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news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog · 8 years ago

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All the weird things people have thrown at politicians

The age-old tradition of throwing things at public figures is still alive and well. Just this month the CEO of airline Qantas was hit with pie at a business conference in Australia.

As politicians and businesspeople everywhere are well aware, there's always the risk of an angry member of the public taking advantage of appearances to get in a good shot.

SEE ALSO: Tech CEOs are looking more and more like politicians

Over the years — and across the globe — a diverse collection of objects have flown through the air with political leaders as the target.

Here's a look at some of the creative projectiles unleashed at elected leaders across the globe, starting with America: land of the free, home of the flying pies and glitter.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Clinton got what appeared to be a shoe thrown at her in Las Vegas during a speaking tour in 2014.

The former secretary of state and presidential candidate was speaking at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries when a woman chucked her footwear at the stage. The woman missed, but she was still taken into custody.

Duck!

Image: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney

Now that's a glitter bomb. In 2012, a University of Colorado, Boulder, student threw glitter at the then GOP presidential candidate after a speech in Denver, Colorado.

Glitter bombing is often used on politicians who are against LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. The "bomber" was cited on misdemeanor charges.

GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum

Protesters also threw glitter on the GOP candidate after the South Carolina primary in 2012. Two people yelled "Occupy!" when they threw the glitter at him.

Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich

So much glitter rained down on Gingrich at a book signing in Minnesota in 2011 with his wife, Callista. It was reported the man who dumped the glitter said, "Feel the rainbow, Newt! Stop the hate! Stop anti-gay politics!"

GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin

The former Alaska Gov. Palin was almost hit by two tomatoes while at a book signing at the Mall of America in Minnesota in 2009.

U.S. President George W. Bush

The famous shoe incident of 2008 didn't take place on American soil, but rather in Iraq. Journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi lobbed the shoe during a press conference.

Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi threw a shoe at U.S. President George W. Bush during what became a very memorable press conference.

Image: Evan Vucci/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Vermont governor Jim Douglas

The governor was hit with cream pie thrown by a man dressed in a Santa Claus costume at a Fourth of July parade in Montpelier, Vermont, in 2008.

Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan

Here's a new one: salad dressing. That's what Buchanan was covered in after speaking at Western Michigan University in 2005.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

It's raining eggs. The "governator" took an egging in Long Beach, California, before a gubernatorial debate during his governor campaign in 2003.

The thrower was part of a group of young people on campus at California State University Long Beach. The Austrian actor took the egging in his stride and chalked it up to free speech.

Eggs are part of the campaign.

Image: Francis Specker/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader

Pie in the face — it seems inevitable during a political campaign. Nader got his turn in San Francisco in 2003 while endorsing a Green Party candidate for state governor.

U.S. President Bill Clinton

During a trip to Poland the former president was hit with a raw egg during a speaking tour in Warsaw in 2000. A 19-year-old man was arrested in the incident.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman

The moment Glickman was attacked with pie became Jon Stewart's "Moment of Zen" on Comedy Central's The Daily Show back in 2000.

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown

Activists hit the San Francisco mayor with three different pies filled with cherry, tofu and pumpkin while he spoke at street-cleaning kickoff event in 1998.

The trio of assailants said they targeted the mayor for his policies on homelessness. Part of the Biotic Baking Brigade movement, they were found guilty of battery after the case went to trial.

The UK, meanwhile, has a real fondness for eggs.

Former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage

In a spectacular hit earlier in 2017, Farage took an egg to what would have been his face. Luckily he had his gaudy purple and yellow umbrella on hand.

UKIP leader Paul Nuttall and former Leader Nigel Farage get egged.

Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

UK Labour Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott

A protester successfully egged Prescott, with yolk and shell running down his shoulder. The deputy PM then took a couple punches to the thrower's face back in 2001.

Other countries also throw plenty of things at their elected officials

Canada — Fisheries Minister Gail Shea

She got pie right in the face in 2010.

Italy — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

The PM was hit with a toy statue of a duomo (perhaps the one in Milan, since that's where he was) in 2009.

Guatemala — Vice President Roxana Baldetti

The veep was covered in flour after giving the state of the nation speech in Guatemala City in 2014.

Venezuela — President Nicolas Maduro

The president was hit in the head with a mango with a message written on it when he visited Anzoategui in 2015.

Politicians, a word of advice: Duck!

Photo editing by Haley Hamblin and Lili Sams.

WATCH: Researchers have invented conductive ink used to print solar panels

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blockheadbrands · 6 years ago

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The Top 10 Democratic Contenders of 2020 Who Support Legal Weed

Nick Kazden of High Times Reports:

How 420-friendly are the 2020 Presidential contenders?

In the lead up to the 2020 Presidential election, there are a lot of important issues that warrant debate. Everything from healthcare to net neutrality will be discussed during campaign season, but there’s one issue of particular importance: the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis.

Legal weed isn’t really a wedge issue that causes people to shift their party allegiance. But it’s still important to know what major politicians think about its status, as we buildup to the next election. This look into ten Democratic contenders (only some have announced their exploratory committees while the rest have coyly voiced their interest in running) will explore how their views have changed and how they interacted with the so-called War on Drugs in the past.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren is the first major Democrat to announce her intentions of running for president. A fierce advocate for consumer protections, the Harvard-professor-turned-Massachusetts-senator is now a supporter of federal legalization. Back in 2016, Warren refused to endorse the issue when it hit her home state’s ballot. But, as public opinion in the Democratic party shifted, Warren has followed the wind and earned an A-rating from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

With Cory Gardner, a Republican Senator from Colorado, Warren introduced the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act in June during the previous Congress. If passed, the bill would have amended the Controlled Substance Act to block federal interference in state-legal marijuana-related activities. She was also a co-sponsor of the Carers Act that would protect medical pot patients from federal punishment; and the Marijuana Justice Act, legislation that would have ended federal prohibition and directed the courts to expunge people’s records.

