The first Female President of the United States will be… Alexandra Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – famously known on Twitter as @AOC[ii] ! And for purposes of this post, we will just refer to the outstanding Congresswoman from NY, as AOC!!!!

I say this not to throw cold-water on all the highly qualified female candidates for POTUS now; IE –Kamala Harris[iii] , Elizabeth Warren[iv] my home town US Senator from NY, Kristen Gillibrand[v] or even the obscure Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, and her (mock-nascent) campaign for President[vi]. But, what the American people are looking for is a candidate, is someone who is young, vibrant and charismatic like, AOC (emphasis on “young”, sorry to offend, but it’s true).

Here’s the catch for those of you who aren’t familiar with the US Constitution[vii] (at all), AOC is only 29, and according to the Constitution she needs to be at least 35 to be POTUS[viii]. Poll finds that 74% of Democrats (and people who lean Dem) would consider voting for Ocasio-Cortez if she were old enough to run for president[ix]. So, realistically I see AOC running for POTUS in 10-18 years. I’d settle on 14 as part of the sweet spot, where she will be just in her mid-forties, seasoned enough to do everything and anything, and still young enough to have the mantle of being the Millennials’ Champion!

[BTW, the Women of Congress Reshaping American politics[x] is truly inspiring for all. Something I feel personally connected to raising a young daughter in this country and world]

Anyhow, if you read this far, obviously me picking AOC is our first female president is throwing cold-water on all those ladies Presidential Aspirations…Definitely for 2020! Let me just put it like this, I have been a registered Democrat for 19 years, (I’m 37)! I studied political science in college and since I was 21, I have read up on politics every single day of my life, that’s nearly, 17 years (that’s over 6000 days for all you fans of Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule[xi]…I know Oprah is 😉). I have even worked on a handful of candidate campaigns and issue campaigns throughout my 20s and even early 30s.

Anyhow, before I go on, I must give a little plug to My favorite political website BAR-NONE! WWW.POLITICALWIRE.COM[xii] . I am a proud dues paying member $50 per year, or if you want to go the monthly route its $5 a month, for exclusive content…of course you can still read most of the stuff for free, I just am that committed to being on the ground learning about politics that I happily spend the $50 for their amazing additional content https://politicalwire.com/members/[xiii] .

Having said all this…what I can tell you about this 2020 Race is “I WANT TO FUCKING WIN”. Meaning, I want a Democrat back in the White-House ASAP. No time for fuckery, Trump has already blown his load for himself and many others. Like take for example a real CEO – Howard Schultz. Like, seriously dude? For Schultz to be so tone-deaf to think people want an Independent Candidate for POTUS just tells the American people why AOC’s idea of a 70% tax on the Uber-Wealthy is a really fucking good one![xiv] Forgive me for the F-Bombs….just I’m very passionate about this topic and what I’m sharing is super important.

The long and short is, I want a Democrat back in the White House. One that inspires all the hope that Obama could and could not muster, and one who will win the Presidency by a comfortable margin. This is also why Hillary will not run again.[xv]

I’m throwing my weight behind the former Congressman from Texas who nearly toppled US Senator, Ted Cruz, Mr. Beto O’Rourke. Here is a man that walks his talk! Beto O’Rorke on NFL Players taking a knee.[xvi] I am not so naïve or blind by the fact that Beto is backed by BIG OIL[xvii]. But seriously, who in Texas isn’t? And do you realize how much money it costs to become President of the United States?[xviii] Also, I can’t think of any big-name political candidate for President who isn’t backed by big money, save for Bernie Sanders*. (I’m sorry Bernie, I know Hillary robbed you, but 2016 was your moment…it has now passed).

*Actually, Bernie has a dirty little secret[xix] when it comes to his relationship with the powerful and often derided (for good reason) lobbying group THE NRA.

Some more astute political minds might say, “Ha! This is why Mike Bloomberg would be a great candidate, because he can’t be bought!”[xx] True enough. And there is a part of me that actually does like what a Bloomberg Presidency can do (especially compared to what we have been stuck with). But, first off, I don’t think a short Jewish guy from New York can win the Presidency (Unless I run someday…and then of course I’ll bet on myself…otherwise, why am I going to bother to run).

But, most importantly – we need a President that strikes a populist tone. Howard Shultz is a fake populist[xxi] wanting to run as an independent. I feel bad dumping on him, especially since I know someone fairly-well who based on the evidence I can gather, has a personal relationship with the Starbucks man himself!

