Jacob Price – Introduction to U.S. National Politics

Texas in 2020?

Moving toward the democratic primaries, two young members of the party from Texas are campaigning for president. Although Texas has traditionally fallen as guaranteed win for the republicans, more and more democrats from Texas are emerging into the national media spotlight. This began in 2018 with Beto O’Rourke challenging the incumbent Ted Cruz for a seat in the Senate. From this, some are starting to see Texas, the former Republican stronghold, move more in the direction of a swing state in coming elections. Mirroring this, two candidates from Texas, Julián Castro and Beto O’Rourke, are running for the democratic nomination. If either were to win it would make them the third president from Texas. However, both candidates differ greatly from the two Texans who have occupied the office they are campaigning for previously. Neither embody the progressive attitudes of LBJ and the Great Society or the modern conservatism of George H. W. Bush.

These two candidates walk a fine line between the mainstream interests of the Democratic Party, the traditional values of Texas, and the emerging Latino voice in the State of Texas. At this early stage in the election cycle it appears that Julián Castro and Beto O’Rourke are focused more on fundraising. This creates an early competition within the Democratic field, both candidates wanting to be the voice of the party in their home state of Texas. Castro presents on his website that his campaign has already locked in the support of Texas democrats. In this article on his website he boasts the support of thirty three elected democrats within the State of Texas. This shows a very party centric attitude in which the support he is claiming is not from the voters but instead form the party elites. This differs from Beto where he is trying to make his campaign appear as if it was very much supported by the people, labeling his campaign a “grassroots movement”. He shows this more explicitly with his slogan “We Are All In This Together”. However Castro has also moved to improve his image amongst voters by pledging to visit all 50 states in his campaign. With his family’s immigrant backstory and his latino identity Democrats are also beginning to see Castro as a more unifying candidate in the 2020 presidential ticket (Mercia CNN). This point is emphasized with his slogan “For the Future” stressing the importance of unity amongst all Americans.

On the issues, Castro has listed more of his views on his website. He shows his opposition for the President’s policy on immigration and the wall. He has also taken a clear stance on the justice system as well as police brutality. Beto is yet to list any specific issues on his website however he has covered these topics previously in his 2018 Senate campaign. In 2018 Beto addressed these issues, however, he took a more moderate stance likely to be able to appeal to swing voters in a Texas general election. On his website Castro lists his experience in the executive branch serving as President Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Currently it seems as if Beto is carrying his name recognition from his failed 2018 Senate election. This experience has provided significant media attention compared to Castro. However, Beto has also had to contend with his initial claims from 2018 where he said that he currently had no other job ambitions outside of the Senate(CBS).

Despite their differences both candidates are going heavily for a person to person relationship with their constituents. These two young candidates have strived to conduct their campaign in a very personal manner of reaching out to voters. Alongside other candidates they have attempted to distance themselves from PACS instead opting to show the image of a grassroots campaign. This tactic is due in part to the success and acclaim of Bernie Sanders with young Democrats in the 2016 election. Both Castro and Beto have a long election cycle ahead of them with a Democratic field that only seems to grow bigger. There is much more campaigning to be done and the fight for campaign funding is only just the beginning. In order for either to become a strong national contender in the 2020 election, one must first win the support of their fellow Texans.

Works Cited

“Beto O’Rourke Isn’t Running for Senate, Says He’s ‘Made a Decision’ about Future.” CBS

News, CBS Interactive,

www.cbsnews.com/news/beto-orourke-not-running-for-senate-says-he-made-a-decision-abou -future-2019-02-27/.

Merica, Dan. “Iowa Democrats Have Struggled to Organize Latinos. Julián Castro Is Trying to

Change That.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 Mar. 2019,

www.cnn.com/2019/03/03/politics/iowa-democrats-latinos-julian-castro/index.html.

Ramsey, Ross. “Analysis: A Potential Texas Shootout inside the 2020 Presidential Race.” The

Texas Tribune, Texas Tribune, 14 Dec. 2018,

www.texastribune.org/2018/12/14/julian-castro-beto-orourke-texas-shootout-2020-presid

ential/.

