There were two big winners last week in the field of politics. One of these is a Democrat and the other one, a Republican. However, both of these stories come from the Lone Star state of Texas.
The bigger news is on the Democratic side, when the keynote speaker for that party’s nominating convention was announced: San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro. Although unknown to most people outside of his area (apart from those who follow political news and celebrities), this speech should propel Castro to national notoriety. It was just 12 years ago that the DNC named a less-than-well-known state senator named Barack Obama to deliver that year’s keynote address.
Julian Castro was born in San Antonio in 1974, where he would grow up and spend his formative years. He graduated from Stanford University in 1996 with a degree in political science and communications. He also earned a law degree from Harvard, as did his identical twin brother, Joaquin, who graduated with him. Julian began to serve on the city council of his home city in 2001, and was elected mayor of the “Something to Remember” city in 2009.
We should not assume that Castro is someone who is necessarily being groomed for the presidency or anything like it, but whether or not that is the case, the career of Julian Castro just got a huge boost. He will also go down in history as the first Latino to ever deliver the keynote address at the DNC event.
The big Republican winner of the week was Ted Cruz, a political neophyte who overcame the odds. Buoyed by the Tea Party, Cruz won that party’s nomination for U.S. Senate in the bid to replace the retiring Republican senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison. (Although the election was not anything close to being a squeaker — Cruz won 57% to 43% over establishment candidate Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst.) During his race, Cruz received the endorsement of former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, along with Rick Santorum and Jim DeMint. Given the heavily Republican nature of the Texan voter block, Cruz is heavily favored to win the November election against Democratic nominee Paul Sadler. Cruz joins other recent Tea Party-backed victories around the country, including Dick Lugar’s defeat in his Indiana senate race and Scott Walker triumphing over a recall vote in Wisconsin.
I don’t know how many times she can be declared my loser of the week, but Roseanne Barr manages to get another goose egg. The actress and comedienne, who recently lost her bid for the Green Party nomination for president, has now announced that she will be seeking the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party, after ranting about cancer in Chick-fil-A sandwiches. I’m sorry, Roseanne. You have talent, and can certainly be funny, and it seems like your heart is in the right place when it comes to politics. But it also seems that you just don’t have the personality for political life. Please, go back to comedy.
I think Roseanne would do well to learn from another comedian-turned-politician, Al “The Joker” Franken:
As King Solomon said, “Even the fool will be thought wise if he keeps his mouth shut.”