Mirsky’s List - Strongest Candidates - President 2020: Beto Rises

EXETER, NH — This is Attorney David Mirsky reporting from the frontlines of the 2020 Presidential race with my snapshot of the situation here on the ground in New Hampshire.

I have devised a new procedure for constructing My List of the Strongest Candidates for President; it starts with the message board on our refrigerator here in our kitchen in Exeter. When I get some new information, information available to, or describing, the choices of a New Hampshire voter, and when there is enough new information to alter my view of the list, I can change My List at any time, and then just Tweet out the List to the Twittersphere. I know US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California does not like Twitter, but that’s just too bad, it’s an important way that we do business these days. President Donald Trump himself has come up with a very novel use of Twitter, which is to gather as many self-incriminating statements he can make about himself in one discoverable location. It’s a public service.

So here is my newest List, produced at 9:59 P.M. last night here in our kitchen in Exeter:

DEMOCRATS (Republicans will get their chance at a later date)

1. Beto O’Rourke, former US Congressman from El Paso, Texas, and one-time strong challenger for the US Senate seat now held by Republican Ted Cruz.

I have Beto O’Rourke at Number One because I’ve met him, watched him handle aggressive questioning from contentious opponents with grace and a positive attitude, and because I am aware that Beto has the best online organization of any candidate in the 2020 US Presidential race with the possible exception of President Trump. Beto has reached a strong position in the race because he is forthright in his opposition to the current President’s attitude and policies towards the newest entrants into our country. Beto simply favors diversity and compassion, and he understands that our country is strong only because of the contributions of peoples from all around the world to American culture and the American economy. There is also something else about Beto, there’s that video on Twitter and the Internet of Beto riding his skateboard smoothly and powerfully in a parking lot, and there is the sense he gives you that he is running for President for a higher, altruistic purpose.

2. Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Mayor Pete has a strong following here in Exeter and in the whole state. “Mayor Pete” has served this country in the military and is right in the middle of all of the kinds of problems our next President will face in terms of seeking to promote actual harmony among the people of this country. Buttigieg has been forced to address a crisis in South Bend regarding conflict between his police department and minority citizens in South Bend. From what I could see of that situation, Mayor Pete is fully engaged in seeking constructive solutions to these difficult problems in his city. New Hampshire residents should note that Mayor Pete appears to have the same calm, strong, rational demeanor that we have seen in another Indiana person we all know and respect, Coach Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics.

ALSO READ:

• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates-President 2020 – Kirsten Gillibrand
• Mirsky: Can The Democratic Party Survive Its Own Debates?
• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates-President 2020: June 2019 Edition
• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates for President 2020: Beto O'Rourke
• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates-President 2020-Sen. Elizabeth Warren
• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates-President 2020: Bill Weld Edition
• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates for President 2020: Tables Turning?
• Mirsky: Candidates for President 2020: The Center Must Hold
• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates for President 2020: March On
• Mirsky: Strongest Candidates for President 2020 -Year End Roundup

3. Tom Steyer, anti-Trump Impeachment Activist and business mogul. You may have seen Tom Steyer on television commercials that have been running during the Trump presidency. To give it to you straight, Tom Steyer finds our President to be reprehensible in every moral and political way, and he wants Trump out of there. Steyer has a lot of money, is apparently self-financing his campaign, and this means he does not have to be concerned about seeking the support or favor of the financial people who dwell in The Swamp, you know, the one that Trump said he would drain. I am giving Tom Steyer Number Three on My List because he has the money and a message, and nobody else has indisputably claimed the throne at this point.

4. Bernie Sanders, US Senator from Vermont. You can look through all my past writings on Exeter Patch, and you should, to see just how revolutionary it is for me to be saying what I'm about to say about Bernie Sanders. I know I have said negative things about Socialism, even recently, in describing Bernie Sanders as a candidate. But all that just seems so ridiculous now. Bernie Sanders is a leader on the issues of universal access to affordable health care, and the promotion of humane governance. Young people support Bernie Sanders, and when they use the word “Socialism” they mean something different than what that word means to a person who has lived through the era when Russia was in the Soviet Union and when Chairman Mao was executing millions of people. I don’t know exactly why Bernie Sanders has called himself a socialist, maybe he should not do that. Maybe Bernie Sanders should clearly label himself as a Democrat. I predict that if Bernie Sanders receives the Democratic Nomination for President in 2020, all Democrats and Independents will support him.

5. Kirsten Gillibrand, US Senator from New York. I have recently attended a Kirsten Gillibrand campaign event in Portsmouth. (Please check out my previous article on Exeter Patch for all the details.) In my view, Senator Gillibrand is a candidate of great depth and understanding. She is deserving of your consideration. I would say that her main issue is establishing a system of universal affordable, quality health care, but there is more to her candidacy than that. Kirsten Gillibrand has a directed goal of getting Big Money out of our politics. You need to check out her campaign website. Also, Kirsten Gillibrand is especially attuned to re-establishing the United States as a nation that serves, protects, and defends people of all backgrounds, racial and ethnic groups, sexual preferences, and genders. You know what I’m talking about; this is America, right?

6. Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman from Hawaii. Tulsi Gabbard has achieved this spot on my list because she has been campaigning hard in New Hampshire, she has visited Exeter, I have seen her lawns signs over on Front Street in Exeter. Tulsi Gabbard is a very strong speaker, with a very serious demeanor, has a military background, and speaks very forthrightly regarding matters as to which she is concerned. I do have questions as to what kind of foreign policy Tulsi Gabbard has in mind, as she has said some things about Syria’s actions in its use of chemical weapons on its own citizens that I do not understand (she appeared to be defending Syria). But I am open to listening to what she has to say about this.

7. Joe Biden, former US Vice President and US Senator from Delaware. We all know Joe Biden. Senator Kamala Harris of California attacked him improperly on the issue of race at the most recent national Democratic Presidential debate. (See my prior article on Exeter Patch, “Can the Democratic Party Survive its Own Debates?”). It was an improper attack because there was no basis in fact for Senator Harris’s insinuations about Joe Biden’s record on civil rights. Historically speaking, Joe Biden has a stellar record as a person who has actually accomplished important advances in civil rights in the United States. But the attack has thus far succeeded in moving Joe Biden down to this Number Seven position, because he was not expecting Senator Harris to behave in a manner that would benefit only Donald Trump. We await the return of Joe Biden to the top of this List. Biden will be in Portsmouth this coming Friday, at a campaign event. Check him out in person. You should go to as many campaign events as possible for all the candidates for the 2020 Democratic Nomination for President.

8. Elizabeth Warren, US Senator from Massachusetts. I think very highly of Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a brilliant legal scholar and leader in the fight for economic equality. (Please read my prior article about Elizabeth Warren on Exeter Patch.) You should try to attend one of her campaign events. Elizabeth Warren is intensely committed to reversing the entire economic structure in which we currently find ourselves, which favors disproportionately the wealthiest among us, to say the least.

9. Cory Booker, US Senator from New Jersey, and former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Cory Booker is coming to Exeter to a house party this week. (The notice for that event is on Exeter Patch.) I have written about Cory Booker in previous articles here on Exeter Patch. There is a possibility that he may be the One. But we don’t know yet, we haven’t seen that yet. As I said in a prior article on Exeter Patch, I was very impressed with Cory Booker's appearance in the documentary “Street Fight” which is on Netflix. In “Street Fight” you can see Cory Booker in action as a tough but sincere politician seeking to reform the political system in Newark.

10. Michelle Obama, former US First Lady. I know Michelle Obama is currently not running for President, but hopefully that will change. There is little doubt that she would immediately rise to the top of everyone's list if she were an actual candidate. You know Michelle Obama, she is an important leader in our society. Michelle Obama could set the political world on fire and could defeat Donald Trump very easily. Mr. Trump undoubtedly would develop intense phobias about running for re-election if Michelle Obama became his opponent.

So that’s it for now. For next time, I’m hoping to see more candidates so I will have more to report.