I watched tonight's first part of the Democratic Party presidential debates which took place in Detroit and broadcast by CNN. It was my plan to do so at a debate watching party at a club in Midtown Manhattan called RPM Underground. But they gave me a hard time due to my backpack. So I watched the debate at home. Tomorrow night, I plan to watch the second part of the debate with some Libertarians on the Lower East Side. Hopefully, they will be more laissez-faire where it concerns backpacks.
Here is my evaluation of the candidates which in most cases I will group together:
Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren - These two were the biggest fan favorites. Sanders was feisty while Warren did encounter trouble interjecting although she generally got a big pop when she spoke. I did find it bizarre that she would make the case the United States should never use nuclear weapons first and claimed it had never happened before. I seem to recall President Truman ending WWII in this manner. Curiously, Sander and Warren avoided confronting each other nor were any of the questions posed by Jake Tapper, Dana Bash or Don Lemon attempted to get one to criticize the other. This will change down the road, but tonight Sanders and Warren spent much of the evening fighting off more marginal candidates skeptical of socialism.
The Average White Band (John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Tim Ryan and Steve Bullock)
Aside from their race, gender and age, these four candidates expressed a distinct hostility towards socialism and directed much of their attention towards Sanders and Warren. Of the four, Delaney was the most effectiveness forcefully arguing against Medicare For All and wealth taxes. Both Sanders and Warren tried to bait him over his status as a multi-millionaire, but he didn't take the bait. Where it concerned wealth taxes, Delaney pointed out they were unconstitutional and had been repealed or scaled back wherever they had been implemented. He proposed raising the capital gains tax instead. This earned him his only applause of the night. Unfortunately for Delaney, the former Congressman is man without a party as its followers give socialism a warm embrace.
The two governors on stage, Bullock and Hickenlooper, were barely coherent. While Ryan didn't help himself when he said President Trump was on something where it concerned tariffs. I suspect at least of these candidates will suspend their campaigns between now and the next scheduled debates on September 12th and 13th.
Beto O'Rourke & Amy Klobuchar
These two candidates needed a breakout performance. Klobuchar was workman like, but made no real impression in the debate. O'Rourke drew applause for his support of reparations, but Marianne Williamson drew even bigger applause.
Marianne Williamson
If there was any candidate who was significantly helped by tonight's debate it was Williamson who drew applause not only when she spoke of reparations, but threw shade at the Democratic Party at large over its unwillingness to accept public financing of elections and that the Flint water crisis wouldn't have happened in Gross Pointe. Because of her unconventionality, Williamson is going to stick around and gain traction. While possessing an entirely different disposition than Trump, they both embrace an anti-intellectualism. Williamson regularly derides the Democratic Party for its "wonkishness" and it is resonating. Will she capture Democrats the way Trump captured the GOP. It's not likely. But then again Trump's ascendency to the White House was unlikely too.
Pete Buttigieg
The South Bend mayor turned in another solid performance answering questions head on about his dealing with race relations amidst a lack of resonance with black voters. He might have begun to change this perception. While many other candidates called Trump racist, Buttigieg went after congressional Republicans who have chosen to stay silent and look the other way. Buttigieg also resonated when he said Democrats shouldn't worry about what Republicans think of their policies because they will be called socialists regardless and there is certainly a lot of truth to that notwithstanding the increasing leftward tilt of the party. When Buttigieg was asked about his youth he replied, "I don't care about how old you are. I care about your vision," an assessment which Sanders agreed. It's always good to have your rivals agree with you. Buttigieg manages to be forceful without being angry. That takes some skill. Whether it will be enough to win the nomination remains to be seen, but he has made himself a top contender by the sheer force of his personality.
The Moderators
Tapper, Bash and Lemon kept time tight. It might have ruffled the feathers of a few of the candidates and their supporters, but it kept the debate from going four hours. I'm sure the audience was grateful because they seemed ready to go home.
Epilog
Part two of the debate will be tomorrow night. Hopefully I will get a sense of how other people are responding to the candidates even if Libertarians will be predisposed not to be receptive to their message.
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