Beto O'Rourke Enters 2020 Race With No Platform Just Platitudes

So, Beto O'Rourke enters the 2020 race with no substantive legislative accomplishments after having served three terms as a congressman. He speaks in in very broad platitudes, but I have no idea from a policy perspective what he can do — not what he wants to do, but what he can do. Over the coming days, he's going to travel the country to listen to those whom he seeks to serve to understand from their perspective how we can best meet these challenges. That sounds very "Bernieesque" to me, in that during the last campaign, Bernie Sanders was often asked: how do you plan to accomplish your agenda? He would say, it's not up to me, it's up to the voters, or something similar. Some analysts are asking if a white male is the best fit for 2020 with such a diverse Democratic field, particularly after many midterm successes powered by female and nonwhite candidates. What does this mean for the Democratic political landscape? What is O'Rourke about, based upon what he has accomplished rather than what he campaigns on? How does he get so much traction when a candidate like Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is currently getting very little?

According to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro must go — even if the military has to intervene. This is part of the misinformation and disinformation campaign that you find in varying degrees in mainstream corporate media. Gingrich writes for Fox News Thursday, "There is one simple answer to the humanitarian disaster in Venezuela. The dictator Nicolás Maduro and his corrupt, violent, repressive regime must go. Venezuela is part of the immediate American neighborhood. If our commitment to change is not effective in our own backyard, the impact on our prestige and leadership worldwide will be substantial." Anya Parampil's piece in MintPress News, "Ricardo Hausmann's 'Morning After' for Venezuela: The Neoliberal Brain Behind Juan Guaido's Economic Agenda," articulates a different narrative based upon research and historical context. We'll examine the differences.

GUESTS:

Garland Nixon — Co-Host of Fault Lines on Sputnik News.

Anya Parampil — Washington, DC-based journalist. She previously hosted a daily progressive afternoon news program called "In Question" on RT America.

We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com

