Miscellaneous
Presidential races are grueling exercises. Day in and day out, you're always on the go. Raising money, speaking to voters, getting your message out into the media – doing whatever you can as the candidate or staff to maximize every hour of every day. It's exhausting, but somehow at the same time, exhilarating (or at least that's what Addisu Demissie, Senator Cory Booker's Campaign Manager, tells us). Demissie joined us on the podcast this week, and with him comes nearly 20 years of experience working on campaigns. Having gotten his start in Iowa with John Kerry in 2004, Addisu Demissie continued working on political campaigns on the Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign, Hillary Clinton 2016 Presidential Campaign, former Governor Terry McAullife Gubernatorial campaign, Gavin Newsome's Gubernatorial Campaign, and most recently, Senator Cory Booker's 2020 Presidential Campaign. Hosts Nathan and Sam asked Demissie not only about his experience on the 2020 campaign trail, but also how he reacted to the rapid coalescence behind Vice President Joe Biden, Biden's recent efforts to reach out to the left-wing of the party through policy concessions, and the latest announcements of Unity Task Forces to put together the 2020 Democratic Platform. Be sure to stick around until the end for our newly added "Good Idea / Bad Idea" rapid-fire questions, where Demissie gives his opinion on: Abolishing the filibuster, expanding the Supreme Court, a National Primary Election (where all states choose their pick for the nominee on one day), abolishing the electoral college, and Ranked Choice Voting. If you liked this episode and want to continue the conversation, Addisu can be found on Twitter @ASDem, Nathan can be found @NathanHRubin, and Sam @JeskeSam.