There are 20-some Democratic presidential candidates right now, and one of them will be our nominee. That means that even some of the more prominent candidates will be saying or doing great things that are slipping through the cracks of traditional media and social media. It means that almost everything the lesser-known candidates are doing will fall through cracks that are more like chasms.
Good stuff from Democrats deserves attention. Add to that the fact that we don’t all like every single one of the candidates, but that when the time comes, we’ll have to set that aside and get behind the nominee as our way to beat Donald Trump and start the long, hard task of fixing our country. And that’s where this round-up comes in. I’ll be looking for a strong moment from as many candidates as possible each week, be it a policy, a quote, a tweet, an action.
So without further ado …
Elizabeth Warren announced a plan to ban private prisons ... and it had an immediate effect.
Cory Booker announced a major plan to offer clemency for people serving prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.
Beto O'Rourke wrote a Juneteenth op-ed calling for a new Voting Rights Act that would “crack down on draconian voter ID laws; prevent politically motivated state officials from purging the voter roles to game the system; expand vote-by-mail and early voting; and declare the first Tuesday of every November a national holiday, so no one has to choose between going to work and participating in their democracy.”
Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a bill to stop the Trump administration from barring undocumented immigrants from subsidized housing. Currently, undocumented immigrants can’t themselves receive aid for housing, but mixed families can receive pro-rated aid for family members who are citizens or legal residents, with the undocumented family member sharing the residence. Team Trump wants to change that.
Jay Inslee called out the Trump administration’s rush to war with Iran.
Bernie Sanders continues to use his platform to advocate for working people. Scroll through his Twitter feed and you’ll see it in action: Facebook bike share workers and BuzzFeed workers and Walmart workers and video game workers, and the list goes on.
Amy Klobuchar released a set of pledges for her first 100 days in office, and it is ambitious and wide-ranging.
Julián Castro rolled out a strong housing plan to combat both the affordability crisis and homelessness.
Kamala Harris has a plan to stop the spread of HIV, by making PrEP affordable and accessible for everyone who needs it.
Joe Biden did not have the greatest week, but he did stop by Stonewall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the protests there.
Eric Swalwell released his gun violence prevention plan, which includes an assault weapons ban and a national firearm registry.
Eight Democratic candidates participated in the Poor People’s Campaign forum: Biden, Harris, Sanders, and Warren, but also Michael Bennet, Wayne Messam, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang.
Pete Buttigieg