Winners: Harris, Buttigieg
Fine: Biden (first hour), Sanders (first half hour), Gillibrand, Swallwell
Horrible: Biden (second hour), Sanders (last 90 minutes)
Never want to see or hear from again: Yang, Williamson, Bennett, Hickenlooper
Bernie and Biden started out well. Then Bernie crashed and burned when he was asked how to get Medicare for All plan passed and he resorted to his Magic Wand theory, where tens of millions will simply demand it and it will scare Mitch McConnell and they will all magically back down. He never recovered, continuing with the same empty rhetoric we heard in 2016.
Biden lasted a little bit longer, and gave good answers on Obamacare and having a Medicare for All Public Option, but then around 10 pm, Kamala Harris ripped out Biden’s still beating heart and ate it live on stage. Seriously, I have never seen a political killing so skillfully and beautifully performed. Biden should have said he was sorry that his words were hurtful, and that was not want he meant, and that his position on busing in the 70’s was wrong, and then pivot to his good civil rights record. But he got angry instead, pulled out a grenade and blew himself up.
And he never recovered. He even got destroyed by Michael Bennett of all people on the 2011 Debt Limit deal.
Harris is the undisputed winner of the night. She should get a massive polling bump from tonight. Biden should start losing points. For those who supported Biden because they think he is the strongest candidate against Trump, well this debate performance will disabuse them of that.
Buttigieg gave a great answer on the police shooting in South Bend, and his answers throughout the night were very good as well. He was a winner too, but not as good as Harris.
Harris by a mile tonight. The moment she engineered with Biden shows she deserves to be in the front runner pack. She was the most Presidential of all of them. And that moment on busing took cojones. Mayor Pete was good but am not sure front runner good. Marianne Williamson needs to just drop out. And Hick. Disqualified.
You are my god.
LOL. Thanks.
Slow clap for your 2nd paragraph.
That was an amazing paragraph. And so very accurate.
A mass mobilized social movement like the ones that achieved women’s sufferage and the Civil Rights Act aren’t “magic wands”. I know this type of organizing work is mostly dismissed by mainstream operators, but they do happen and they have produced real change in the country.
Bernie’s theory of change is he’s going to mass organize. OK, I sure would like to see evidence he’s capable of this. He doesn’t have to President to do that, you know. He could be doing it now if he wanted. Is he?
Biden’s theory of change is that he can persuade Republicans. I haven’t seen evidence he can do that either.
Both theories are magic unicorn ponies as far as I’m concerned.
Medicare for All was debated last night.
When asked if healthcare should be guaranteed to all people regardless of documentation or citizenship status all candidates raised their hand.
The reason this is happening is due to Bernie’s organization and mobilization.
There are many examples of this.
It’s down to Warren and Harris.
Bernie’s new attacky schtick is not a good look. Especially since the party largely moved toward his position. The angry outsider is not as genuine this time around.
“My time’s up, Im sorry” _ Yeah Joe. glad you realized that. enjoy your retirement.
as for John Ryan or Seth HIckenlooper or Bill Moultan… whatever their names are….. ya done. lets cut this down to 6-10 and everyone can start fighting over who gets to be Warren’s VP.
Also, SUPER excited for the russian-made, pro bernie “Wealthy Warren” memes.
By the way, I think Chris Christie killing Marco Rubio in 2016 is the best political debate dismembering I’ve ever seen. Harris/Biden was a close second.
Women’s sufferage was a magic unicorn theory once. So was the Civil Rights act.
I know y’all hate Bernie. That’s cool. I don’t mind.
Woman’s Suffrage efforts in the US got some momentum after the Civil War an was finally ratified after WWI. It’s a marathon, not a Sprint. And one president won’t be able to to get it done without a Senate that will pass it.
You have to take the first stride. What the Senate will or won’t do is irrelevant. A Republican Senate wouldn’t work with Obama. They wouldn’t have work with Clinton. They will not work with Harris or Buttigieg or Booker. Are you really vetting these candidates based on who Mitch McConnell will work with? Seems ridiculous.
The first stride in the marathon is hard. But you need to decide to run it.
The first stride is NOT hard. Finishing is hard (speaking from personal experience.) If you don’t have a plan to finish then you have not done the thing.
I stand corrected. Just heard Mitch McConnell signed on to all 297 of Liz Warren’s plans. Hahaha. Yeah, technocratic complications will definitely bring the Senate Republicans onboard, motive the electorate and make structural change! Lol.
Absolutely, a Warren/Harris ticket. Yes two women can kick the Orange Predator’s ass. The women absolutely dominated both nights. I’m so pumped.
Joking aside, you need to begin with a clear sense of the problem and a well developed ideology within which all policies need to fit.
Reverse engineering “plans” ain’t it.
Yeah, well, we already knew there was no plan. Just a whole bunch of entitlements and cliches.
Yeah, let’s get things done. Problem solve! Like Pelosi passing McConnell ICE bill this week It’s how things operate.
“Get things done” is a cliche. Empty condescension. Your plans are a failure. There’s absolutely zero evidence that “having a plan” does anything. It’s just something you pretend is pragmatic and good.
It’s actually dangerously naive. But you’ll hang onto it like your reputation depends on it.
The only thing that counts is getting the votes to “get things done”. That takes a vision and a plan. But since your only goal is the cliches and the ideology and unearned condescension, there is no doubt you aren’t even ready to take the first step.