Julián Castro is a former HUD Secretary and a Democratic candidate for president of the United States. He also happens to be Latino, so of course I should support him—and I do. The truth is that Julián is a long shot. The Texas native comes from humble beginnings, but he and his twin brother Joaquín Castro, himself a United States Congressman, graduated from both Stanford and Harvard and launched their respective political careers in their hometown of San Antonio—following the footsteps of political icons like Henry Cisneros and Henry B. Gonzáles. When I first heard that Julián was running for president, I thought it was premature. I actually thought he was a little green to be HUD Secretary, just a few years ago, but when I heard him lay out his plan for immigration reform, I was blown away. A Hispanic running for president leading with the issue of immigration may seem a bit obvious, but Castro did his homework and fearlessly laid out a plan somewhat akin to the post-WWII Marshall Plan in which the United States will lead an effort to revitalize Central and Latin America. Castro astutely understands that the only realistic way to curb illegal immigration from the southern border is for Latin America to thrive. I don’t know how well Castro will do in 2020, but I bet he does a lot better than most people think he will.
Inflation has impacted all of us. The price of almost everything has spiked faster and harder than at any time since the 80s. Few things can obliterate a modern economy more than out-of-control inflation.
For most people, there is little upside to writing about the January 6th hearings, but as you probably know by now, I don’t worry about those things. We all must stand for something. The hearings have almost everyone taking sides before a single witness is called. Democrats believe that the events of January 6th were a calculated effort to undermine our democracy by demolishing two of the most sacred tenants of our nation, free elections, and the peaceful transition of power.
Most people consider themselves either a conservative or a liberal. I think if we forget political parties, which flip their positions on things all of the time, and instead focus on the actual definition of what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a liberal, we might be able to temper the emotional reactions some of us have with political discourse.