Democratic Debate Number 4: I’ll Never Get Those Three Hours Back
At least nobody called Elizabeth Warren Pocahantas, which is what the Trump organization did with their online advertising on Tuesday.
Yes, the Senator from Massachusetts is now at the top of the Democratic heap, if not in all the polling, then in terms of momentum. The other candidates know it. With a dozen people on stage, three moderators, and 75 seconds to make a point, the best way to get attention was to go after Warren.
Warren drove her message without attacking any of her fellow Democrats on stage - not once.
What’s missing from these cumbersome exercises in media exposure are the constraints imposed by the people who present them. Lost amid the 550 stage lights, amplification for 50 speakers and 16 cameras inside the Clements Recreation Center, at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, was framing of issues reflecting the reality of America.
To hear the debate postmortems this morning, you’d think the big story was the assault on radicalism by more moderate candidates. The thematic contrast between implied “socialism” and “freedom” was exactly what the Trump campaign wanted.
Actually that “socialism,’ without the word attached is what people want. Let us not forget that the original New Deal, Medicare, and just about any piece of legislation granting rights to people who weren’t old white men was called socialism.
Walter Einenkel at Daily Kos:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the front runner tonight at the Democratic Primary Debate in Ohio. That is apparent as she has been confronted by most of the candidates on the stage. It isn’t a surprise as the top polling candidate has the most attention on them, and if you want to try and get into the conversation you go after the front runner.
But Sen. Warren has a card up her sleeve: the reason she’s the front runner is that her progressive ideas appeal to more people than older more centrist ideas. That’s just a fact. Her ideas aren’t that wild to begin with, as many far more left-leaning people will tell you (just ask in the comments). But the one part centrist, one part sexist, refrain that Sen. Warren cannot win or get things done is a lot of hooey. Sen. Warren decided to hit back at everyone by using CNN’s question about age and whether or not Warren, Bernie, and Biden are too old.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN: I say I will outwork, out-organize, and outlast anyone, and that includes Donald Trump, Mike Pence, or whoever the republicans get stuck with.
The framing presented in the debate, in a perfect world, should be flipped. Bernie gets it. Elizabeth Warren gets it. Even Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang get it to a degree.
It’s not enough to dump Trump and then tinker around the edges of the economy; having a smiling Cory Booker (well, he did smile a lot last night) in the White House isn’t going to stop the runaway greed and resulting rampant inequality plaguing this nation.
Fixing what’s broke isn’t going to happen by appealing to ‘moderate’ Republicans. The fact that there are--for practical purposes--no such forces is proof of just how broken things are.
The billionaire class, as Bernie likes to call them, have eradicated empathy in politics and the economy, which is the thing you need to have before any compromises are for real.
And besides, in terms of making a positive difference regarding people’s economic future, that train has already left the station. The third way-ish folks have only cosmetic solutions. You can’t fix Social Security without changing its funding mechanism.
You can’t solve climate change without demanding a fundamental change in the concept of how the economy works. “Growth” should be seen for what it really is: more money for fewer people. Balancing the needs of our planet, our existence, and our well-being is impossible in a system making worshiping wealth and perpetuating the mechanisms (like patriarchy and racism) that got us here.
For me, there were few moments worth recounting and then I’ll get on with some stats. Obviously I'm going to miss a few points scored by candidates; I'm just trying to keep this article short enough to be read by a few people.
First, Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to take the bait on the higher taxes for Medicare for All is absolutely correct. Trump’s people are going to hammer Democrats for it anyway, and she’s working hard not to give them the soundbite of her saying the words.
For those of you who might be confused:
Yes, taxes will go up. More for the wealthy folks, but fixing the system requires everybody pitching in.
Yes, the cost of staying alive will go down. The people who need more money at the end of the money will have more money.
No, she's not going to say those words. You don't give ammunition to assholes.
Second, Joe Biden’s condescending exchanged starting with “I get stuff done” aimed at Elizabeth Warren was a prime example of why we don’t need any more favors from politicos of his mindset.
When Biden came after her, wild-eyed and finger-wagging, and tried to take credit for her work, she said “thank you” and it was more devastating than any attack could ever be.
https://twitter.com/NCapretz/status/1184450186296168448?s=20
Third, in the followup analysis on CNN, John King’s “too urban” comment about Congresswomen from the ‘squad’ supporting Bernie Sanders was, whether he meant it that way or not, a racist put down of minority ascension in politics.
https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1184310135289798656?s=20
Other Thoughts:
Also, Kamala Harris is right about Donald Trump’s danger to the country on Twitter. I don’t think she scored any points by demanding Warren agree with her on stage.
https://twitter.com/flywithkamala/status/1184325295362531329?s=20
Yay! Former Fox Contributor Bill O’Reilly gets it:
https://twitter.com/BillOReilly/status/1184286513166802949?s=20
Last night’s participants were:
Former Vice President Joe Biden
National Website: https://joebiden.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 21%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 22%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 24%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $15.2M
Speaking time in debate: 17:30
My very subjective grade: C
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
National Website: https://corybooker.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 2%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 2%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 2%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $6M+
Speaking time in debate: 11:19
My very subjective grade: C
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
National Website: https://peteforamerica.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15,Likely Voters) 6%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 14%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 9%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $19.1M
Speaking time in debate:13:04
My very subjective grade: B
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro
National Website:https://www.julianforthefuture.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 2%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 0%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 0%
Third Quarter Fundraising: Not reported yet
Speaking time in debate: 8:39
My very subjective grade: B
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
National Website: https://www.tulsi2020.com
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 2%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 1%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 1%
Third Quarter Fundraising: Not reported yet
Speaking time in debate: 8:09
My very subjective grade: D
Sen. Kamala Harris of California
National Website:https://kamalaharris.org/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 8%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 5%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 5%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $11.6M
Speaking time in debate: 11:09
My very subjective grade: C
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
National Website: https://amyklobuchar.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 2%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 2%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 2%
Third Quarter Fundraising: Not reported yet
Speaking time in debate: 13:53
My very subjective grade: B
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas
National Website: https://betoorourke.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 0%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 2%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 0%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $4.5M
Speaking time in debate: 13:02
My very subjective grade: C
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont
National Website: https://berniesanders.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 15%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 21%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 22%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $25.M
Speaking time in debate: 13:20
My very subjective grade: B
Businessman Tom Steyer
National Website: https://www.tomsteyer.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 1%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 3%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 1%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $2M+
Speaking time in debate: 7:20 (least)
My very subjective grade: B
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
National Website: https://elizabethwarren.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15, Likely Voters) 35%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 22%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 25%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $24.6M
Speaking time in debate: 22:02 (most)
My very subjective grade: A
Businessman Andrew Yang
National Website:https://www.yang2020.com/
Capital Weekly CA Poll (Oct 15) 3%
YouGov Iowa Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 0%
RKM Research New Hampshire Poll (Oct 13, Likely Voters) 1%
Third Quarter Fundraising: $10M+
Speaking time in debate: 8:54
My very subjective grade: D
*Fundraising totals are self-reported, via New York Times
To receive an invitation to the fourth debate, candidates needed to attain at least 2% in four separate Democratic National Committee-approved polls and receive contributions from at least 130,000 unique donors, including at least 400 donors from 20 different states.
Eight of last night’s participants have qualified for November’s debate in Georgia. Those falling short at this moment are: Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
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