He's such a good man. Too good for this earth, honestly. If we could have a president with a soul this beautiful I'd literally cry with relief. What a contrast he is to the nihilistic ugliness of so many on the right. The contrast is almost too much.
An important speech but not great for regular folks. To communicate to a wider audience there needs to be a unifying metaphor like City on the Hill, the Four Freedoms, etc. We need a clear metaphor that counters Trump's MAGA message.
Mike, I can understand how devastating Senator Alex Padilla's assault by Kristi Noem's FBI goons, was and still is. But, I don't believe that a Democratic "leader" should thank Congressional Republicans for their "private support," because they don't have the guts to publicly support him. Afterwards, Kristi Noem lied about what happened, and Speaker Mike Johnson said Senator Padilla should be censured.
Over the weekend, Senator Mike Lee, who professes how religious he is, responded to news of the assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark, by writing on social platform X, “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way.”
Lee followed up with a separate post, including a photo of a masked man dressed up as a police officer, and a head shot of suspected shooter Vance Boelter with the text “Nightmare on Waltz Street." He later was convinced by Democrats to remove his posts. Why didn't any Republicans or Democrats say he should resign or face being censured?
And, today Mayoral democratic candidate Brad Landers was assaulted by two Gestapo ICE thugs, as he tried a accompany a man from Immigration Court, outside. He was arrested, and later released. How many Democrats must be killed or arrested before Republicans act?
So, NO, I don't think Senator Padilla is ready for a leadership position within the Democratic Party until he is willing to express his rage at Congressional Republicans, who see this violence against Democrats, blame them or privately support them, but do nothing to stop it.
Dang- that was a great speech! Moving, articulate, authentic and resoundingly American. The hurt you could hear in his voice as he recounted his experience- the betrayal he felt from his country- all of those FBI and other federal escorts in silent complicity- I was heartbroken with him. “If what you saw happen can happen when the cameras are on, imagine not only what can happen but is happening in so many places where there are no cameras.” He did not mince words or the problem at hand. He made it clear how authoritarianism affects ALL of us. “If a United States senator becomes too afraid to speak up, how can we expect any other American to do the same?” He was fearless. It’s inspiring, and we need more leaders like him.
I posted that video of Senator Padilla on FB today after I watched it and wrote that, Senator Padilla is something America hasn't seen in a long time: a STATESMAN.
Latinos need him.
The country needs him.
I hope more Democrats follow his lead b/c I believe the country is desperate to see more statesmen and stateswomen leading us.
Hawaii airport?
It was a very unifying speech. I applaud him for taking a seat at the table. He deserves a seat at the host position.
Yes!! Thank you for your thoughts and insight.
Well said the moment is cathartic!
And, who are you? Writing, not fighting, not being detained, assaulted, or being arrested…..your horsepower and point?
A simple Google search would disabuse you of this ignorant opinion. So embarrassing for you.
Karen it’s time for you and your three subscribers - likely your cats - to move on to the angry spinsters Substack. The adults are talking here
You must be new here
Padilla is a whimp. You would’ve thought he was shot in the ear.
He is a brave man I as an older white woman would and do support him
I don’t live in California but still I support his courage and ideas
He's such a good man. Too good for this earth, honestly. If we could have a president with a soul this beautiful I'd literally cry with relief. What a contrast he is to the nihilistic ugliness of so many on the right. The contrast is almost too much.
An important speech but not great for regular folks. To communicate to a wider audience there needs to be a unifying metaphor like City on the Hill, the Four Freedoms, etc. We need a clear metaphor that counters Trump's MAGA message.
Mike, I can understand how devastating Senator Alex Padilla's assault by Kristi Noem's FBI goons, was and still is. But, I don't believe that a Democratic "leader" should thank Congressional Republicans for their "private support," because they don't have the guts to publicly support him. Afterwards, Kristi Noem lied about what happened, and Speaker Mike Johnson said Senator Padilla should be censured.
Over the weekend, Senator Mike Lee, who professes how religious he is, responded to news of the assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark, by writing on social platform X, “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way.”
Lee followed up with a separate post, including a photo of a masked man dressed up as a police officer, and a head shot of suspected shooter Vance Boelter with the text “Nightmare on Waltz Street." He later was convinced by Democrats to remove his posts. Why didn't any Republicans or Democrats say he should resign or face being censured?
And, today Mayoral democratic candidate Brad Landers was assaulted by two Gestapo ICE thugs, as he tried a accompany a man from Immigration Court, outside. He was arrested, and later released. How many Democrats must be killed or arrested before Republicans act?
So, NO, I don't think Senator Padilla is ready for a leadership position within the Democratic Party until he is willing to express his rage at Congressional Republicans, who see this violence against Democrats, blame them or privately support them, but do nothing to stop it.
Dang- that was a great speech! Moving, articulate, authentic and resoundingly American. The hurt you could hear in his voice as he recounted his experience- the betrayal he felt from his country- all of those FBI and other federal escorts in silent complicity- I was heartbroken with him. “If what you saw happen can happen when the cameras are on, imagine not only what can happen but is happening in so many places where there are no cameras.” He did not mince words or the problem at hand. He made it clear how authoritarianism affects ALL of us. “If a United States senator becomes too afraid to speak up, how can we expect any other American to do the same?” He was fearless. It’s inspiring, and we need more leaders like him.
Thank you, Mike. It has never occurred to me why there has never been a Latino national leader like King.
I don't think the one incident and the one speech are an indication of anything at this point for Padilla.
So well put! Classic Mike Madrid.
About to watch Senator Padilla’s speech. Here’s the link y’all:
https://youtu.be/G-mKheWHHDw?si=H77qpwkhwCzxYUVq
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-sen-padillas-full-senate-floor-speech-recounting-his-removal-from-noems-la-briefing
I agree with you, Mike.
I posted that video of Senator Padilla on FB today after I watched it and wrote that, Senator Padilla is something America hasn't seen in a long time: a STATESMAN.
Latinos need him.
The country needs him.
I hope more Democrats follow his lead b/c I believe the country is desperate to see more statesmen and stateswomen leading us.
Sound is horrible but I hope he continues speaking up and speaking out because we need his voice