By picking Mike Pence for VP, Donald Trump has proven what Xavier Becerra was saying all along.
If you scratch below the surface of Donald Trump, what do you find? Congressional Republicans. So it should not surprise people that the Congressional Republican leadership is getting on board with Donald Trump. -Xavier Becerra, May 18, 2016
Mike Pence is a solid conservative pick for Republicans, best known for his time in Congress, not his time as Governor of Indiana, where he has been widely ridiculed for one failed policy after another. Turns out if you put strict conservative principles into action in government it doesn’t work too well.
Regardless, Pence is seen as a serious and qualified pick due to his role in Congressional leadership:
Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who is currently serving as the 50th Governor of Indiana, taking office in 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and served as Chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011.
Now compare that to Xavier Becerra who has been taking on Republicans like Pence for decades:
Xavier Becerra (/hɑːviˈɛər bᵻˈsɛrə/ hah-vee-AIR; born January 26, 1958) is an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 34th congressional district, who had represented Downtown Los Angeles in Congress since 1993. Becerra, a member of the Democratic Party, is Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
Born in Sacramento, California, Becerra is a graduate of Stanford University, receiving his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He worked as a Lawyer at the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts, before returning to California in 1986 to work as an Administrative Assistant for State Senator Art Torres. He served as Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice from 1987 to 1990 before he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served one term from 1990 to 1992.
Becerra was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, previously representing California's 34th congressional district from 1993 to 2003 and California's 31st congressional district from 2003 to 2013. During his tenure in the House, he has served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus from 1997 to 1999, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2009 to 2013, and was a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
More than being qualified though, Becerra is almost universally well regarded. In all the diaries I’ve posted the past few months I’ve only gotten two negative comments, one that Becerra did not make a strong enough case for Clinton over Sanders to a young voter in his district, and two that he would constitute a “token” pick for VP. These both strike me as silly arguments. Becerra has shared many goals with Sanders since they fought Newt Gingrich together in the 1990s and if the fact that Latinos prefer Latino representation in government makes all Latino officials tokens Latinos are short a few. In both elected office and the media, Latinos are notoriously unrepresented and that has to change. However, as I’ve said before, I would still not be recommending Becerra unless he was qualified. He is. Here’s an example of Xavier taking on Paul Ryan, who Mitt Romney chose for his VP back in 2012:
The ideological divide been Conservatives and Progressives in Congress is much stronger than the divide in the Senate and has been growing for the last twenty years. Mike Pence and Xavier Becerra embody that conflict. The majority of the American people agree with Becerra, not Pence. The only reason Conservatives are holding onto power in Congress are gerrymandering and the Hastert rule, which is named after a convicted pedophile whose perverted logic has ground the House to a halt. Exposing the extreme views of House Republicans is important and Mike Pence gives us a chance.
If you’re interested in a VP debate preview check out this segment from CNN back on August 5, 2010.
Mike Pence is a serious pick for VP. Hillary Clinton needs a serious response. Xavier Becerra for VP.
UPDATE: Not sure if he spoke yet but Becerra may be speaking soon on the House floor about GOP.