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Friday, December 20, 2019

What Was Missing From the Debate

Last night at least twelve people who don't work in the media or politics watched the Democrat presidential debate.  Okay, the number was probably higher, but not by all that much.  And there is a good reason for the smallish audiences.  The issues about which most people care are missing from the debate stage.

Think about it.  What were the most talked about items from last night's debate?  We had Warren going after Buttigieg's fund raising from the wealthy and his rejoinder about the hypocrisy of Wrren's words.  We also had Klobuchar going after Buttigieg for being inexperienced and his response.  Then we had Bernie denouncing the prime minister of Israel as a racist.  (There had to be an obligatory denunciation of someone as racist; last night Netanyahu got the prize instead of the usual Republicans.)  Now ask yourself -- how many people actually care about fund raising methods or prior employment of the candidates?  And, are there still people who hear the Democrats denounce someone as "racist" and actually care about that charge?  After eight years under Obama, we had reached the point where Democrats had blamed everything on racism.  And when I say everything, I mean everything -- even global warming.

Now consider what was actually said about the economy.  You can do that in under a second.  Warren was asked to respond to experts who say her plan to "tax everything more and more" would cause a depression or at least a serious economic slowdown.  Warren's response was nothing more than "they're wrong".  It was about as insightful as Warren ever got in speaking about the economy.  In short, Warren just ducked this important question.

The Democrats also told America how only the wealthy were doing okay in this economy.  That, at least, addressed an important issue, but it was a blatant lie.  Even worse for the Dems, nearly everyone knows this was a blatant lie.  Minority unemployment is at the lowest level ever.  Gains in wages and incomes are highest among blue collar workers and the lower half of the income spectrum.  Millions who were unemployed or underemployed under Obama now have jobs, incomes and a better life.  Everyone knows that.

Then there's healthcare.  This was discussed but again in only dishonest ways.  Bernie was asked what he would do if his Medicare for All plan couldn't pass Congress.  He rattled off some phony statistics and then said that the plan would pass.  In other words, he refused to address the question.

What's the point of listening to a debate that either avoids the important issues or just lies about them?

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