My impressions on the candidates and their debate performance (not an endorsement of their proposed policies)
by Ken West
Most Interesting and Unexpected:
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, Indiana) — A refreshing voice of reason in an angry sea of promises. He’s a combat Veteran, having served in Afghanistan. At times, he seemed to be the only adult on the national stage. But, as with his fellow Democrats, he put forward his party-line required proposals, with some important distinctions. For instance, he urged Medicare for All for those who want it. Wants a carbon tax. (Yikes.) Notable quote: “It should be affordable NOT to go to college.”
Most Radical (and Destructive):
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) — An angry old socialist Hippie. Bernie wants to take down corporate America, outlaw private health insurance, tax Wall Street, force all Americans (and undocumented immigrants) into a one-size-fits-all “Medicare for All,” and “take on” the fossil fuel industry. When he was pressed on how he would pay for Medicare for All, Sanders was forced to admit that it wouldn’t only be the wealthy who would pay, but the middle class’s taxes would have to rise as well.
If you’d like to see the real face of Big Brother, visualize Bernie’s face staring at you from every direction. That’s what he offers.
Most Annoying (and Difficult to Listen to):
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) — She wants Medicare for All as an “earned benefit,” and would institute a “family bill of rights.” Amen
Orwell, in his prophetic novel, 1984, coined the term “Duck Speak” in describing the speech patterns of certain individuals toeing the Party line. I couldn’t help thinking of that term when Sen. Gillibrand kept interrupting and pontificating throughout this debate.
Strongest Debate Performances (other than Pete Buttigieg):
• Sen. Kamala Harris (CA) — Somewhere during the middle of the debate, Harris made a direct assault on Former VP Joe Biden. (It was about an old school busing issue.) Her diatribe was angry and emotional. Biden seemed nonplussed to be under attack and managed to put up a defense. (More on Biden next…) Meanwhile, Harris proposed to change the tax code, support the “Green New Deal,” and said we were in a “climate crisis.”
Two memorable quotes: When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was creating more chaos by interrupting everyone, Harris said, “Hey guys… Americans don’t want to witness a food fight. They want to know how we’re food on their table.” Later: “The greatest national security threat is Donald Trump.”
Not Able to Get Traction from this Debate:
• Former Vice President Joe Biden — It could be argued that as the frontrunner, all he needed to do in this debate is demonstrate why he’s best positioned to beat President Trump. I suspect that the movers and shakers in the Democrat Party may be reassessing his viability today.
He seemed to be living in the past. A favorite phrase was, “I’m the guy who did…” x, y, and z. It was all about his past accomplishments, seldom about his promise for the future. He did manage to promise to get rid of Trump’s tax cuts, offer free community college for everyone, and build on Obamacare. But it was a tired litany of stale platitudes by an old war horse. One of his final comments was that “Obama did a heck of a job.”
Weirdest Candidates and Their Proposals:
• Entrepreneur Andrew Yang (NY) — I’m all for entrepreneurs, but Yang is proposing a thousand dollar a month “Freedom Dividend” to every American (and who knows, perhaps undocumented immigrants). He’s not offering his own money for this; it’s to come from “Value Added Tax,” which, of course, will come from those spending their newfound monthly “Freedom Dividend.” God help us!
• Self-help author, Marianne Williamson (CA) — For a while, I thought Ms. Williamson was rational. She startled her fellow Democrats by telling them that they’d never beat Donald Trump with their plethora of programs and promises. (So far, so good.) Then, however, she dug deep down into her policy prescriptions: reparations for slavery… but then trailed off into a diatribe about “Donald Trump kidnapping children (at the border), and state sponsored child abuse. Finally, Ms. Williamson told the assorted candidates that Trump had reached into the psyche of the American people (probably true) and that the only way to defeat him was with love! (Wow. Perhaps it’s time for a new “Summer of Love.”)
Three Other Candidates:
• Sen. Michael Bennet (CO) — “40 years of no economic growth.” Disagrees with Medicare for All. Wants to “finish Obamacare as a public option” to our health insurance. “We’re not Canada (with its 37 million people). We have 329 million people.” Mobilize against China.
• Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA) — “Joe Biden spoke to us (years ago) to ‘pass the torch’ of leadership.” (The implied implication: it’s time for Old Joe Biden to pass that torch.) This generation is ready to lead. Proposes mandatory assault style weapon buy-back and confiscation of those weapons for refusal!
• Former Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO) — Joins Mayor Pete Buttigieg as the only other voice of reason on that stage. Unlike almost of his fellow candidates, he says that to solve problems it makes no sense to demonize business. Problems will only be solved by working with corporations, not going to war with them. A collaborative effort is what’s needed.
A Proposal for the Democrats:
• My wife came up with a Dream Presidential ticket for the Democrats — Sen. Bernie Sanders (for President) and Self-help author, Marianne Williamson (for VP), to bring us all back to the 1960s and the “Summer of Love.” Now, if we could only find a cabinet post for Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, stay safe, be strong, and realize that if you don’t take an active interest in politics, it will most certainly, take an active interest in you, and bite you where it hurts most.
