Beto's loss is Julian's gain https://theweek.com/speedreads/876459/beto-orourkes-texas-backers-are-pivoting-julin-castro in related news Castro is cutting staff in New Hampshire and South Carolina https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/04/julian-castro-layoff-new-hampshire-south-carolina-065797
No offense to Mister Castro, but I wish he would drop out so they can winnow the field a bit. Along with Gabbard, Marianne Williamson....that guy whose name I don't remember, made it into one debate.....that other guy who didn't make the last debate......uh.....
Took him long enough. He had one decent debate before he tried to jumpstart his campaign by going after Biden's age (mostly a spectacular backfire). Castro's new slogan: Estoy de vacaciones. Hoy. Mañana. Siempre.
He has a bright future and will likely be up for consideration as VP. Small victory for him: he outlasted Beto after Beto surged on to the scene and stole his act as the young progressive Texan.
He and his brother shoulda Crimson Twin'd that ****. Still glad he can fight another day unlike Dan Morales or Henry Cisneros.
It is interesting to see good corporate Dem boy Julian rebrand himself as a "progressive" as he sees which way the wind is blowing. As I understand his mother is an actual one so maybe there is some hope that this is more than expediency.
Bernie Sanders is getting majority of the Hispanic or Latinos or Chicanos American votes. Trump vs Sanders 2020. It’s going to be good.
I don't know about that. He doesn't seem like a smart VP pick considering how poorly he did during this campaign and how much he's squandered opportunity in Texas. Say what you will about Beto, at least he ran a statewide race. Castro has always seemed too cowardly to do that to me.
I wouldn’t pick him either, but if you look at who the pundits are talking about as potential VP picks, he’s at least getting mentioned. That’s all I’m saying. Plus, he doesn’t have any baggage or any real negatives. You would have much better insight on the state-wide races since I’ve never lived in Texas. If we’re talking about squandered opportunity, though, Beto’s presidential campaign could certainly speak to that. He was polling in double digits once upon a time and had one of the highest initial hauls in campaign contributions. People wanted him to do well and the media was treating him like a frontrunner. In the end he blew it, though. Some really poor debate performances coupled with Mayor Pete’s rise really spelled the end for him. Then his pivot to the left didn’t work.
Oh yeah, Beto ran his campaign like an idiot and he is a nonfactor going forward in Texas politics. His positions regarding guns and religious taxation make him a nonentity outside of El Paso city limits. I only bring Beto up to highlight that Castro, for all of the buzz surrounding him (mayor of San Antonio, 2012 DNC keynote address, flirting with running for governor before accepting the HUD position), has never really seemed eager to run a statewide race in Texas. He's had opportunities and never seized them. Granted, some of that is smart politics: he probably didn't want to run a statewide race he was almost guaranteed to lose after he'd attracted national attention. But, I've never appreciated his unwillingness to try.
Agreed on Bernie vs Trump. Castro is trying hard to catch up to changing times. Also reminds me of when Warren became a Democrat at age 47. Julian is 45. Just a few years ago Julian was playing ball loyally as Obama's foreclosure czar on the houses of hundreds of thousands of African Americans and Latinos and working class whites. By all accounts he was a go along to get along corporate mayor in San Antonio with a nod to identity politics, of course. He was a good boy building his resume with the Ivy League schools and all and playing ball never crossing the corporate Dems.
