Progressive Candidates for 2020 Presidential Election @ Free Xenon

Table of Contents

Introduction

My 2020 Candidate List

If you are not sure who are some good potential candidates for the 2020 presidential election I will show you my current picks below. As painfully progressive as I am there are only 6 candidates that really matter to me. There are only 2 that will be viable candidates for the primary and general election. The others are great to boost the conversation. I have donated to them to try to get them on to the debate stage.

Please join me in helping to get these progressive voices on the debate stage so we can have a real conversation about change and the issues that America and the world are facing. Please donate to all 4. Even a few dollars here and there would help towards getting each of their individual donors to 65,000 which would enable us to get their progressive voices heard within a sea of corporate candidates.

If you want to see my platform if I ran for office then here it is:

The Interstellar New deal

Also keep in mind my post Why you need to vote in every… single… election!!

Progressive Litmus Test

If the candidate is not on board with these issues then the candidate is NOT worth looking at:

Against
- corporate money in government or elections
- war
- genocide
- income inequality
- racism
Pro
- electoral reform
- universal healthcare
- universal education
- unions and cooperative ownership
- acting aggressively against climate change
- free press
- shift to 100% renewable energy

The Final Four

Note: Keep in mind, I have not fully researched all of the below candidates and I will update this post as the months go on and I find out more.

The Primary Democratic Party Candidates

If Bernie (or one of these candidates) gets screwed out the nomination by the Democratic Party again through their engaging in electoral fraud, voter suppression, money laundering, and collusion like they did in 2016, then I will, of course, vote for the Green Party candidate… again. =)

Bernie Sanders

Of course, Bernie Sanders is my primary candidate and the one I will be voting for and giving the most money to (monthly donation). Over his lengthy political history starting in the 60’s from marching with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activism, to being elected mayor of Burlington and then senator of Vermont, his message of economic, political, and social justice has been consistent then as well as during the 2016 campaign, and now. He has proven himself a tireless candidate of the people. He gives me great hope for the future of Humanity.

Below is a video going over excerpts from over 30 years of speeches by Bernie Sanders:

Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard is my second choice for president. She is a Gulf War Vet who, in 2016, stepped down from Vice President of the Democratic Party to support and campaign with Bernie. She is running now to aggressively bring an antiwar message to the presidential debates.

The Secondary Democratic Party Candidates

Marianne Williamson

Even though I identify as a non-believer as an Agnostic Humanist, I am still willing to recommend, Marianne Williamson, a well known liberal Christian activist because she has many great progressive policy positions. My wife has one of her poems on the wall of our yoga studio:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson for President 2020

Mike Gravel

He has some great policies and has been speaking out against American imperialism and warmongering for many, many years as a Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981. His antiwar voice is desperately needed.

Mike Gravel for President 2020

The Very Important Progressive Non-Democrats

The Green Party Candidate – Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins, Founder of the US's Green Party Movement — Howie Hawkins, Founder of the US’s Green Party Movement

I am biased here because I identify as a Green and have even been a member of the GPUS national committee. Honestly, the Green Party is my real first choice for any position, however, with the incredible amount of corruption in our system as I write about here:

… unfortunately makes it essentially impossible for a Green to win the presidency without a major revolution, which we really, really need.

I voted for Jill Stein in the last election due the Democratic Party engaging in electoral fraud, voter suppression, money laundering, and collusion, and because there was no other candidate on the ballot that was worthy of my vote.

This year though, it appears that Howie Hawkins, one of the the founders of the Green Party Movement in the US, may be looking to throw his hat into the ring. I have just donated to him and so should you too. There is no other party that puts people and the environment ahead of everything else. Their voice should be heard within the din of the multitudes of corporate owed candidates. This should not be surprising but, his platform ends up looking very similar to my platform.

Even the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges endorses him!!

Here is his official campaign declaration video:

Money Free Party – Steve Saylor

If you really, want to get down with the sickness with radical, radical change then you may want to look at the Money Free Party. I know, it really sounds strange. Just take a look at what Steve Saylor has to say – he has nine videos for you, but here is the first to get you started:

Here are the rest of the videos if you would like to learn more: Money Free Party Campaign Videos with Steve Saylor.

Comments on Other Democratic Candidates

Grab Bag of Corporate Stooges

The rest of the Democratic Party candidates are corporate stooges and their policies and histories reflect that, so do not even bother taking a look:

Kamala Harris
Joe Biden
Beto O’Rourke
Corey Booker

Elizabeth Warren

"You have betrayed not only yourself and everything you have fought for, but also all of those true progressives who saw you and Bernie Sanders as our last hope for real change. That hope in us has almost been snuffed out, not only with you selling out and supporting Hillary who is the woman who stands for everything you have been fighting against, but also by not endorsing Bernie Sanders early on when he really, really needed it. You had that chance to turn the tides to make a real difference, to change the world, to be a part of a really, really historic moment, but you chose cowardice instead." — “You have betrayed not only yourself and everything you have fought for, but also all of those true progressives who saw you and Bernie Sanders as our last hope for real change. That hope in us has almost been snuffed out, not only with you selling out and supporting Hillary who is the woman who stands for everything you have been fighting against, but also by not endorsing Bernie Sanders early on when he really, really needed it. You had that chance to turn the tides to make a real difference, to change the world, to be a part of a really, really historic moment, but you chose cowardice instead.”

With Elizabeth Warren’s betrayal of Progressives in 2016 I will not really be considering her as a candidate unless the Green Party candidate is absolute crap. It has also come to light that she did not endorse him because Hillary was considering her for Vice President – great political move there, Lizzy. She has decided to not take corporate money only during the primary, but will accept corporate money during the general, sooo… Meh! Not that I am at all bitter! =(

Pete Buttigieg

On a first glance he looks great on paper and hits many of the wonderful qualities that we may look for in a progressive democratic candidate:

young (38)
gay
former Navy – Afghanistan
well educated – a Harvard Rhodes Scholar
speaks 8 languages
very articulate

When I had originally heard about him and that he was running for office I was like “Ooooh! He sounds interesting.”. However, harmful identity politics aside, all of those are irrelevant and have zero bearing on his actual platform and beliefs which is what really matters: