My President & What I Can Do Moving Forward

As I sit here listening to the commentators discuss President Obama's Final Address to the nation, I am also trying to determine what to do after the weeks, and months, of the 2016 Election cycle. There are so many things to say regarding the Presidential Election of 2016 - I'll name a few that stick out to me: personal, brutal, rewarding, I had planned on writing a little bit about my campaign experience, but I want to take a moment (or two) and say that I am incredibly hurt, but not broken, over the ending of the Presidency of Barack H. Obama.

    This administration has done a lot of good things within the past eight years. For me, one thing stands out is the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees individuals with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage. This was a monumental achievement. During his tenure, he repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and was a staunch supporter of LGBT rights, including paving the way for not only the overturning of Proposition 8 in California but also the passage of Marriage Equality in all fifty states with the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act. In addition to those legal victories, he also continued to make history by nominating (and confirming) the first Puerto Rican American woman to sit on the Supreme Court. Speaking of women, during his tenure as President, he nominated and confirmed two women to place on the Supreme Court thus having the most women EVER in the history of our country to sit on the bench. His administration broke racial barriers in many different ways (besides the most important as becoming President): The first African American Attorneys General and after that the first African American woman, Other cabinet positions include Secretaries of Labor, Transportation, and Interior. It is because of these accomplishments, it makes the Obama administration the most diverse in our nation's history.

    His administration was scandal-free while his family led the country with such grace & class. Furthermore, his administration's challenged the country to lead healthier and better lives. President Obama expanded the second amendment rights for gun owners to carry their weapons into national parks - Of which I greatly opposed. His administration gave the green light to the military (mainly Navy Seals) to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. His economic wit saved the economy from going over the financial brink towards collapse. His administration has reduced the unemployment rate from 7.2% to 4.7% while creating well over 2,400,000 new jobs in multiple sectors of the economy.

    All of these administration accomplishments were done with two of the most obstructive Congresses in modern history. Never in the history of the country has a Congress - mainly with the Senate - not considered a nominee for the Supreme Court; never have they not attempted to balance a budget or work with a sitting president. Simply not patriotic and I would make a strong argument that it is treasonous.

    I am deeply honored to claim Barack Obama as MY President. I have been there with him every step of the way since the summer of 2017. I voted for him twice (in 2008 and again in 2012), also attended BOTH of his inaugurations. I even served in his administration as an intern for the Department of Education. I cannot begin to thank President Obama for all he has done & accomplished.

  

    Now, during the Presidential cycle of 2016, I decided to get involved with the campaign of Hillary Clinton. I was an organizer in Buncombe County, North Carolina - the place I call home. During the campaign I pushed myself in so many ways both professional and personal. Personally, I worked on balancing the struggle of work time versus personal time. [Yes, I'm very dedicated and career-oriented...who knew?] I poured my time, energy, sweat, and blood (think papercuts, lots of them) into the campaign. I staffed events, met Senator Tim Kaine (again - and even shared a drink with him), met both President Clinton as well as his daughter Chelsea. I attended a rally in Charlotte for Hillary Clinton and I somehow made it into the nationwide political ad. I did a "call to action" rally during the final days of the election - which was both thrilling yet intimidating. As with any organizer, I called, knocked, and I did it with the strongest regional team members in the state of North Carolina. Just another reason why...#WestIsBest (and yes, I would like a gradual "wooo" and then silence<---Loved my Regional Organizing Director).

    In the end, multiple things did not line up in our favor. Some of these I've learned to accept and I am able to move on...to an extent. This leads me to where we (collectively Democrats, my generation, my fellow organizers - insert whichever you think is appropriate) go from this point forward. The road will not be easy, but it will be better if we move forward as one as we are stronger together and let those that wish to set our country back feel the burn. (<---See what I did there, Jedi mind trick, us Ravenclaws love using our wit).

    In a little over a week, the United States will inaugurate Donald J. Trump as its forty-fifth president. While I did NOT vote for him, the results "such as they are" have been certified by Congress and the official results nonetheless. Given his lack of moral character, his divisive and controversial language & remarks, he will still be sworn in and there is nothing I can do. He may be the next President of the United States, but he will not now nor will he ever be MY President. I respect the office, but I DO NOT respect the person who will hold it for the next four years as he has failed to gain any respect worthy of the office.

    Now that I think about it, there are a lot of things I can do within the next four years:

  1) I will hold his administration, his Congress and his policies under a watchful eye;

  2) I will organize my county and state party to not back down while building them up;

  3) I will stand up and reach out to those American that his administration will try and silence through unconstitutional laws and overreaching of his corrupt governmental tiny fingers;

  4) I will continue to rebuild my party, so that in 2020, we will have a candidate who will unite all democrats in all areas of the United States;

  5) I will remember the words of My First Lady and know that "when they go low, we go high" and never back down;

  6) I will remain hopeful that we will prevail as a stronger nation because we will hold our leaders accountable and ensure they do their sworn duty to uphold the United States Constitution or they risk being voted out of office;

  7) I will look to the future with a positive notion that history will give us a person who can surpass the accomplishments of President Barack Obama; and finally,

  8) I will be grateful to call myself an Obama Democrat and will make sure that his legacy remains for generations to seek the benefits.

Will you join me? We are stronger together and together, we can believe in we can do great things by moving forward. If anything President Obama has taught me, it is that when you dream big, you can achieve anything. Thank you President Obama, your leadership will be missed and I'll be forever grateful for your Presidency. I will cherish your works and I will do my best to live up to your standards.

