“If liberals are so f***ing smart, why do they lose so goddamn always?” – Will McAvoy, The Newsroom

The candidates in the Democratic debates demonstrated a genuine desire to lose the Presidential race in 2020.  Democrats do not view elections as a contest against Republicans.  They view elections as an opportunity to trumpet their moral superiority and educate the public. 

Those on the far left used it as a chance to lecture their more centrist colleagues.  Female and minority candidates have used the debates to undermine the legitimacy of candidates who do not meet certain gender and racial standards.

This is not the only reason Senators Corey Booker and Kamala Harris have thrown the race card at Joe Biden.  It is also because he is higher in the polls.  Prudent campaigns aim their attacks at those leading in the polls because that is where the voters are.   

Senator Amy Klobuchar took an opportunity, to criticize Governor Jay Inslee for daring to hold a similar position on reproductive rights.  Klobuchar declared, “there are three women who fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose.”  Vox declared victory, “Amy Klobuchar Owned Jay Inslee on Abortion Rights at a Democratic Debate.”  Vox explained, “It was a risky move on Inslee’s part.  He’s a white man running for the Democratic nomination at a time when many Democrats are concerned about men making decisions on reproductive health that disproportionately affect women.” 

Is it risky for a Democratic candidate at a Democratic debate declare he’s pro-choice?  Of course not.  The issue was his gender and, apparently, his race as well. 

The left has been so consumed by outrage with President Trump it has formed a new identity as the opposite of everything that is Trump.  Trump’s behavior is outrageous, his inability to be honest or even consistent, is disturbing and his hostility toward the rule of law and the press is authoritarian.

This does not automatically make him wrong on every decision.  Is he wrong on the issues where he agrees with Democrats?

America’s most well-known political scientist, Fareed Zakaria, urged his fellow Americans to vote against Donald Trump, labeling him a “cancer on American democracy.” He wrote, “(m)any of Trump’s campaign promises and policies are idiotic and unworkable.”  Since Trump’s election Zakaria has written that the administration has been “marked by chaos and incompetence.” 

He has also warned the left against adopting the Trump Derangement Syndrome.”  He stated Trump “cannot axiomatically be wrong, evil and dangerous.” It is advice the left and Democratic Presidential candidates have studiously ignored.

New York Magazine columnist Jonathan Chait explained, “Democrats have lots of room to run to attack President Trump from the left on economic and social policy while placing themselves on the right side of public opinion.”  Yet he warned that, “Democrats seem to have convinced themselves taking unpopular progressive positions can’t hurt them.  If they keep trying to outflank each other to the left the damage could be severe.”

 

On the second night of the debate all ten candidates raised their hand to indicate they favored government provided health care for undocumented immigrants. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are more than 26 million U.S. citizens that lack health care. One wonders what they would would think and in a CNN poll after the debate, 60 percent of respondents opposed the idea.

The left, particularly those in the media, gave former Housing Secretary Julian Castro high marks on his debate performance.  The New Republic declared Casto “the first debate’s big winner”  NBC said he “nabbed the debate spotlight,” while CNN declared his performance a “breakout” and a “star turn.”   

Castro called for a Marshall Plan for Central America.  Maybe U.S. tax dollars would be better spent fixing roads, bridges, ports in the U.S. to create American jobs?  Castro also called for decriminalizing the acts of non-citizens crossing the U.S. border without documentation.  Obama Administration Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson said Castro’s plan is “tantamount to declaring publicly that we have open borders.”

In the days following the debate Castro went further saying the re-entry of those deported by the U.S. should be decriminalized as well.  He has said current U.S. law “criminalizes desperation.”

A viewer could be excused for thinking Castro was running to be Ambassador to the Organization of American States. 

More recently, Castro said Trump is the “biggest identity politician we’ve seen in fifty years.”  He explained the President, “tries to get people to move into their camps by racial and ethnic identities.”  He is absolutely right.  Yet, his campaign is engaging in the same practice from the other side of the ideological divide.    

In a contrast to most other candidates, Senator Elizabeth Warren continued to impress.  Her command of the issues and ability to frame them persuasively gave her a victory on the first night of the debate.  She has studied the issues that negatively impact the working and middle class for much of her life.  Furthermore, for the debate, she practiced her answers to fit them within the thirty to sixty second that we allotted.  Although her personality can get her in trouble, her focus and discipline is admirable.

Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke continued to waste more words to say the least.  O’Rourke most radical proposal is to, “return power to the people.”  With this bold and visionary platform, he could be mistaken for former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner without the personal warmth and comedic flair. 

O’Rourke, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson and Governor Inslee should drop out of the race.  There have been rumors that some of the candidates will drop out after the second debate. 

One can only hope.