And while we are here let me disqualify other candidates, namely one. Mr. Joe Biden! All I can say to Mr. Biden is “I feel for you that you lost your son, and you didn’t have the energy to quite muster a campaign against the Hillary machine[xxii], but sometimes time and place means more than anything…just look at the President you worked for, @BarackObama[xxiii] . Obama’s timing was remarkable where he caught lightning in a bottle”. And the ability to catch lightning in a bottle is exactly why I LIKE BETO O’ROURKE FOR PRESIDENT![xxiv]

The media likes to make things a horse-race, and Kamala Harris is the current flavor of the month[xxv], but I just don’t see the Junior Senator from California having staying power[xxvi]. Maybe she will be Beto’s VP nominee, but I just don’t see her being the next POTUS. Nor do I see a woman being elected POTUS in 2020 or 2024 for that matter. I say this partially because, I’m backing Beto, and I want to be right, but also because I just don’t see it happening…yet. (Although, maybe former Republican Governor of South Carolina, as well as Trump’s first Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley might be able to make some noise in 2024[xxvii]…that would be rich with irony).

I love the speech that Democratic US Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado gave on the Senate floor, blasting Ted Cruz[xxviii] and speaking the ultimate truth to power! But, in this-day-and-age, of needing and wanting a Candidate with some sort of celebrity status, I just don’t see him being “The Guy”. That, and he actually seems way to decent of a human-being to become President (#knowwhatimsayin?)

Cory Booker has a nice story. Although, he just seems like he wants to be that inspirational and Transformational Candidate Obama was, but I feel like I don’t see it in him 100%. And there seems to be an awfully long paper trail of special interest money that has backed Booker[xxix] all the way from his time as Mayor of Newark – and I’d be remiss if I didn’t share this little piece of evidence on Booker being Wall Street’s favorite Politician [xxx] as well. As an FYI – Obama was certainly backed by special-interest money[xxxi], also.

Cartoon short- created by -Adam-Zyglis-Secret-Santa-Buffalo-News

For if there is one thing I hope you have taken away from this article (more so than who I think will be the next President), is the fact that it takes a Boatload of Money to be President[xxxii], and if America actually wants to remain a viable Democratic Republic for generations to come we just gotta get the money out of politics. [xxxiii]

Hence, why I’m saying let us look to AOC in the future because she’s got some magic that too many other Pols just don’t have.[xxxiv]

And yes, I realize It might be silly to pick a Candidate 21 months before Election day 2020 (641 days to be exact). But my instincts tells me this is the guy to beat! [Beto O’Rourke’s last town hall as Congressman[xxxv].]

I’m no expert on this matter, but I have been a fairly-consistent and studious student of American Politics for over 16 years. Of course, many other people have been in the game longer than me, and there are people younger than me who are way more knowledgeable on this matter than I am. Yet, I believe I have the perfect balance of distance from the whole political scrum and enough of a background and general knowledge to call it like I see it with a good amount of confidence. If I’m wrong, this post will just be another one of my blog posts that get too little attention for my liking. But, if I’m write/right, you bet your tushy, that I will re-publish this again! And people will be like “Damn, Josh called it”! 😉

PS – For old times sake, especially since Beto is the closest candidate I see to the next Obama[xxxvi], (and I’m not alone in this assessment) here – this one is for all of you. YES WE CAN![xxxvii]

Thanks for reading!

-JPJ

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REFERENCES (ii-xxxvii)

ii– AOC’S Twitter page, directed to her dancing in front of her office more info at https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

iii.- Kamala Harris “For the People” Campaign Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls7OSwHMoBc

iv. Elizabeth Warren “We should have broken you into pieces” in reference to BIG Banks and Obama’s tepid effort to reform them. More info here at – https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/227031-warren-to-banks-we-should-have-broken-you-into-pieces

V. – Kirsten Gillibrand “Campaign Anouncement” – https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-will-stand-up-for-what-i-believe-in-sen-kirsten-gillibrand-says–but-what-she-believes-quickly-changed-as-she-moved-from-house-to-senate/2019/01/19/1534b4ce-1b55-11e9-9ebf-c5fed1b7a081_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b00b4e9ea2ce

vi. Tulsi Gabbard “Campaign in disarray” https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/29/tulsi-gabbard-2020-election-1134055

vii. US Constitution website – http://constitutionus.com/

viii. POTUS – https://www.potus.com/

ix – AOC Popular for POTUS Among Democrats https://www.countable.us/articles/19920-74-democrats-consider-voting-aoc-old-run-president