Immediate Reaction to the First Democratic Debate of 2016 (O'Malley = Winner)

Here are my "flashpoint" thoughts" -

• Tonight's Debate Winner: Martin O'Malley (Former Governor, Maryland)
• Worst Debate Performance: Lincoln Chafee (Former Governor, Rhode Island)
• Still has work to do to appeal to ALL Democrats: Hillary Clinton (Former Secretary of State)
• Great at Domestic Policy, but needs to step up on Foreign Policy: Bernie Sanders (Senator, Vermont)
• Biggest Whiner: Jim Webb (Former Senator, Virginia)
• First 2016 Democratic Candidate to Drop Out: Lincoln Chafee (Former Governor, Rhode Island)

Clinton played a lot of defense and didn't really dive into policy changes. She even dodged questions regarding her flipping of issues like TPP and she didn't show much leadership against Wall Street. I think that will hurt her on her leadership. I was surprised she mentioned working with China to balance relations between the two countries. Sanders really needs to toughen up on the foreign policy and not mention calling on military action for a cleansing in Kosovo as history shows that was not ideal for Americans to have intervened.

O'Malley was the strong leader in tonight's debate as he threw no punches and went toe-to-toe with Sanders and Clinton more than once. He defended his time in Maryland. Every time Clinton said something, he managed to slip in his point without being arrogant.

Chafee will be the first to drop out as he kept giving the excuse of being fresh on the job in Congress and not focusing on the task at hand. The American people need someone who will be ready on day one and not have a tutorial waiting for them once they get the key to the Oval Office. Also, Jim Webb was like the product of Carson & Trump with his constant "but the rules say this" and nagging of time…is this a foreshadowing of how you will act as President? A conflict arises and you're in the situation room and whine about not talking - You would be the President, you command the room…

Overall, good performance. More to come...

The Next Speaker of the House is….Wait, Who???

     With the news that John Boehner will be resigning as Speaker of the House at the end of October, it will be a race to see who takes the gavel from him. While many are confident the next Speaker will be a  man, I am sure the Republican Party will voice their support for a woman to take the Speaker's gavel. Given the highly-charged issues of women's rights, attack on family values, and other rhetoric of the Republican Party, it will fall to someone that can go toe-to-toe with the candidate Republicans all hope will be the Democratic Nominee. Out of the twenty-two women within the Republican Party who serve in the House, I have narrowed my predictions to three women. They are all qualified based on their merit and tenure. Each candidate brings a unique perspective to the position and if elected by their peers, would able to take command once the gavel is in her hands. I will present them not only on longevity, but also on who is best qualified. The three women that are ready to take the Speaker's gavel are:

1)     Llena Ros-Lehtinen (Representative of Florida's 27th Congressional District)

        She has been in Congress since 1989 representing Florida as the first Cuban American elected, the first Latina elected. She has had prominent "rising stars" on her staff including the current Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio. She is already in a position of leadership within the House as the Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a vocal member within the following caucuses - Pro-Life Women's, International Conversation, Hispanic, and Taiwan. She is just enough of a proponent of LGBT individuals that wouldn't register with Republicans during a primary and would be able to carry women and hispanics during a general election. Her stances on pro-life women's issues and Planned Parenthood would guide the next Congress into ways to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood (even though no tax dollars fund abortions). She would be the resolute leader the Republicans are clearly lacking after the ongoing departure of Speaker Boehner - who couldn't control members of his own party including those aligned with the Tea Party Caucus.

2)     Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Representative of Washington's 5th Congressional District)

        She has been in Congress since 2005 and she hails from the state of Washington - a great state to retire to by the way…it's the New Hampshire of the West Coast.  She has given the State of the Union Response back in 2014 and many political pundits stated she did an amazing job and great response. She is the highest ranking woman serving as the House Republican Conference Chairwoman - which makes sense for her to be the next Speaker if the former mentioned Congresswoman declines the position. She is a member of  the Energy and Commerce committee which will play a big role regarding domestic issues in the 2016 election. She receives high praise from the Family Research Council, Gun Owners of America (as of 2014) and other Conservative groups throughout the nation. She is also a member of the Tea Party express of 2010 election cycle.

3)     Marsha Blackburn (Representative of Tennessee's 7th Congressional District)

        She is a well-known member of Congress within the Tea Party Caucus and those that identify as Tea Party members within the Republican Party. She is an avid opponent of Planned Parenthood, a staunch supporter of traditional marriage and doesn't support any politics that favor LGBT Americans. She has a favorable rating with all of the known conservative groups. If the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party does indeed want to overtake the party - Congressman Marsha Blackburn would be at the head of the line with the flag "Don't tread on me" waving and proclaiming strong conservative values that make Reagan look liberal. For the record, Marsha Blackburn is only one of a few female members of Congress that use the term "Congressman" to identify herself.

     Out of all of these members, the most logical choice would be Congresswoman Llena Ros-Lehtinen.  For the Tea Party Caucus to proclaim "victory" - without a naval warship - then Marsha Blackburn is the choice. For a new voice while bridging the gap between the establishment republicans and new age republicans, the choice would be Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

If the Republicans want to attempt to challenge Hillary Clinton (who is their only person running in a democratic primary apparently) in next year's election and have Republicans take the House, the Senate, and the White House, then the logical choice would be Congresswoman  Llena Ros-Lehtinen.


I guess time will tell. How interesting would a Latina Speaker of the House be if it came from the Republican Party. It would cover two political demographic bases and maybe secure the White House…unless those groups actually do research on the current Republican Party and then a Democrat will win since they have nothing to justify their stances on such issues.