Sen. Cory Booker

While he hasn’t formally announced whether he’s running for president, Senator Cory Booker’s name has been thrown around as a potential candidate since he served as the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey.

In the last Congress, Senator Booker introduced the Marijuana Justice Act, a bill that other senators on this list co-sponsored. While the bill wasn’t signed into law, it would have removed cannabis from the Controlled Substance Act, ended federal prohibition, and set up a structure that reduces law-enforcement funds for states that disproportionately target low-income residents or people of color for cannabis-related charges. In addition to having some good ideas, Booker also knows how to maximize his message around legalization. On the most recent 4/20, Booker released a video on Mic that laid out his views on the racial discrepancies related to legalization.

Booker, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, even joked that he was planning on “sending brownies to [Senator Lindsey Graham’s] office to celebrate his new chairmanship,” after Graham indicated he wasn’t planning on tackling marijuana reform.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Instead of announcing her intentions to run for President in an intimate speech in her hometown of Albany, New York, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand made a grand announcement on the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. A savvy move for someone who doesn’t have much name recognition outside of her crusades against sexual assault in the military, Gillibrand is a tough former attorney who supports progressive policies like Medicare for all and a federal jobs guarantee.

Gillibrand admits that before she became a senator, she was a bit more conservative leaning as a member of the House from northern New York. In the House she didn’t support any bills related to legalization, in fact, she went as far as to block an amendment that would have defended medical marijuana from increased federal scrutiny in 2007. Since then, however, she’s had a change of heart. A co-sponsor of Senator Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act, Gillibrand supports full legalization and is an advocate for additional research to see how its medical uses can assist veterans with specific mental health conditions.

Secretary Julian Castro

Julian Castro, the former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, was first elected into public office at 26-years-old. His name started appearing on people’s political radar after he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2012, similar to President Obama’s claim to fame by giving the same speech at the 2004 convention.

A proclaimed progressive who’s called off of PAC donations for his campaign, Castro was the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) when they published a rather restrictive memo in 2014 regarding public housing tenants who use cannabis. The memo, which was an update to a 2011 document, clarified that “owners must deny admission to assisted housing” if individuals are illegally using cannabis. Even if a tenant resided in a state where medical or recreational use was legal, the owner was still required to deny entry to the housing. Since then, Castro has criticized the Trump administration for voicing intentions to interfere with legal state markets but it’s still not clear where he stands in regards to federal legalization and regulation.

Sen. Kamala Harris

Since first joining the Senate in 2016, Kamala Harris has become a national player thanks to the viral nature of her pointed questions in Judicial Committee hearings. California’s junior Senator turned Presidential candidate has cultivated an image for herself as a “progressive prosecutor,” but some of her actions as California’s top law-enforcement officer don’t represent that label.

Back in 2014, when Harris’ campaign for Attorney General was heating up, she was asked about her Republican opponents’ support of legalizing cannabis on the federal level. Instead of voicing her support or opposition to the policy, she simply laughed and stated he was entitled to his opinions. In 2018 however, now that the national conversation around weed has shifted, Harris is on board with legalization at the federal level and tweeted her support of Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act. In her new book, The Truths We Hold, Harris voiced her support for regulation and for removing “non-violent marijuana-related offenses from the records of millions of people who have been arrested and incarcerated so they can get on with their lives.”

Rep. Beto O’Rourke

The Democratic superstar from Texas whose popularity led him to think posting an Instagram story during a dental examination was a good idea, is an exciting breath of fresh air for the party. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke may have lost in his bid to unseat Texas Senator Ted Cruz last November, but he awakened a national fanbase that catapulted him to financial dominance and the top of many prediction lists. While he has yet to set-up an exploratory committee or announce his candidacy, a group of activists and former staffers are waiting in the wings for him to make an announcement.

In a livechat recorded while driving around Texas, O’Rourke talks about his belief that ending the Drug War is one of the most important challenges for the country. While he’s quick to indicate he believes there’s no “perfect option” when it comes to keeping cannabis away from children, he believes a federal system of legalization and regulation is the best way to control the customer base and ensure fewer profits flow to illegal drug enterprises.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar, the senior Senator from Minnesota, blew onto the national stage in a big way over an exchange with Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his committee hearing. She doesn’t have the widespread name recognition of other superstars in the party, but Klobuchar was just elected to her third Senate term in November with 60.3 percent of the vote, a resounding victory in a state where Hillary Clinton only beat President Trump by 1.5 percent.

While Klobuchar has a D-rating from NORML, she was a co-sponsor on Sen. Warren’s STATES Act. If passed, the bill would have prevented federal interference in states where cannabis is legal, ended the prohibition of industrial hemp, and allowed banks to provide financial services to legal cannabis businesses. A Democrat from the midwest, Klobuchar hasn’t made any public statements about federal prohibition, but with legalization likely hitting her state this year, expect her to make her position known soon if she decides to run.