x- BADASS WOMEN OF CONGRESS https://www.countable.us/articles/19702-call-badasses-meet-new-women-congress

xi – Oprah Loves Gladwell’s 10,000 Hour rule – https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/09/oprah-winfrey-loves-the-malcolm-gladwell-10000-hours-rule.html

xii – www.politicalwire.com

xiii – https://politicalwire.com/members/

xiv – AOC Claps back at Schultz (for being a Putz…just kidding…but maybe not 100%) https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-fires-back-howard-schultz-slamming-tax-plan-185624274.html

xv. – Why Hillary is really unpopular again (article from July 2017…not much has changed in regards to people’s regards to Hillary, in a year in a half though, if you ask me) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-popularity-poll_us_596e5bc5e4b0000eb1967c73

xvi. – BETO O’ROURKE “I can think of nothing More American” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/aug/22/beto-orourke-nfl-protests-texas-video

xvii. – “Beto O’Rourke might have an oil money problem” – https://grist.org/article/beto-orourke-might-have-an-oil-money-problem/

xviii. – How much it costs to become President of the United States – https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/savings-advice/how-much-cost-become-president/

xix. – When the NRA liked Bernie the Best – https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/opinion/2018/04/10/analysis-bernie-sanders-his-gun-control-record/500824002/

xx. – Mike Bloomberg says he’d self-fund his 2020 Campaign for President – https://www.axios.com/michael-bloomberg-2020-presidential-election-74ab2fd3-9bae-4980-b66b-0492cbcdc398.html

xxi. – Howard Schultz – The Democratic Party’s new #1 enemy. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/war-over-white-house-democratic-party-vs-howard-schultz-n964121

xxii. – Biden didn’t run in 2016 out of fear of Hillary – https://insider.foxnews.com/2017/11/09/joe-biden-didnt-run-2016-fear-hillary-clintons-stop-nothing-campaign

xxiii. – Obama tweet from 2013, re-quoting a famous portion of a speech of his. (more info at) https://twitter.com/BarackObama?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

xxiv. – IS BETO THE OBAMA LIKE RESPONSE TO TRUMP IN 2020? (article from August 2018, still relevant) https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/08/could-beto-orourke-be-the-next-obama

xxv. – Kamala Harris won the roll-out primary – https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/01/31/kamala-harris-2020-election-224533

xxvi. – Kamala Harris’s big challenge (piece by Obama’s former chief strategist and CNN Correspondent David Axelrod) https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/28/opinions/kamala-harris-big-challenge-axelrod/index.html

xxvii. – Could Nikki Haley be the first women President in 2024? https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article219776240.html

xxviii. – US Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) on Government Shutdown C-SPAN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LlCn-HZDuY&feature=youtu.be

xxix. – Cory Booker seeks distance from his Corporate Donors – https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/07/03/booker-seeks-distance-as-corporate-donations-become-potent-campaign-issue-494360

xxx. – Cory Booker among the politicians that gets the most Wall St. Cash – https://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/23/cory-booker-mitch-mcconnell-get-the-most-wall-st-campaign-cash.html

xxxi. – Obama’s $400,000.00 Wall St. Speech completely in character – https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-wall-street-speech-400k_us_5900bf16e4b0af6d718ab7b9

xxxii. – THE AXE FILES INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES BARKLEY àWatch the clip from 16:01-16:50, Barkley talks about how it costs over $1 Billion to become President, to only make $400,000.00 a year a President. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fjfVbgaUd0; for those interested here’s the transcript of the interview as well http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1803/31/se.06.html or listen to the audio version/podcast version here – https://player.fm/series/the-axe-files-with-david-axelrod-2046673/ep-230-charles-barkley

xxxiii. – Want to know who is funding our Politicians Campaigns? Go to – https://www.opensecrets.org/

xxxiv. – Why Trump super-fans dig AOC – https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/30/aoc-congress-republicans-1134065

xxxv. – Beto O’Rourke’s last town hall meeting as Congressman – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__tgc0CGq9I

xxxvi. – Obama aides say that Beto O’Rourke reminds them of the ex-president. Obama agrees. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/obama-aides-say-beto-o-rourke-reminds-them-ex-president-n942576

xxxvii- YES WE CAN (Obama music video) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mY

*** https://www.270towin.com/2020-countdown-clock/ Almost forgot to include the countdown clock website! This is so cool. I literally just learned about this when I looked up how many days away we are from Election Day 2020! 😊