Jacob Price

Dr. Alvaro Corral

Intro to U.S. Natl Politics

11 February 2019

State of the Union Assignment

The 116th Congress offers new challenges for the President. For the first two years of his presidency, both the Senate and the House of Representatives were controlled by the Republican majority. Now, Democrats hold a majority in the House of Representatives by 36 seats (Ballotpedia). Nancy Pelosi occupies the position of Speaker of the House for the second time in her congressional career. The 116th congress is also the most diverse congress in U.S. history. It comprises more women, minorities, and members who openly identify as LGBT than any other congress. The State of the Union was generally presented by the media as a show of Democratic dissent. Although, rhetoric was centered around bipartisan efforts the Democratic Party response was generally unwilling or untrusting of the President’s remarks. The House of Representatives now acts as a check against presidential power. From the attitudes shown during the State of the Union, it is apparent the House of Representatives, will act as an opposing force to the President’s executive authority.

The President made many claims that showed his belief in the excellence he places in his accomplishments as President. Most of all, President Trump hailed the recent economic boom as his accomplishment from the many tax cuts he instituted in 2018. From this, the president claimed that his actions are what brought about the low recent low percentages of unemployment. When in fact these areas of growth are thanks in part to President Trump’s continuation of Obama’s economic policy. This area of growth has been continuing for the past 6 years (NBC Fact Check). Most surprisingly, President Trump claimed that without his leadership the United States would have entered into a war with North Korea. During the State of the Union, President Trump also sought to discredit the Mueller investigation. Concerning this issue, Trump credited the investigation as no more than partisan politics on behalf of the Democrats. These actions seemed to discredit the President’s perceived willingness to work with any members of the opposing party, especially those in congress. Currently, in the Trump administration, executive power is strong, and the president continues to guide the legislative attitudes of his fellow Republicans.

The Democratic response made by Stacey Abrams, showed the plight and need for representation for working class americans. Her speech affirmed the common good that all americans strive for. She voiced the progressive ideals that she embodies, and she directly countered the partisan actions of the president. She called for unity and Americans to work together. The Spanish Language response made by Xavier Becerra heavily contrasted the President’s rhetoric. He sought to establish the harsh realities of President Trump’s government. Becerra voiced the opinions of the many Americans that he believed were ignored by the Republican administration. Both of these speeches were written to appeal to middle class progresives. They called for a cease to the standstill within our government, and they attributed the shutdown to the presidents folly of leadership over a wall that our country did not want. Both of these speeches make very populist appeals to many americans. Both of these speeches did not focus on accomplishments. They sought to point out shortcomings of the Trump Administration. They called for members of both parties to work together to counter this current policy. However, with the current polarized climate, this seems unlikely.

A main focus for the state of Ohio was dealing with the opioid epidemic. Policy around this issue included everything from prevention substance control and addiction treatment. In the President’s state of the union he addressed the problem of illegal drugs entering this country but he focused very little on other alternatives to deal with the opioid crisis. However many Ohioans look favorably on Trump’s plans to build a wall on our southern border. He echoed many conservative talking points prevalent in Ohio politics such as the second amendment as well as anti abortion legislation. However, issues important to a largely agricultural state were not addressed at length in the state of the Union. Most major conservative issues are shared by both the Government of the State of Ohio and the Executive Branch of the United States.

Domestic Policy Foreign Policy

Border Wall

Funding for Border Wall
End Illegal Immigration
Protect U.S. from Cartels and drugs entering the Country

Trade Deals and Economy

Continuation of re-nagotion of trade agreements especially those concerning China.
Continue efforts to bring back jobs that were globally outsourced

Immigration

Protect the path to citizenship for those who enter this country Legally

Eliminate the HIV Epidemic

Extend treatment both at home and abroad to eliminate HIV

End of Partisanship

Claimed the Muller investigation is a partisan distraction from legislative goals

North Korea

Extend Peace Talks With Chairman Kim

Pharmaceuticals

End the massive inflation of drug prices

ISIS

Continue programs of assistance toward the destruction of the already defeated Islamic State

Abortion

Pass anti- abortion legislation for late term abortions

Iran

Elimination of the Iran Deal
Continuation of Policy inhibiting Iran from reaching nuclear Capabilities

Anti-Socialism

Ensure protections for a free and democratic government

Jobs

Continue to legislate policy that will create more jobs
Incentivize the growth of industry

Works Cited

“116th United States Congress.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/116th_United_States_Congress.

Bialik, Kristen, and Kristen Bialik. “State of the Union 2019: How Americans See Major National Issues.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 4 Feb. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/04/state-of-the-union-2019-how-americans-see-major-national-issues/

“Fact-Check: How Some of Trump’s State of the Union Claims Stand-up to Reality.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018-state-of-the-union-address/fact-check-how-some-trump-s-state-union-claims-stand-n843066.