O’Rourke senior advisor, mentioned as possible campaign manager, Becky Bond co-author of Rules for Revolutionaries criticized Saul Alinsky for not being radical enough. Saul Alinsky is the author of the famous 1971 book Rules for Radicals which I happen to still own as my personal handbook to leftist organizing from college days of yesteryear.
In 2000 Bond became the President of CREDO’s SuperPAC and the Political Director of CREDO Mobile. She led the 2004 campaign to register anti-war voters and ran CREDO’s efforts against big oil in Texas and California. AND She was also a speaker and panel participant at NetRoots Nation in 2012-14.
Bond was a senior aid to Sanders in 2016. She helped defeat 5 sitting Tea Party Congressmen in CA and was a senior campaign advisor to in O’Rourke’s bid for the Senate in 2018.
Top Beto O'Rourke adviser...
(Becky Bond) An avowed socialist who blasted the leftist father of community organizing Saul Alinsky as a "paternalistic" moderate who "disparaged the idea of revolutionary change" is one of the top advisers to Beto O'Rourke in his 2020 White House bid.
Hiring Bond sends a message to Democratic primary voters who have previously questioned O'Rourke's left-wing credentials. An analysis of his history in Congress found that the Texas congressman often voted with the GOP on pieces of key bills, leading to some progressive activists and writers to dismiss him as a moderate.
Obama said something interesting about Presidential qualifications. I can’t quote it but it went something like this. The job of President of the US is a totally unique job in the world. There is no training course on how to run the United States. You may think you know how it works but when you get there you quickly find that its all OJT (On the job training). Obama passed his OJT. Trump never will.
The qualifications for being a good president include being a quick study, accepting your limitations and surrounding yourself with people who will fill in the gaps and then letting them do their jobs.
Reading between the lines my belief is that Bond is the explanation for the difference between the way Beto voted representing his district in a red state and how he campaigned for Senate. Where HRC had to be pushed to the left hard by Sanders, O’Rourke saw a need and brought a left wing legend on board to help him find his voice to a much broader constituency. It’s exactly what you would want a candidate and a president to do.
I can’t find where O’Rourke has actually named a campaign manager. His website Beto for America is blank except for a begging bowl and selling campaign gear which I find off putting. He has a Facebook group but no local grassroots groups going yet. I understand that they are organizing on Twitter and that there is a video which you can get to show at organizing events but I don’t tweet. The guy was a white hat hacker. You would think he would have nailed this part.
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My belief is that the first qualification for any candidate is electability. The top candidates are all progressive and riffing on the same music. Even Biden is probably left of what was once the center. We’ll know more if he runs. I expect any candidate we nominate will be a good if not great President.
None of their agendas will survive legislation in tact. The specifics will be ironed out by Congress. For instance healthcare is my #1 issue. They all have the issue covered in some fashion. I wouldn’t pick one over the other because of the proposed details. Obamacare was not what we hoped for or expected but it was what could achieve a majority in Congress and just barely that.
HRC had positions papers detailing everything. She was beyond a doubt the most qualified individual to ever run of the office. Except for one little detail. She didn’t win. Twice. Maybe it was just fate but HRC was just not electable. So all her plans were just dreams that never were.
I’m leaning toward O’Rourke but I’m not wedded to a candidate. If you have one, I would be much more interested in hearing what the person brings to the ticket; what makes them especially electable, rather than hearing why Beto sucks.