La Raza Candidate?

I’m continuing my rundown of the massive Democratic primary field, starting with the lowest ratings and working my way upward. You can check out my previous articles by following the links below. And, you’re always welcome to comment.

This article comes out just before the first Democratic debates. I’m sure there will be more to say after that. I’ll finish the last three candidates next week.

• Former Vice President Joe Biden
• -New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
• -South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
• -Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro
• -Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
• –California Sen. Kamala Harris 
• -Washington Gov. Jay Inslee 
• -Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar 
• -Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke 
• -Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 
• -Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
• -Tech Entrepreneur Andrew Yang 
• -Motivational speaker Marianne Williamson

Castro has never won an election for statewide or federal office, but he’s running for president. Before Donald Trump, that would have been all you needed to know about him. We would have labeled him “unqualified” and been done with him.

Of course, he’s Hispanic and served in the Obama administration, so he is doing way better in the polls that someone who isn’t highly qualified for the office he’s seeking and we’re in the post-Trump era when everyone can run for president, despite what offices they’ve never held before. I blame Obama for that because he’d been in the Senate for two-and-half minutes before he was elected to the White House. But Julian Castro also shares with Obama that he is a member of an intersectional group. What can I say – Democrats like to tick that box of having the first (name that ethnicity) candidate.

Castro, a lawyer, served as mayor of San Antonio, the nation’s seventh-most-populous city, from 2009 to 2014. So, he does have a little bit of a track record.

In 2012, Castro delivered the Democratic National Convention’s keynote address, prompting pundits to dub him the “Latino Barack Obama” — Obama delivered the Democratic National Convention keynote address in 2004. By 2014, Obama had tapped Castro as Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary. Hillary Clinton considered Castro as her presidential running mate, but instead chose Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia. Would that have made a difference? Maybe.

Since leaving HUD in 2017, Castro’s profile has decreased, and he hasn’t received nearly the attention of prospective presidential candidates such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, who remain in federal office.

Nevertheless, Castro, 44, formed an exploratory committee in December, declaring in a not-so-veiled shot at President Donald Trump that “Americans are ready to climb out of this darkness.” So he’s not going to woo a lot of Trump votes.

Here’s more on Castro’s political and financial history:

• The U.S. Office of Special Counsel concluded in 2016 that Castro had violated the federal Hatch Act by using his official government position as HUD secretary to advocate for Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. Castro acknowledged the error and that proved penance enough for President Obama, who declined to fire or otherwise penalize Castro. I think we know how I feel about impunity. Right there, I would not vote for him because I don’t believe in government officials getting away with stuff the rest of us would go to jail for.
• Castro says he’s “not going to take any PAC money” as a presidential candidate and is discouraging anyone from forming a super PAC to benefit his candidacy. But in August 2017, Castro formed a PAC, Opportunity First. From that point into late November, Castro’s PAC has raised nearly $500,000, almost exclusively from donors in Texas, California, Florida, New York, Washington, Maryland and Virginia. The PAC during that time spent nearly all that it’s raised, with most of the money going toward consulting fees, fundraising services and Castro’s travel. It has spread some money among several dozen other “young, progressive” federal– and state–level politcians, including the campaigns of U.S. Reps. Colin Allred, D-Dallas ($3,700); Xochitl Torres Small, D-New Mexico ($1,000); Abby Finkenauer, D-Iowa ($1,000); and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York ($500).
• Castro is a past client of the Perkins Coie law firm, whose political law group chairman, Marc Elias, represents dozens of leading Democrats and served as general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. One of the final expenses in 2016 for Castro’s San Antonio mayoral campaign committee before ceasing operations: a $10,292 “legal services” payment to Perkins Coie. Castro’s Opportunity First PAC also uses Perkins Coie.

Castro’s mother Maria founded La Raza Unida political party in San Antonio. His twin brother Joaquin represents San Antonio in the U.S. House of Representatives.

If you’ve never listened to a modern La Raza speech, especially in Spanish, you have not heard racism at its finest and most vitriol.

He is clearly working a Southwest strategy, assuming Latinos will vote for one of their own. That could be a smart move and will certainly affect Beto O’Rourke’s chances. In his campaign launch speech Castro endorsed “Medicare for All” which would create a massive, inefficient and expensive medical care plan that would force everyone of join the public medical care system. Many moderate Democrats consider this a drastic approach.

He supported the Black Lives Matters movement and spoke about the need to address climate change.

Castro, whose grandmother was born in Mexico, has sought to use his family’s personal story to criticize Trump’s border policies – including criticizing the president by name in his launch speech.

“Yes, we must have border security, but there is a smart and humane way to do it. And there is no way in hell that caging children is keeping us safe,” Castro said.

I think he’s a typical 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. He’s ignorant on the economics of medical care and climate change and he thinks the answer to our country’s problems is to force everyone to a one-size-fits-all set of programs. My main issue with him is that as a libertarian I can’t vote for more government, but the biggest stumbling block for me is his support of racist groups. You all know how I feel about racism. It’s wrong even if coming from an intersectional group. I’m an American Indian, but I don’t support programs that put non-Indians at a disadvantage against Indians. And when I see his mother’s background and his support of Black Lives Matter – I think he will be as damaging to the racial reconciliation progress of this country as Obama was. Will he start demanding reparations for the descendants of slaves and chicanos sometime in the near future? I fear so. And that won’t solve any problems – anymore than Reconstruction’s carpet-baggers fixed the South after the Civil War. I keep hoping we will resume progress toward a post-racial era, but a President Castro has the potential to keep the veins open and prolong the rage, if not make it even worse.