In the only debate held for the 2020 Kentucky Democratic Senate primary contest to determine who would challenge then Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell in the general election, Louisville’s Charles Booker told front runner Amy McGrath the truth about hers ridiculous campaign strategy that appeals to Trump voters.
“Understanding the Kentuckians’ challenges is not going to run as a pro-Trump Democrat,” said Booker. “We can smell BS from a mile away.”
“You are not going to convince the people who voted for Trump to vote for you because you are not as bad as Mitch McConnell,” the black former senator continued. Booker’s criticism echoed that of the other challenger on stage, farmer Mike Broihier, who argued that McConnell “creamed” Democrats “every time.”
The race, however, was largely predetermined. Booker gave McGrath a run for her money – with sizeable donations and support from Senator Bernie Sanders – but the Democratic leadership had long been the cornerstone of McGrath. In 2019, the Senate Democratic campaign committee was reportedly pressured by minority leader Chuck Schumer to support McGrath, a former fighter pilot whose only political experience was losing a race in the House of Representatives, to challenge McConnell. With this support came a lot of money and influence, which dulled other challengers, who of course were covered as inferior insurgents from the start.
Booker narrowly lost to McGrath, who was later beaten by McConnell, which led many to wonder if the results might have been different had it not been for the national party.
Last week Booker gave the DSCC the opportunity to atone for past mistakes.
Booker announced that he will form an exploratory committee on a US Senate election campaign against Senator Rand Paul in 2022. “I strongly and urgently announce an exploratory committee for the US Senate to take a stand, build a movement to finally remove Rand Paul from the office,” Booker said. “So we can have leaders at any level of government who take care of our lives. “
That same day, Booker appeared on MSNBC’s The Reid Out discussing how, as a father out and about with another child, and having seen another police shootout, this time Daunte Wright in Minnesota, the need for “healing is now greater than ever.” “Across racial and geographical boundaries to meet structural challenges.
Democrat Charles Booker is forming an exploratory committee for a possible Senate run against Senator Rand Paul (R-KY): “Because we all deserve the chance … to be okay in our cars with air fresheners in our windows or okay in our homes at night, like we fall asleep. ”pic.twitter.com/ULxIXbXrBm
– The recount (@therecount) April 13, 2021
This is the kind of passion and analysis that McGrath voters have never seen. In last year’s debate, McGrath responded by claiming she wanted to be “a voice for everyday Kentuckians”. She then went on to sound like any general politician. “I’m not a polished politician,” said the person seeking political office. “I don’t see everything through a political lens.”
Amy McGrath’s Senate bid was all about politics – the assumption that a white woman who seemed to stand for nothing had a better chance of getting into the Senate than the black progressives who were for Medicare-for-all, Setting up a minimum wage of $ 15 and other problems benefit the working class. She and the DSCC assumed that the Kentuckians were more interested in someone who would upset the endorsement of Brett Kavanaugh than someone who was gassed in tears directly by the protests in Louisville over the murder of Breonna Taylor and the this precisely understands the pain and distress of an important bloc of democratic voters.
I don’t know if Booker would have done better than McGrath, but I think Democratic candidates do better if they talk like Democrats rather than feeding Republicans who are trying to appease members of Trump’s bigoted brigade. And I believe that local voters should have a greater say in their elections.
I also didn’t like that a black politician who understands the class issues of all voters better than the party establishment didn’t even cast doubts. It would be beneficial for the Democrats if they learned to think a little more imaginatively about what constitutes a willing coalition and what candidates they can form. It starts with helping people in states like Georgia and Mississippi and giving candidates like Charles Booker an equal opportunity.
Considering that the potential opponent in Kentucky next year is Rand Paul, the kind of person who blocks a law banning lynching and doesn’t get along with his neighbors, I believe Booker can compete. Paul has defended Trump’s racism, has ties to other racist and racist causes, and is an obstacle to progress. He doesn’t deserve to sit in the Senate, but whoever his challenger is, that candidate should believe in something.
Chuck Schumer and the DSCC didn’t agree with Charles Booker or the Kentucky people in the last Senate race. If Booker pulls off another run, we hope they don’t make the same mistake twice.
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