Thomas Sørenes/Wikimedia Commons

Gov. Jay Inslee

The only Governor on this list, Jay Inslee currently serves the people of Washington. Before being elected to the state’s top Executive position in 2012, Inslee represented Washington in the House from 1993 up until his Gubernatorial election. While he has so-far positioned himself as a potential candidate whose primary focus will be fighting climate change, he also stands out as a leader from the first U.S. state where recreational cannabis-use was deemed legal.

At this year’s Washington Cannabis Summit, the Governor announced his Marijuana Justice Initiative. An attempt to give clemency to individuals who have been prosecuted for weed charges in Washington between 1998 and 2012, the Governor will pardon residents over the age of 21 who only have one cannabis misdemeanor on their record. In Inslee’s opinion, expunging these convictions removes obstacles for these individuals to obtain “housing, employment, and education.”

(If you or someone you know lives in Washington and is interested in requesting a pardon, start the process by filling out the form on this page.)

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

Potentially the candidate with the lowest national profile, Representative Tulsi Gabbard has represented Hawaii in Congress since 2013. While the Congresswoman has a shaky track record when it comes to LGBT rights and foreign policy, Gabbard has evolved into a more progressive candidate and distanced herself from many of her previous positions.

Gabbard, who has a B+ from NORML, supports a gauntlet of reforms related to legalization. A co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act in 2018 in the House, Gabbard is an advocate for reduced federal interference in legal states, industrial hemp production and increased research into the medicinal benefits of both THC and CBD. During an interview on the Joe Rogan podcast, Gabbard voiced her frustration with the pharmaceutical industry and the way it profits off the opioid crisis by selling both addictive substances and medications designed to wean people off the drugs. In her opinion, marijuana legalization on both the state and federal levels will play a big part in reducing the addiction and overdose rates in the U.S.

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders is the most popular Senator in the United States and will be a strong contender if he decides to run for president once again. The politician is regarded for adhering to the same ideological beliefs over his decades in public service, and that also expands to his views on marijuana. An advocate for treatment instead of punishment for addicts, Sanders has long opposed the failed War on Drugs. Comparing it to tobacco and alcohol, the Senator, who co-sponsored the Marijuana Justice Act, told an audience of college students back in October 2015 that he believes the government should end the federal prohibition of cannabis.

As he does with every issue, Sanders likes to tie his support for legalization and criminal justice reform to his crusade against the one percent. During a Democratic Primary debate back in January 2016, he shamed the fact that millions of individuals have marijuana-related crimes on their record but “the CEO’s of Wall Street companies who destroyed our economy have no police records.”

TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE ON HIGH TIMES, CLICK HERE.

https://hightimes.com/news/politics/the-top-10-democratic-contenders-of-2020-who-think-about-legal-weed/

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growlegalweed-blog · 6 years ago

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Legal Weed Resources

Check out... http://legalweed.gq/420/the-top-10-democratic-contenders-of-2020-who-support-legal-weed/

The Top 10 Democratic Contenders of 2020 Who Support Legal Weed

Elizabeth Warren (Katherine Taylor/Wikimedia Commons)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Wikimedia Commons

Sen. Cory Booker

Senior Airman Christopher Muncy/ Wikimedia Commons

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Gage Skidmore/ Wikimedia Commons

Secretary Julian Castro

Seth Taylor/ Wikimedia Commons

Sen. Kamala Harris

Crockodile/Flicker

Rep. Beto O’Rourke

Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia Commons

Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Thomas Sørenes/Wikimedia Commons

Gov. Jay Inslee

(If you or someone you know lives in Washington and is interested in requesting a pardon, start the process by filling out the form on this page.)

Kaveh Sardari/Wikimedia Commons

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

Nick Solari/ Wikimedia Commons

Sen. Bernie Sanders

The post The Top 10 Democratic Contenders of 2020 Who Support Legal Weed appeared first on High Times.

#2020 #Contenders #Democratic #Legal #support #Weed

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eichy815 · 8 years ago

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#ReadyForSanity – Twelve Democrats Who Could Run for President in 2020

Critics of Donald Trump run the gamut ranging from displaying tentative unease to frustrated bewilderment to solid contempt to outright revulsion. I personally fall closer to the contemptuous end of that spectrum – but this isn’t about me. It’s about saving our country from collapse.

I believe it can be done. The question is: who will that standard-bearer be, four years from now?

Regardless, we need to make it clear to politicians and pundits alike how – regardless of whether the GOP is running Donald Trump or Mike Pence or someone else in 2020 – the rest of us are, quite frankly...

#ReadyForSanity

Obviously, we must get past the 2018 midterms, first. But there’s no denying that preparing for a presidential run is a gargantuan task. So that means every Democrat in elected office is likely considering, at present, which of their colleagues – or even if they themselves! – could be up to the job.

Who is the person to do it? Many factors are unclear at this point. Will the economy be in shambles, or just stubbornly sputtering along? Will Trump be “primaried” by another Republican...and, in that scenario, would he still proceed to run as an Independent?

Which Democrat would have the strongest potential to form a unity coalition, and provide coattails to downticket candidates in U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and statewide races during the 2020 cycle? (at which point, Democrats will once again have a mathematically-viable shot at regaining the Senate majority)

Who can be most effective at uniting members of the Obama coalition, the Sanders coalition, and the Clinton coalition – while also encouraging new voters to become involved in the process, and appealing to disgruntled Independents in battleground states?

