May God bless you with Julian Castro as a running mate.
As a supporter of Secretary Clinton for President, I want to promote Julian Castro as the running mate for her. If Senator Sanders should happen to win, I hope he would give the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development a deep look as well.
The combination of Hillary Clinton and Julian Castro would, in my mind, be the closest thing to a sure bet in present-day American politics. I cannot see any Republican configuration—even the one that I fear the most—challenging them in a battle for electoral votes.
Julian Castro was an early endorser of Hillary Clinton for President. In fact, his endorsement came on October 15, 2015. Senator Sanders got around to hiring an Outreach Coordinator for Hispanics on October 2, 2015.
Perhaps that should have been one of the first three tasks the Senator from Vermont undertook when he started a national campaign? Oh well. What’s done is done.
And my brilliant insight about Julian Castro? I can’t claim to be insightful when even Politico ran a story in June entitled, “The Campaign to Put Julian Castro on Hillary’s VP Shortlist.”
Back in October, when Julian Castro endorsed Secretary Clinton, Reuters wrote a story headlined: “Clinton to 'look hard' at Julian Castro as possible VP pick.”
On the other hand, I do feel a little pride in the 24 (and counting) comments I have posted on daily kos pushing this idea. To me, it’s a no-brainer.
Why? Because Julian Castro is a kind of badass. He has a great story. He’s an effective politician. He’s got a great track record, and he can relate to people. He’s well educated and thinks and talks like it. Mostly, he is the wave of the future. In the Reuters story linked above, it states:
"’I am going to look really hard at him for anything, because that's how good he is,’ Clinton said at a U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meeting in San Antonio, Texas, when asked if Castro might be her vice presidential pick.”
John F. Kennedy and Teddy Roosevelt.
Secretary Castro is only 41 years old right now. Yet, he has a resume that includes five years as Mayor of San Antonio, as well as two years as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (by the time of the general election). I believe his youth would act as a balance on the ticket. But is he too young?
Teddy Roosevelt, at the age of 42, was the youngest to serve as President because of the assassination of William McKinley; at the age of 43, John F. Kennedy was the youngest person elected President. If my calculations are correct, Julian Castro will be 42 years old nearly two months before the general election in November 2016.
In his power-packed 41 years, Secretary Castro has managed to become Stanford and Harvard law educated, get elected as mayor of one of our top fifty cities at the age of 34, serve five years in that capacity, give a keynote address at the Democratic Convention, and become a part of President Obama’s Cabinet as the Secretary of HUD at the age of 39.
In 2001, Julian became the youngest city council member in San Antonio history, a year after graduating from law school. “In 2011, the Milken Institute ranked San Antonio the nation's top-performing local economy.”
Oh, and he has a twin brother who is a Member of Congress. This is the Castro Revolution we’ve been waiting for!
Bright Lights, Big City.
How would he handle the spotlight? Julian Castro has shown he can handle the brightest lights and the toughest challenges. Here he is as a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 2012. A young man by the name of Barack Obama got his start in the big, big time with just such an effort.
Here he is debating Senator Ted Cruz on issues such as health care reform and immigration. Then-Mayor Castro more than holds his own against one of the best debaters the Republicans have to offer. (Moreover, he was prescient enough to say, back in 2012, that people would be singing a different tune in the future about ObamaCare. He also used, effectively, the term “Ronald Reagan” on the issue of immigration. Notice how he looks at ease compared to Cruz. He is comfortable in his own skin, and he is comfortable saying what he is saying. And always with that disarming smile.).
In his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, then-Mayor Castro educated a lot of people about himself and about important issues, such as White Privilege:
In introducing himself, Julian Castro spoke of his daughter and his mother:
Balancing the Ticket and Moving Souls to the Polls.
Julian Castro’s dynamic personality would be an excellent balance to Hillary Clinton’s “policy wonkishness.” But don’t be fooled: He can wonk. His cheerful disposition would stand out against the anger and fear of the Republican challengers.
Can he bring a big, juicy red state to the blue state side? No. Maybe. I don’t know. It might get interesting, though. You see, Texas was 32% Hispanic in 2008. It became 38.2% Hispanic by 2012. Now? Of course Hispanics won’t vote with one voice, but this will be a Presidential election year, and Castro on the ticket would surely do better than the Wendy Davis performance in an off-year election:
“Abbott also improved on Perry’s performance with Hispanics, winning 43 percent of Hispanic votes to 57 percent for Davis. Perry won 38 percent of Hispanic votes to White’s 61 percent in 2010.”
That is, admittedly, somewhat disheartening. However, there is hope. After the stain on our politics that has been Donald Trump, and after Greg Abbott has shown he is at a minimum very unhinged, it would not surprise to see the Republicans play defense in Texas, especially down ballot. Resources spent there mean less money spent in Florida and Ohio and Georgia.
Georgia?
Yes, Georgia. Texas might be a pipe dream but Georgia is a peach ripe for the picking. Georgia was only 5.3% Hispanic in 2008, but it became 9.2% by 2012. What is it now? John McCain’s margin of victory in 2008 was 5.2% in Georgia.
What will really be interesting are states like Louisiana, Kentucky and Arkansas. A Clinton has won those three states already in Presidential elections. Twice. The edge in those races might come down to the Big Dog and Secretary Castro.
Virginia and North Carolina were 8.4% and 8.7% Hispanic back in 2012 respectively. Those aren’t must-win states for Democrats, but wouldn’t it be nice to coast to victory? Wouldn’t it be nice to grab the Senate and the House of Representatives?
House Math.
Or, is the House of Representatives really just a pipe dream? I don’t think so. Here are a few reasons why: Republicans will nominate a madman, or they will nominate somebody who more than 90% of their base didn’t want as their President. Either of those scenarios will have an effect on down-ballot races.
Democrats do better during Presidential cycles.
Consider this: There are 188 Democrats in the House of Representatives right now. In 2009, after Senator Obama finished his take down of John McCain, there were 178 Republicans in the House. Still, you need 218 members for a majority, how do we get there? A wave election.
More House Math.
Democrats, with the right ticket—especially one that makes history—can run up the score on Republicans. That results in a wave election. It will be harder than in 2008 because the Congress before that election already sported a 37-member Democratic majority in the House. (Incumbents generally have an advantage.). Still, a wave is a wave is a wave. Every boat gets rocked. It might even be argued that what Senator Obama did in 2008 was more difficult: Adding 21 Democrats to a House that already sported a 37-seat Democratic advantage. Here’s something I’m looking at:
Adding 30 seats in the House of Representatives to reach a majority of 218 seems a tall task, but it’s not as tall as you might think. Senator Obama added 21 seats at a time when the House was already packed with Democrats.
We can do it.
I am imploring Secretary Hillary Clinton, if she wins the nomination, to add the dynamic, cheerful, intelligent, engaging and, yes, handsome, Julian Castro to her ticket. If you think this is a good idea, please tweet this diary to @HillaryClinton. That’s what I’m going to do.