Before delving into the Tuesday night debate among a dozen Democratic hopefuls, here’s a pop quiz: Name the Starbucks multimillionaire who was going to run as an independent because too many of the Dems were too far left.
Time’s up.
It was Howard Schultz. He removed himself for fear that a third-party candidacy might result in a victory for President Trump. If that is a clear and present danger, and Democrats say it is, maybe 10 of them ought to do the same and take a powder. (There are actually a few others with support too paltry to make the stage. I will miss spacey author Marianne Williamson.)
Yes, yes, I know it will be difficult for the also-rans’ egos and their dedicated (if tiny) band of supporters, but it is time to be an adult and realistic (qualities that challenge many Democrats) and end your hopeless campaigns.
Inadvertently or not, CNN seemed to acknowledge Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s newfound front-runner status by throwing her the lioness’ share of the questions and allowing her to be challenged and to fight back.
Both Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar went after her, as did others, and I give Warren props for standing her ground and holding her temper. She repeatedly was asked if her grandois plans — she said she has 50 of them and had posed for 70,000 selfies — would include a tax hike for the middle class. She should have said “no.” Instead, she said high-income earners and corporations would pay more. So she got asked again a question I thought she had answered.
Before I forget, let me give Klobuchar credit for one of the best lines of the night.
When Warren suggested that not everyone was as hot as she to take on billionaires, the Minnesota senator said, “Not even the billionaire wants to protect billionaires.”
The billionaire was Tom Steyer, making his first debate appearance and picking a spot out in left field. He bragged he was pushing to impeach Trump more than two years ago, which shows me he’s more political than evidence-based.
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Poor Bernie Sanders. What the hell can he do to shake suspicions that his heart attack disqualifies him from serious consideration? Can he do one-armed pushups like Jack Palance did when he won the 1992 Oscar for supporting actor?
It’s sad this happened to him when it did, like Lynne Abraham fainting at the start of the 2015 mayoral debate. It’s tough to come back from this, especially when Sanders’ poll numbers already were sinking.
What he did, was talk loud. Hardly any of the other 11 raised their voices at all, while Bernie did it almost every time. Call it passion.
Sen. Kamala Harris said it was outrageous that the subject of women’s reproductive health had not been raised in previous debates. She defined this as a “justice” issue, but did not define what she was talking about as “abortion.”
Sen. Cory Booker chimed in to support Harris, saying he would form an office of reproductive freedom in the White House, and later volunteered that he is a vegan. As usual, he was so earnest it almost hurt.
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang said the U.S. meddled in elections, and Klobuchar shot back there was no equivalency between fhe U.S. and Russia.
Rep Tulsi Gabbard said she supports Roe v. Wade, but would prohibit abortions in the third trimester unless the life and health of the mother were at stake.
That will get some attention, but not as much as an earlier remark that CNN and The New York Times, sponsors of the debate, referred to her as a Russian “asset.” I doubt that happened just as she said it, and the commentariat will be fact checking that today.
Here’s something I would like fact checked: Warren says that if there were a 2 cent tax on every dollar earned above $50 million would pay for infant child care, universal pre-K, pay all college tuition and forgive all student loan debt.
Some of these folks need to join Howard Schultz.
Stu, all your points are salient, but honestly, this go around was generally a snoozer. All the same drivel about taxing the rich more, with some taxing the poor more, more socialism, more “meaningful” gun control, yada, yada, yada. They’ve all established their platforms over the last 10 months as well as the last two “debates,” if you really want to call them that. We really need a rest from this to save our real attention to next years’ running candidate’s debate(s). And if our current prez manages to survive that long, he will do his best modus operandi: insult them and keep them on the defensive. I’m sure the reality of politics was just as rotten 100, or 150 years back. But the current crop, on both sides, seems to be about the worst of the worst I’ve seen in my last 70 years. It’s not “God Bless America” so much as what is now needed: “God Spare America.”
I can’t argue with you.
I think you are on point but it still has an air of üs verus him and to get more traction they will have to find some middle ground to draw independents into the fold.
Sorry about the amount of verbiage but it is worth a listen or read.
In his devastating new book The Madness of Crowds, Douglas Murray examines the 21st century’s most divisive issues: sexuality, gender, technology, and race. He reveals the astonishing new culture wars playing out in our workplaces, universities, schools, and homes in the names of social justice, identity politics, and intersectionality. We are living through a postmodern era in which the grand narratives of religion and political ideology have collapsed. In their place have emerged a crusading desire to right perceived wrongs and weaponization of identity, both accelerated by the new forms of social and news media. Narrow sets of interests now dominate the agenda as society becomes more and more tribal — and, as Murray shows, the casualties are mounting. Readers of all political persuasions cannot afford to ignore Murray’s masterfully argued and fiercely provocative book, in which he seeks to inject some sense into the discussion around this generation’s most complicated issues. He ends with an impassioned call for free speech, shared common values and sanity in an age of mass hysteria
Wow, Tom, that quote above from Murray really puts it in proper context. Thx for posting that!
HAPPY WEDNESDAY !!!
If last night’s debate was a light bulb factory, we would still be in the dark !
I have to respect Major Gabbard for wearing the uniform. That’s where it stops. All of the politicians on that stage are blowing the same old tune. We don’t want or need socialism. We don’t need to drive the rich out of this country, because they were fortunate enough to become millionaires. Coincidentally, there are just a few millionaires that were on that stage last night.
What we really need is for a democrat to come from the middle and be the statesman/stateswoman that we haven’t seen in many a year. Our President, like him or not, is not a politician. He is a billionaire businessman who loves this country. You don’t hear any other politician – from either side – professing his love of country and putting America first ! Mr. Trump is the best that we have right now. It would be nice to see the rest of Washington D.C. raise the bar, and stop stuffing their collective pockets and think about the citizens of this beloved country.
Not for nutt’n’ but I do love the USA, as do you. I am a Vet and I am a deplorable.
Tony
Tony, all I can do is quote that famous verbiage: “To dream the impossible dream…”. BTW, I often wonder how uber biz guy Henry Ross Perot would have stacked up in comparison to our current prez, if he had been elected. Considering who he chose as a running mate, Admiral Bumble Mouth, one has to wonder. I suspect Perot would have made most, if not all, the mistakes Trump has made to date, maybe with just a little less mouthing off, since Twitter wasn’t around then.
Randy,
back in the day – way back – , Larry King had a good talk show on Ted Turner’s net work . You remember him ? (sic) a nobody who rose from rags to riches with the help of “Ms Hanoi”! ( jane fonda). Larry had some high profile people on his show. Perot was one of them, and it was here that Ross announced his candidacy. Apparently Mr. Perot was a better computer geek than a politician. I believe that had he took the offer of one of the parties, he would have become President, and it would have been with a political vice president. Admiral James Stockdale was a brilliant man. Not a politician. When I watched the debates for the vice presidency, The Admiral just stood there, leaning on the podium, as if do say,”what the F*^K is going on?”.
Wait and see. Trump will start calling Joe Biden “The Little Drummer Boy.” Pa rum pum pum pum.
The Democrat’s platform should be, “Bend over and put your head against something hard.”
As of yesterday, three models showed Trump getting at least 289 electoral votes and as many as 351 (assuming average turnout). This news gave Bernie more chest pains.
Anything is possible
Democrats seem to live by the adage, “When you’ve lost your aim, double your efforts.”