In my humble opinion, the next Democratic nominee needs to make a very detailed and forward-thinking case for expanding upon agricultural innovation, food security, and coast-to-coast water sustainability as part of the national agenda. These three issues need to finally become a prominent part of our collective dialogue if the Democrats want to convince Americans that Washington D.C. actually cares about all of us.

There must be a reframing of the controversies over struggles related to oil/gas pipelines and racial identity...so that the Left takes a new approach to show how progressivism and fairness on these fronts will positively affect EVERYONE in this country. The Democratic nominee in 2020 has to accomplish this without talking down to Americans.

She or he must find a clear, marketable message that embraces sound, logical, well-thought-out policies when it comes to health care reform, educational access/funding, police brutality, systemic/social equality, and international coalition-building. He or she must have passion, enthusiasm, and be able to visibly connect with voters. And, most importantly, this person must help our anti-Trump majority move past the pointless invectives of calling others “Hillbots” or “BernieBros.”

Here are the top twelve Democrats who I believe would be among the wisest choices on behalf of whom activists may want to consider making noise. Because so many Americans would prefer for someone from a younger generation to step forward and lead the way for us, I have excluded people such as Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton from this list.

These potential candidates are listed in descending order, from “most strategic” to “least strategic” as options.

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND

At the very top of my list is U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who succeeded Hillary Clinton following Clinton’s 2009 appointment as U.S. Secretary of State. One month ago, I outlined my preference for Gillibrand as a presidential contender in an op-ed I wrote, aptly entitled “The Case for Kirsten Gillibrand.” But, in a nutshell, I view her as the Democrats’ best bet based on her wealth of legislative experience, her personal likeability factor, and the specific issues she prioritizes – government transparency, health care reform, LBGT equality, overturning Citizens United, supporting clean energy, and improving the lives of veterans. She’s voted against a greater number of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees than nearly every other Democratic U.S. Senator has. Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), assuming he wins a third gubernatorial term in 2018, would appoint Gillibrand’s temporary replacement to the U.S. Senate.

Gillibrand will be 54-years-old in 2020; unlike a bulk of past and present Democrats from New York’s congressional delegation (including Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer), Senator Gillibrand’s own roots are in the politically-divided communities of upstate New York. She’s a robust fundraiser, has provided a voice for victims of rape and sexual assault (her legal background enabled her to do pro bono work), and takes an interpersonal approach to governing. Her work on the Senate Armed Services Committee gives her foreign policy and national security credentials, while her membership on the Senate Agriculture Committee puts her in a knowledgeable position to tackle the challenges related to agricultural sustainability and food insecurity. On the downside, her past legal representation of Philip Morris, her record of compromising with conservatives on gun control and immigration, and her membership in the Blue Dog Coalition (including having been mentored by Hillary herself) are potential obstacles she’ll need to find a way to overcome amongst progressives, socialists, and “Berniecrats.” However, if anyone has the skill set to potentially become that bridge-builder, it’s Kirsten Gillibrand.

STEVE BULLOCK

For those voters who like the idea of having a red/purple state governor at the top of the Democratic ticket, Montana’s Steve Bullock might appeal to them. Currently serving his second four-year term as Governor of The Treasure State, Bullock (who will be term-limited from running for a third gubernatorial term in 2020) recently made headlines when he joined with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to condemn neo-Nazi demonstrators who organize nationally. If Democrats want to seriously compete in rural, more moderate areas of the country, Bullock’s pro-gun, pro-conservation, tough-on-crime, antitrust stances are definitely a way to get there. His agenda of strengthening small businesses and interbusiness networking within Montana could be an asset when seeking an economic recovery plan in the aftermath of a Trump/Pence Administration.

Similar to Gillibrand, he will be 54-years-old in 2020. As a one-term Attorney General of his state (from 2008 to 2012), Bullock likewise has an exemplary legal background – and his upbringing as a teacher’s kid should speak strongly to those who care about K-12 and higher education. His criminal justice emphasis has been to crack down on offenders of drug and alcohol abuse, while simultaneously keeping nonviolent offenders out of jail. He has also fought against Citizens United, while advocating on behalf of the preservation of public lands. Governor Bullock’s environmentally-friendly, pro-business platform has narrowly won him elections in a libertarian-leaning state as conservative as Montana, which should equip him to campaign effectively in “flyover country” as a national candidate. His biggest challenge will be proving himself as a competitive fundraiser in all fifty states.

GINA RAIMONDO

Currently in her third year as Governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo has the most potential, out of our nation’s more high-profile elected officials, to transcend that Democratic/Republican binary and lead Americans into an alternate way of governing (what I refer to as “fifth way politics”). A former venture capitalist by profession, Raimondo has a joint economic/legal background, serving as a law clerk, and later, for one term as Rhode Island State Treasurer prior to her gubernatorial victory. She recently floated the idea of applying the Bernie Sanders “free tuition” model on a limited, income-based scale for students at Rhode Island’s community colleges.

Raimondo will be 49-years-old in 2020. She has shown herself to be one of the most independent governors in the country – staking out a centrist path on pension reform and union reorganization, being shrewdly populist in terms of payday loan transparency, and finding progressive ways to forge partnerships with Silicon Valley. First, though, she has to survive gubernatorial reelection in 2018 (including a possible primary challenge from any fellow Democrats). If Governor Raimondo (who would be term-limited from running for a third gubernatorial term in 2022) oils her machine to deliver a tangible problem-solving record to Rhode Islanders, then she could become an endearing “dark horse” candidate, at the national level, three years from now. Her experience as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations prepares her for engaging other world leaders, globally; if Raimondo beefs up her fundraising prowess, she’ll be able to present herself as an “anti-establishment” crusader who blends together a healthy combination of liberal and moderate platform planks.

