received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Drexel University School of Law.

In May 2014, Perez was given an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Oberlin College.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Perez

[SharonClark]

24. Tom Vilsack, Sec of Agriculture

Twice Governor of Iowa. He's a good campaigner and has long-standing personal ties to Hillary and Obama. He's progressive although I don't know where he stands on fracking and GMOs.