Our long national nightmare is over. Thankfully, we now know, as if there was any doubt, Beto is running! What we don’t know, other than his ego, is why Beto is running. America doesn’t need an empty suit with little experience, a moderate record, and an unwillingness to take many stands. In honoring Beto’s announcement, I’m going to make a second donation to Bernie Sander’s campaign. A commitment to progressive ideals and a willingness to fight for universal health care, at least a 15-dollar minimum wage, and more is what matters.
I don’t care if our president can play the guitar. I don’t care if our president can skateboard. I don’t care if our president will jump on chairs. I care about moving America in a progressive direction.
On Beto’s website, you can buy all kinds of merchandise you can wear to help Beto promote Beto. On Beto’s website, you can’t find much about policy; He doesn’t want you to see his moderate record and he doesn’t want to promise you anything. All you have to do is vote for Beto.
Beto, like all good centrists, rejects labels. Beto, like all good centrists, rejects labels because he doesn’t want to and/or can’t explain why anyone should vote for him other than you should vote for him. But why would you vote for someone to be president who can’t tell you in anything approaching specificity what they would do for you as president?
During the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama was largely a blank slate. What we got, with some justification, was a centrist not far removed from the Clinton brand of politics. Too close to Wall Street. A foreign policy based on endless war. and supporting the military complex. We got almost nothing on climate change (the Paris Agreement was nonbonding). We got nothing on election reform. We got nothing on criminal justice reform.
The Obama presidency was historic. The Obama presidency was important. The obama presidency was so 10 years ago. Today, we need a true progressive president. Don’t waste your vote on an empty suit who has to hide from his record in the House.