AMY KLOBUCHAR

Serving as one of Minnesota’s two U.S. Senators for the past decade, Amy Klobuchar has amassed a laudable – if “unflashy” – portfolio of results. As a former prosecutor and the Hennepin County Attorney from 1998 to 2006, she won an open-seat race for retiring then-Senator Mark Dayton’s vacancy during the 2006 Democratic midterm “wave.” Since then, she’s focused legislatively on issues such as consumer safety, adoption, ethics reform, tourism, and veterans’ affairs. Her rapid response to the I35W Mississippi River Bridge Crash of August 2007 (and securing funds for its subsequent repair) was rightfully praised by Minnesotans. Last month, Klobuchar joined with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to offer an amendment that would lower prices of prescription drugs by allowing their importation from Canada – but the Sanders/Klobuchar Amendment was unfortunately defeated by a bipartisan group of 39 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

Klobuchar, who will be 60-years-old in 2020, has a formidable record prosecuting those charged with murder, arson, rape, DWIs, white-collar crimes, and domestic abuse (including her office’s failed attempt to convict Kirby Puckett in 2002). She’s more moderate than many of her Democratic peers on trade issues; yet, her emphasis has been boosting America’s exports to other parts of the world – notably via her support for trade partnerships with Canada and Cuba. Also, she supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Her daughter, Abigail, was born with the temporary disability of having an internal digestive impairment; although Abigail has since made a full recovery, that experience gave Senator Klobuchar great empathy for parents of children with disabilities. Assuming that another Democrat wins the open-seat gubernatorial race being vacated by Dayton (once again) in 2018, Klobuchar’s U.S. Senate seat should remain a safe hold for her party. Additionally, some people believe that running for the presidency might end up being an “either/or scenario” between Gillibrand and Klobuchar (given the close friendship of these two women)...and, although she’s half-a-decade older, Klobuchar – who put herself through Yale in light of her modest, homespun upbringing – possesses the working-class roots that Gillibrand lacks.

MARC VEASEY

Perhaps the most “under-the-radar” name on my list, U.S. Congressman Marc Veasey has represented the 33rd Congressional District of Texas since 2012. His professional background includes vocations as a substitute teacher, an ad copywriter, and a sportswriter. Although he doesn’t have a national profile, Veasey has spent his time in Congress working on overlooked issues such as hate crimes enforcement and election integrity. A presidential run from him, even if he doesn’t come out on top, he could set the stage for Democrats to nationally call out Republicans on their voter suppression tactics. Veasey has pushed for job creation in the areas of technology, national defense, manufacturing, and STEM. His congressional district serves parts of both Dallas and Fort Worth – a metropolitan area with a combined 1.4 million residents. Veasey has also joined with U.S. Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA) to form the Congressional Blue Collar Caucus, aimed specifically at addressing the needs of working-class Americans – especially those in the Deep South, in the Rust Belt, and in “flyover country.”

Congressman Veasey will be 50-years-old in 2020, and he’d have to give up his congressional seat to run in the Democratic presidential primaries. However, due to redistricting that will follow the 2020 Census, his district might end up getting carved up, anyway – potentially forcing him to vie against an established Republican such as Roger Williams, Joe Barton, Sam Johnson, Kay Granger, or Michael C. Burgess (a similar thing happened to former Congresswoman Betty Sutton, when her Ohio congressional district was “carved up” following the 2010 Census). Even if he doesn’t ascend to the presidential (or vice-presidential) slot on the national ticket, a presidential run could set up Veasey to challenge Betsy Price for Mayor of Fort Worth in 2023 (assuming that Price pursues a hypothetical fourth term). Or, Veasey could run for Mayor of Dallas if incumbent Mike Rawlings gets reelected in 2019 but declines to run for a hypothetical fourth term in 2023. With Fort Worth being America’s sixteenth-largest city (and Dallas being the nine-largest), Congressman Veasey undoubtedly has a bright political future ahead of him.

CHRIS MURPHY

Becoming Connecticut’s junior U.S. Senator following the retirement of Joe Lieberman, former congressman and eight-year state legislator Chris Murphy has restored dignity and progressive values to his shabby predecessor’s seat. With extremely strong support from organized labor, Murphy has made a name for himself as a staunch supporter of LGBT equality, universal health care with a public option, the “Buy American” movement, and stricter gun control (memorably igniting one of the longest filibusters in Senate history, following the Orlando massacre last summer).

Senator Murphy, who turns 47-years-old in 2020, is young, charismatic, and, like many presidential contenders before him, has a background as a legal scholar. Assuming that a Democrat wins the 2018 gubernatorial race in Connecticut, the Democrats wouldn’t lose control of his U.S. Senate seat. But two factors seem to pose a threat to any presidential ambitions from Murphy. First, in the late-aughts, he underwent controversy after some of his delinquent mortgage payments surfaced. Secondly, he made a rather Sherman-esque statement in December 2016 that he has no intention of mounting a presidential run. Then again, Barack Obama initially said the same thing, after his senatorial election in 2004...and look how that turned out. Murphy’s inclination to pursue the presidency will probably decrease if unpopular incumbent Governor Dan Malloy runs for reelection to a third term – and loses – in 2018.

