1. I was just having a conversation with my bestie @_EthanGrey about the Democratic primary. To be honest, it is only November and it has already exhausted me. I have my favorites but ultimately, I just want to win a year from now.
@_EthanGrey 2. I am a lifelong Democrat. I don't have these weird objections to this candidate or that candidate because of a vote or a mistake they made years ago. With one exception, every Democrat running for the nomination constitutes "my people".
@_EthanGrey 3. Overall, their records are more in line with doing right by humanity than not. Any one of them would be an improvement over what we have now in the White House. I know many of us say those words -- but they actually mean something. We can't go wrong.
@_EthanGrey 4. At the same time, there is not one candidate who checks all the idealistic boxes for me. Sorry, no one does. Many of you are out there stanning for this person or than person. That's great when you're not being insufferable cult members swarming everyone with unhinged nonsense
@_EthanGrey 5. But when I look at the field, I think any of them would be better than Trump but none of them is perfect to me. Every single one of them has weaknesses that I am not blind to recognizing.
@_EthanGrey 6. Some candidates are better on casting a vision but there are questions on how that vision will be actualized (or paid for). Other candidates are giddy about incrementalism at a time when we may need big structural change. Because we do.
@_EthanGrey 7. No one is hitting the mark perfectly for me & that's okay because elections are about adult choices. I am not looking for a boyfriend to fall in love with & marry. I just need a candidate who can win and turn this ship around.
@_EthanGrey 8. Let's talk issues. I am for M4A but I am grateful everyday for the regulatory reforms & prexisting conditions protections provided by the ACA. Every Democrat's healthcare proposal is an improvement over Trump trashing it all & leaving us to death +/or bankruptcy.
@_EthanGrey 9. As a result, I just have no interest in dying on the hill of healthcare and I really do not need to hear one more word about the granularity of this proposal or that. No really. Again, there are weaknesses in every proposal & yet every proposal is still pretty damned good.
@_EthanGrey 10. Meanwhile, with 2 exceptions (MAYBE 3), there is no one talking about foreign policy. Without a Democratic senate, this is where the power of the presidency will be most exerted and I see real weakness with at least 2 frontrunners in failure to even address foreign policy.
@_EthanGrey 11. I am sorry but "no endless wars" is right out of Trump's lexicon and shows me you don't actually have a grasp of foreign policy... or much interest in it. And that's going to be a huge part of your job if you win the presidency!
@_EthanGrey 12. So sure, I may think you're fairy dust with ponies and unicorns in all my favorite colors on domestic policy (and you ARE!!! and it is beautiful) but... no, you're not the perfect candidate either.
@_EthanGrey 13. Let's talk for a moment about who is running a great campaign. I'll let you in on a secret. One frontrunner is in that spot despite not running a great campaign. The other three are in that top tier because they are doing exactly that.
@_EthanGrey 14. The way you run a campaign gives a clue of how you'll run your admin. And there are quite a few folks running excellent campaigns right now. That gives me confidence in them, should they emerge as the nominee, to withstand the heat of the general election & as a future POTUS.
@_EthanGrey 15. As a person of color, I want to comment on race. I challenge many of you to ask yourselves why certain candidates are not resonating with people of color. And try to do that without accusing everyone of being a latent racist.
@_EthanGrey 16. Here's my thing - from the start of this campaign, I have said, I am really okay voting for a man or a white man. I know who my allies are. I know which white guys put themselves out there to fight for climate change and against gun violence. I say that as a woman of color.
@_EthanGrey 17. I understand the value of representation. When a certain candidate who looks most like me rolled out her campaign, I cried. I felt it personally to the depths of my soul. (BTW, she's FANTASTIC & would be a great president & it is not too late to give her a boost.)
@_EthanGrey 18. But the winning Obama coalition links people of color, with women, young people, ethno-linguistic-religious minorities, LGBTQ+, & yes, white liberals. I know who my allies are and I am not interested in demonizing any of them. Not when we need all hands on deck.
@_EthanGrey 19. I am an Obama Democrat & you all can disrespect Obama's VP for invoking his name over & over. Frankly I am happy to see someone remembering the last SUCCESSFUL Dem contender for the presidency. (BTW Dissing Obama is exactly why some people are where they are now in the polls)
@_EthanGrey 20. So here we are. Each candidate is offering some version of restoration, reform, & in one case, revolution. There is an argument to be made for each pathway. Generally, I have a preference for the reform option but that's me & I respect your right to see things differently.
@_EthanGrey 21. So, at the end of the day, instead of getting excised about this primary & caught up in 2016 redux of stupid primary wars, I am just going to focus on elevating all the viable candidates & training my fire on Trump-GOP.
@_EthanGrey 22. I have only one goal for 2020: Win by as massive a margin as possible to compensate for election interference & as a rebuke to Trump-GOP. I'll be voting accordingly. And as to this primary, this is my position:
@_EthanGrey For more on this subject, I highly recommend this thread by @_EthanGrey (go to the top and read all the way through)
