Obama’s comments appear in a new video supporting Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50 which would allow the California legislature to draw new congressional boundaries ahead of the midterms
Barack Obama has entered the political fray ahead of November’s special election in California, accusing Republicans of attempting to “rig the next election” in a new ad backing Governor Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50, a ballot measure that could reshape the state’s congressional map.
“Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years,” Obama says in the 30-second ad, urging voters to approve the proposal. “You can stop Republicans in their tracks.”
So the argument most people seem to focus on regarding AOC is that she’s too far left, especially in terms of economics. If we could have an actual progressive VP, I would hope we could logically then actually have a progressive as a president.
Pritzker may be from a wealthy family, and not be extremely progressive in terms of economics, but several of his economic policies seem more progressive than a lot of establishment Democrats. They would be an odd couple, but might offset each other enough to make a good team and cast a wide net.
He raised minimum wage in his state to $15 an hour back in 2019, he passed a law to protect collective bargaining, and he passed a graduated tax law that didn’t make people making $250K or less pay more in taxes.
I would say the least likeable trait, and probably the thing that would make their pairing least likely, would be his unwillingness to call for the ceasefire in Israel until October of 2024 (which sadly is still a better track record than a lot of establishment Dems).
It’s also worth noting that he apparently funded his own campaign for governor with his own wealth, and that could make him less beholden to big donors like many establishment Dems.
I also think he and AOC are two of the few politicians who could really mop the floor with the MAGA narrative control bullshit, and their individual strengths and differences could make them more difficult to target with typical narrative control attacks.