MARTIN HEINRICH

The junior U.S. Senator from New Mexico was often name-dropped as a possibility for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 vice-presidential short-list. The biggest drawback: had a Clinton/Heinrich ticket won the 2016 General Election, Republican Governor Susana Martinez would have appointed a fellow Republican to temporarily fill Heinrich’s Senate seat. Such a scenario can be avoided in 2020 if Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham wins the open-seat race for the Land of Enchantment’s Governor’s Mansion in 2018. Martin Heinrich himself, aside from being a class act, has moved forward a platform laced with populism: his stances have been pro-choice, pro-gun, against congressional pay raises, and grounded with a strong environmental background.

Heinrich, turning 49-years-old in 2020, has forged a career of service to New Mexico by way of a working-class Nevada family. His background is in mechanical engineering – but he also worked with AmeriCorps as well as a conservation-based nonprofit (Cottonwood Gulch Foundation). His committee assignments include Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, Intelligence, and Joint Economics. Although Senator Heinrich has a well-rounded background and an impressive legislative record overall, he did make one misstep that the Democratic Party’s progressive base may not forgive him for: he voted against the Sanders/Klobuchar Pharmaceutical Importation Amendment in January 2017 – potentially raising red flags over where his true loyalties lie.

KAMALA HARRIS

One of the Democrats’ most passionate rising stars, former State Attorney General Kamala Harris won the open seat of now-retired U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer last year. As California’s newest junior U.S. Senator, Harris is known for her statewide crackdown against rape, school truancy, religious extremism, banks, and loan companies...and she will take her convictions to Washington D.C. where she is likely to forge legislative partnerships in the Senate chamber with Warren, Sanders, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, and Murphy. She opposes the “War on Drugs” and supports the policy goals of BlackLivesMatter (and its allies). At present, she is positioning herself to become one of Donald Trump’s most vocal critics as Trump’s first (and hopefully only!) term persists.

In 2016, Harris will be 56-years-old. While she wouldn’t become the first president of color – she would obviously be the first female president, as well as the first president of Asian descent (Harris is half-black and half-Indian). As with Klobuchar, her prosecutorial background will have prepared her nicely to confront the misogyny that would inevitably be thrown at her on the campaign trail. Her staunchest supporters will argue that serving a mere two years in the U.S. Senate wouldn’t disqualify her from realizing any presidential ambitions, as Barack Obama did it with an equivalent length of senatorial tenure under his belt. The odds of Harris running in 2020 probably hinge upon the extent to which she is able to succeed as a freshman power player during this first half of her first Senate term.

TULSI GABBARD

First elected to Hawaii’s U.S. congressional delegation in 2012, Tulsi Gabbard has soared to heights of popularity amongst progressives and Bernie Sanders supporters. She first rose to national attention after resigning as vice-chair of the DNC so that she could freely endorse Sanders during the 2016 primaries. Since then, she’s been highly critical of her party’s superdelegate process along with the decision-making of former DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Gabbard is a military combat veteran, a former state legislator, and a former city councilwoman – giving her unique insight into three different worlds of governing. Her positions place her firmly in the Warren/Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, as she is pro-choice, anti-TPP, and outspoken about the need to reinstate Glass-Steagall. Additionally, Congresswoman Gabbard is very strong on clean energy, land conservation, and protection of endangered species.

Gabbard will be 39-years-old in 2020 – making her the youngest person on my list. She also would be the first president with Asian and Polynesian (specifically Samoan) heritage, and she would be the first practicing Hindu to enter the White House. Aside from biases against her from the anti-Sanders segments of the party, Gabbard would have two major hurdles to clear. First, her father founded an anti-LGBT group and she herself opposed LGBT domestic parity during part of her time as a Hawaii state legislator; however, she has since done a complete 180 in support of full LGBT equality. Secondly, she took a secretive fact-finding trip to Syria last month, where she met with Bashar al-Assad and was dogged by allegations of ethical misconduct in failing to disclose the trip’s details (some critics of hers claim she violated the Logan Act). However, if Gabbard’s message is ultimately effective in making the Democratic Party more inclusive of those beyond its rank-and-file, she would certainly present herself as a force to be reckoned with against Trump – especially if she selects former U.S. congressman and current California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (who was appointed to succeed Kamala Harris, and was a speculated vice-presidential running mate for Hillary Clinton) to be her own running mate in the General Election.

Seeing how America has elected its first black president, imagine the “one-two punch” that would be delivered by sending a woman, a non-Christian, a person of Asian heritage, and a person of Chicano heritage to the White House – all in one fell swoop.

MARTIN O’MALLEY

We all remember Martin O’Malley: he was the voice of reason in the room who systematically got ignored (although not to the extent that Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb did) while Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders duked it out. As a two-term Mayor of Baltimore, O’Malley excelled at reducing crime and beefing up national security in the post-9/11 era. During his eight years as Governor of Maryland, he expanded his tough-on-crime, pro-amnesty, pro-LGBT, pro-environment credentials to every inch of the Old Line State. O’Malley was the first sitting Governor to enter into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (in favor of eliminating the Electoral College). He also shepherded through (and oversaw) the early stages of Maryland’s landmark statewide minimum wage increase.

