2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHillary is Rattling Her Saber at Trump with Possible VP Perez!
There are rumors going around that Hillary may choose Secretary of Labor Tom Perez as her running mate. The Hill buzz on media outlets like Yahoo, CNN, Politico, Gawker, etc are hinting he may be the one. If he is, it looks like she would be gearing up for the fight against Trump and all he stands for. Perez is the anti-Trump! Most Right Wing opposition is of the particularly virulent, racist kind, a partisan attack from the Republican Oversight Committee or involves using his "email!"
What is this RW obsession with email anyway? Do we need to have FBI investigations and congressional hearings into the content of their email exchanges?
Perez is definitely a superb candidate. His CV is stellar!
Tom Perez is the son of first generation Dominican immigrants. Father was a WWII veteran and physician, his mother was Dominican's Ambassador to the US. He attended Brown University with scholarships and by working as a trash collector and the Rhode Island Human Rights Commission. He received his law degree from Harvard and clerked for Attorney General Edwin Meese.
From 1989 to 1995 he worked as a prosecutor with the Dept. of Justice's Civil Rights Division fighting against white supremacists, etc. He also chaired the Worker Exploitation Task Force.
He has prosecuted predatory/sub prime loan brokers, opposed the privatization of non profit health insurers, set up voluntary organizations to import lower cost prescription medicines, led efforts to target companies engaging in workplace fraud and imposed penalties for corporate tax evasion.
He was appointed by Obama for Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division and worked to revamp protections for Americans with Disabilities and stopping discrimination against individual with HIV/AIDS. He oversaw the implementation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act and prosecuted the racially motivated murder of James Craig Anderson. He has prosecuted several cases on behalf of LGBT discrimination and harassment.
He has worked as investigator/prosecutor in the hate crime cases of Trayvon Martin, Eric Holder, led the investigation and lawsuit against Maricopa County and Sheriff "tent city" Arpaio, led investigations and blocked voter ID/suppression efforts in SC and TX.
He was appointed as Obama's Secretary of Labor, supported by the AFL-CIO, NAACP, UFW and the National Women's Law Center and opposed by some in the GOP for efforts to increase the minimum wage and his support of the rights of immigrants.
His wife is a lawyer with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.
http://www.care2.com/causes/meet-possible-vice-president-pick-tom-perez.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/politics/tom-perez-vice-president-hillary-clinton-chatter-donald-trump/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Perez
http://freebeacon.com/politics/5-scandals-that-could-hurt-democrats-if-thomas-perez-is-their-vp-pick/
flamingdem
(39,304 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,705 posts)I like Sherrod Brown but this is a solid choice.
Haveadream
(1,630 posts)has some real expertise in the Economy, Trade, Foreign Policy and Health Care. He is also from Ohio which helps balance the regional map. I agree, a wonderful choice! I suspect HRC is floating this memo as we go into Arizona and Trump escalates his rhetoric.
NWCorona
(8,541 posts)And that could be a good thing. I'm hearing nothing but positives so far.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,705 posts)Schema Thing
(10,283 posts)I'm seeing this article, at this time, because Bernie Sanders is still in the race.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,705 posts)The Orlando Magic is still in the NBA but we can discount the possibility they will win the NBA Finals.
Haveadream
(1,630 posts)Perez, an HRC supporter, investigated and prosecuted Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, supporter of Trump. Just one among many other major points of departure in policy.
Maricopa County, Arizona investigation
In June 2008, the Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, after allegations that the MCSO was engaged in a pattern of practice of unlawful conduct.[96]
An expanded investigation leading into Perez's tenure over "discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures," led to a lawsuit by the Justice Department after Arpaio rejected the Department's request for documents regarding the investigation; becoming the first time that the federal government sued a local law enforcement agency concerning Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, since the 1970s.
Perez released a 22-page report[96] on discriminatory and racial biases against Latinos by the MCSO, and Arpaio. The report found that the MCSO mistreated and used racial slurs against Spanish-speaking inmates; Latino drivers were four to nine times more likely than non-Latino drivers to be stopped in identical non-criminal instances; 20% of stops and seizures, almost all of them involving Latinos, were legally unjustified, violating the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and the MCSO and sheriff's deputies engaged in retaliation against individuals who participated in demonstrations against the offices policies regarding immigration.[96] Arpaio was also found to have used racial and ethnic description, such as "individuals with dark skin" and "individuals speaking Spanish" as justification for immigration raids on businesses and homes; overlooking criminal activity as vindication for immigration raids led by the MCSO.
In May 2012, after the end of a three-year investigation, Perez led his division in a lawsuit against Maricopa County, the MCSO and Arpaio, for violating Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.Though the suit was criticized by Arpaio as a political move by the Obama administration,Perez called the suit an "abuse-of-power case involving a sheriff and sheriff's office that disregarded the Constitution, ignored sound police practices, compromised public safety and did not hesitate to retaliate against his perceived critics."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Perez
book_worm
(15,951 posts)I still prefer Julian Castro as VP.
Shrike47
(6,913 posts)Haveadream
(1,630 posts)specifically has a strong history of fighting for the rights of the people Trump and his supporters are working to disenfranchise.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)... taking your head out of the toilet ... And your audio will be clearer.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)I've dealt with bullies my whole life so give it your best shot.
nichomachus
(12,754 posts)Maybe he should run for that.
RufusTFirefly
(8,812 posts)Gothmog
(143,999 posts)Perez is a good man who helped rebuild the DOJ's voting right section after bush destroyed it
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)Personally my first choice would be Bill, then Corey Booker, then Bernie, then anyone else, but I don't think it's going to make a lot of difference, as long as there's *ahem* gender balance, so Warren for example I think is out.
Haveadream
(1,630 posts)I doubt the choice could be another woman or PoC because that would be just too much minority "representation", no matter how qualified.
I've heard good things about Julien Castro being a running mate, too.