Martin O’Malley will be 58-years-old in 2020, and we’re already familiar enough with his style and views. The main reason why O’Malley is tenth on my list is because he has such a “been there, done that” feel to his political brand. His positions have been largely pragmatic – enough to satisfy the base, but sometimes accused of being too “vanilla” to exhibit the fire-in-the-belly that the next Democratic presidential nominee will need when standing against Trump (or even another alternative conservative Republican standard-bearer, if Trump steps down before 2020). O’Malley would be a “safe” yet slightly uninspiring choice if none of the nine candidates mentioned above end up emerging as breakout political stars. Even if he doesn’t make it to the White House, he’d be among the top choices for Secretary of Homeland Security or Secretary of Labor in a new Democratic presidential administration.

CORY BOOKER

The charismatic former Mayor of Newark and first-term U.S. Senator was elected by the people of New Jersey to end up being one of the Democrats’ few bright spots amid the Republican “wave” of the 2014 midterms. Cory Booker has been an instrumental leader on the issues of criminal justice reform, ocean protection, and having smart, measured U.S. foreign policy. He has sought common ground with Republicans across the aisle, boasts a record of openly reaching out to his constituents, and supports the mainstream Democratic positions on issues such as climate change, abortion rights, LGBT equality, affirmative action, and urban revitalization.

Booker turns 51-years-old in 2020. As increasing attention shifts toward which direction the Democratic Party should take over the next four years, Senator Booker has already received intense scrutiny for being sympathetic to charter schools, union-busting, nuclear proliferation, and Wall Street hedge funds. He joined Heinrich in voting down the January 2017 Sanders/Klobuchar Pharmaceutical Importation Amendment. And, more immediately, if he mounts a presidential run, Booker would need to forfeit running for senatorial reelection to his New Jersey seat in 2020 – thereby creating another open-seat race where the Democrats wouldn’t have the power of incumbency. So far, he has remained noncommittal, at best, about the idea of running in four years. However, should he remain where he is, Senator Booker may find himself in a position to run for Senate Majority Leader someday. Or, with his legal and administrative background, we could see him asked to serve in a cabinet position such as Attorney General, Secretary of Commerce, or Secretary of Housing & Urban Development.

SHERROD BROWN

On paper, Ohio’s senior U.S. Senator appears to be a near-perfect candidate: well-regarded by progressives, classic liberals, and moderates alike; a very strong record on issues related to fair trade, veterans’ affairs, and food safety; tough on ISIS; has staunch union support; opposed the Iraq War; and is on the same page as Elizabeth Warren when it comes to bank regulation and a Wall Street crackdown. He’s fairly popular in a pivotal swing state, and his background in education studies gives him a sympathetic perspective on shoring up education (especially in the aftermath of Betsy DeVos or any of DeVos’s short-lived successors).

But U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is the oldest prospective candidate on my list: he’ll be 68-years-old in 2020. And his senatorial reelection campaign in 2018 will be potentially-competitive (although not nearly the uphill battles that Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly will face). That’s probably why Sherrod Brown has insisted he has no presidential ambitions on the horizon. Also, if a Republican retains the Ohio Governor’s Mansion during the 2018 midterms, that would pose a problem when appointing Brown’s hypothetical Senate replacement. If the Democrats manage to achieve a gubernatorial win in Ohio, next time around, it’s perhaps likelier that we’d see Brown become sort of a Joe Biden-like figure (in the vice-presidential slot) to a younger Democratic nominee such as Gillibrand, Heinrich, or Raimondo.

Other names have been tossed around – John Hickenlooper, Andrew Cuomo, Julian Castro, Mark Warner, and Al Franken. By and large, these possibilities are either too meek (Hickenlooper and Warner), have too much baggage (Cuomo and Franken), or lack the best résumé (Castro) for the job.

I also reject the premise that an effective Democratic standard-bearer must have superior name recognition at this juncture in time. After all, prior to 2004, no one knew who Barack Obama was until Obama forged an identity for himself – the Talking Heads had assumed that Al Gore would be the Democrats’ *only* option for recovering from George W. Bush’s haphazard first term. This self-fulfilling prophecy seemed to persist all throughout the 2004 election cycle – and it took the Great Recession for power to flip.

Let’s not wait around for such a calamity, again. Let’s take back the narrative and forge our own destiny.

And, just to show how I’m an equal-opportunity critic (as an Independent voter), feel free to check out my “Open Letter to the GOP Senate Caucus,” as well.

Again, we are...

#ReadyForSanity

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theliberaltony · 6 years ago

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

We went into Election Day with a hypothesis: Most Americans would cast a straight-ticket ballot — with some notable exceptions, which we’ll address in a moment. And we decided a good way to test this was to look at statewide races most likely to drive turnout in a midterm election cycle: U.S. Senate and governor contests.

There were 22 states that had races for both the Senate and governor on the ballot this election cycle. And what we found was the same party swept both offices in 16 of the 21 states where each race has been called1, with Democrats capturing both races in 12 states and Republicans doing so in four. Or, in other words, our hypothesis was mostly right — most Americans did vote for the same party in their Senate and governors race. But there were five states — Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and Vermont — where voters chose a Republican governor and a Democratic senator.

And while we were interested in what happened in these five states (more in a moment), we also wanted to look at every state that had both a Senate and governor race on the ballot to see just how far apart the voting margins were. The idea was this will help us understand how uncommon — or common — split-ticket voting was in 2018. And we could then situate what happened in 2018 by looking at previous midterms to see if there was a trend in how much split-ticket voting occurred between these two offices. (Spoiler: Split-ticket voting hit a new low.)

To do this, I calculated the difference between the margin of victory in the Senate and gubernatorial races for each state using the Democratic and Republican vote shares in each contest.2 And as the table below shows, Massachusetts had the biggest difference between its vote share margin in its races for Senate and governor. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker won reelection by about 32 percentage points and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren garnered a second term with a roughly 26-point margin, producing a gap of 57 points. So, in other words, in hyper-blue Massachusetts roughly 25 to 30 percent of voters cast ballots for both Baker and Warren.3 Two other states, Vermont and Maryland, also had very large differences between their Senate and governor races — about 55 and 47 points, respectively. Along with Massachusetts, these races all featured relatively popular incumbent Republican governors — Phil Scott in Vermont and Larry Hogan in Maryland — running in strongly Democratic states that easily reelected incumbent Democratic senators. The popularity and independent streaks of these GOP governors clearly helped them overcome the sharply Democratic leans of their states.

Split ticket voting in statewide races is pretty rare

Difference between the size of the margin of victory in 2018 Senate and governor races

Senate Governor State Winner Incumb. Margin Winner Incumb. Margin Difference MA Warren ✓ +25.5 Baker ✓ +31.9 57.4 VT Sanders* ✓ +40.3 Scott ✓ +14.6 54.9 MD Cardin ✓ +33.4 Hogan ✓ +13.4 46.8 CT Murphy ✓ +20.2 Lamont +3.1 17 AZ Sinema ✓ +2.0 Ducey ✓ +14.4 16.5 HI Hirono ✓ +42.3 Ige ✓ +29.0 13.3 MN‡ Klobuchar ✓ +24.1 Walz +11.4 12.7 ME King* ✓ +19.0 Mills +7.6 11.5 TX Cruz ✓ +2.6 Abbott ✓ +13.3 10.7 NY Gillibrand ✓ +33.0 Cuomo ✓ +22.3 10.7 OH Brown ✓ +6.4 DeWine +4.2 10.6 TN Blackburn +10.8 Lee +21.1 10.2 WI Baldwin ✓ +10.9 Evers +1.1 9.7 NM Heinrich ✓ +23.5 Grisham +14.3 9.2 RI Whitehouse ✓ +23.0 Raimondo ✓ +15.5 7.6 PA Casey ✓ +12.8 Wolf ✓ +16.8 4 MI Stabenow ✓ +6.4 Whitmer +9.5 3 WY Barrasso ✓ +36.9 Gordon +39.8 2.9 NV Rosen +5.0 Sisolak +4.1 0.9 MN‡ Smith ✓ +10.6 Walz +11.4 0.8 NE Fischer ✓ +19.2 Ricketts ✓ +18.9 0.4

Election data as of 10 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2018. Only states with both a Senate and gubernatorial election that featured candidates from both major parties are included. This means California is excluded because no Republican candidate qualified for its Senate election. Florida is also not included because both its Senate and gubernatorial elections are still uncalled. Some data may not add up due to rounding.

*Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Maine Sen. Angus King are included as Democrats because they caucus with the party in the Senate.

‡Minnesota is included twice because it had two Senate elections this year.

Source: ABC NEWS

But these three states were notable outliers — no other state had a difference between their Senate and governor races that was greater than 17 points. That said, these less divided contests can still show you where a stronger candidate for one party may have made a difference. Take Tennessee’s Senate race, for instance. Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn defeated Democrat Phil Bredesen there, but Bredesen — a popular former governor — made the Senate contest notably closer than the gubernatorial election.

Incumbency may have been a factor, too. Both the Tennessee Senate and gubernatorial races were open seats, but in another GOP-leaning state like Ohio, there was one incumbent on the ballot, which might help explain why Ohioans elected a Democratic senator and a Republican governor. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown won his race by about 6 points and Republican Mike DeWine won the open-seat governor race by 4 points. Given that Ohio is 7 points to the right of the country, Brown probably benefited at least some from an incumbency advantage The two races ran relatively close together — the difference was 11 points — suggesting that most voters voted for the same party in both contests.

But we were also interested in what would happen if we took a step back and zoomed out, looking at other midterm cycles and split-ticket voting. How would 2018 compare? It turns out that 2018 is part of a trend that shows fewer Americans are splitting their tickets (at least in races for the Senate and governors in midterm elections). This election had the smallest median difference of any midterm cycle going back to at least 1990 — 10 points.4

As you can see, even though 2018 has the lowest mark in the past three decades, the median difference from election cycle to election cycle has bounced around. Still, the overall trend is one of decline, at least since 1998. You might wonder why there are fairly regular ups and downs in the chart, but this can be explained by the number of elected governors running for re-election in each cycle.

For example, only eight incumbent governors ran in the 24 states included in my calculations for 2010, whereas in the 2014 cycle there were 16 states with incumbent governors. And what I found was cycles with fewer incumbent governors running tended to show less evidence of split-ticket voting (a lower median) while cycles with more incumbents demonstrated more evidence of split-ticket voting (a slightly higher median). Part of this is because governors often benefit from an incumbency advantage. As my colleague Nate Silver pointed out in his introduction to FiveThirtyEight’s governor forecast, partisanship explains less in gubernatorial elections than it does in federal contests, and therefore, incumbency might matter slightly more for governors than it does in either the House or Senate.

No matter which way you cut it, the difference between the margins in a state’s gubernatorial and Senate races has shrunk. More voters are casting straight-ticket ballots. There are exceptions, of course, but this shift matches what we know about the larger electoral picture: voters are more partisan and the country is more divided than it’s ever been in the modern era of U.S. politics.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Geoffrey Skelley

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