Once again, I skipped the latest Democratic Debate. I honestly don’t know how people can sit there and watch the whole thing, especially with Putin Puppet Tulsi Gabbard on stage, and with Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden doing their old-man-yells-at-clouds thing. If you really think the answer to Donald Trump is a completely different old white guy screaming his guts out, then God bless and allow me to go sob into my pillow. Anyway, I feel justified in not watching any of these debates because I can find out everything I want to know the morning after by watching the unhinged clips. Here’s Joe Biden screaming at Liz Warren because he wants credit for her work in the creation of the CFPB.
In a remarkable confrontation, Biden repeatedly told Warren, "I got you votes" after she spoke about opening the CFPB, one of her signature achievements.
"I am deeply grateful to President Obama," Warren replied, "who fought so hard to make sure that agency was passed into law." pic.twitter.com/Ik5aplt0D9
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 16, 2019
That seemed to be the stand-out moment where all of the women at home were like “oh yeah, I know that feeling, when a male coworker demands credit for my work.” And who advised Joe Biden that it was a good idea to f–king scream at Senator Warren?
The fact that Biden yelled at Warren, “I got you the votes!” speaks to everything we know about peak white male fragility. #DemDebate
— Preston Mitchum (@PrestonMitchum) October 16, 2019
Sorry, I blacked out at about the time that Biden claimed credit for Warren getting the CFPB through. Is he still alive?
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) October 16, 2019
joe biden: i did it, you owe me everything.
elizabeth warren:
— alexorcist abad satan (@alex_abads) October 16, 2019
Meanwhile, it looks like there were no questions about climate change and yet they spent 22 minutes on Ellen DeGeneres’ friendship with George W. Bush??
Three hours and no questions tonight about climate, housing, or immigration.
Climate change is an existential threat. America has a housing crisis. Children are still in cages at our border.
But you know, Ellen.#DemocraticDebate
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) October 16, 2019
If you need more than tweets, Politico had a good write-up about what went down at the debate. Elizabeth Warren has made so many gains in all of the polls, I guess she’s the one with a target on her back. I think people are still sleeping on Kamala Harris, but we’ll see.
Embed from Getty Images
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I saw a picture of him, red faced, screaming at warren, and that picture is deadly, let me tell you. I have to say, I’m shocked. One thing you have to say about Joe is he had a very tough job debating Sarah Palin in 08, because the right was microscoping him, praying for any little false move that they could portray as “Sexist Joe!”. And he nailed it. He gave an A plus performance in a job that was really very difficult and I don’t know if people realized how difficult of a position he was in there.
And now…he does this. It’s crazy! I guess that’s what age does, right?
I mean, I doubt he’s lying, he did go and get votes for everything Obama wanted to pass. He worked his old friends in the Senate. I don’t think there’s any doubt of that. But he shoulda kept it zipped. Zip it Joe!
Sure he wrangled the votes but that’s literally what the VP is supposed to do. And that’s still not the same thing as doing all the work to create the agency. It really is peak white man fragility as that twitterer said above and it’s shocking and I’m glad it’s shocking to me because it means even more scales are falling from my eyes, and I consider myself very much a feminist.
Eh, he didn’t say it was the same. I really don’t have an issue with what he said, but his yelling and screaming and the way he spoke to Warren is shocking. And stupid. He is going to pay for that. I think the pictures are deadly.
Right, its not the fact that he mentioned his role in creating the CPFB. It’s how he handled it and the yelling and pointing etc looked really bad. and the interrupting, omg.
While simultaneously minimizing the work that SHE did (i.e. ALL the heavy lifting), saying it was “her job.”
I mean, I’ll vote for Biden if that’s how this all lands, but please don’t make me vote for Biden.
I don’t think it’s age, I think it’s entitlement. He feels it’s his turn, and she’s overtaking him.
It is not entitlement. I think it is probably some kind of narcissism where everything he does is important and everything others do is unimportant no matter the scale of effort.
Oh yes, he expected to waltz into this campaign as the Great White Hope after he “let” Hillary have the nom in 2016. That he has faced – and is now trailing – stiff competition is TOTALLY bugging him out.
I think it’s both. He’s slipping, mentally.
I refuse to watch these debates. I think they are totally ridiculous. They give them three minutes to jam in a quip and a soundbite, and that’s it. Besides, only three people on that stage have a legit chance at the nomination, so everyone else is just noise.
And it is totally unfathomable that they would not ask a question about climate change. This planet is totally f**ked.
I think these debates are helpful. You can tell a lot about the person by the way they fight. (Not that they fought, it was all very civilized as it should be.)
Klobuchar has oddly trembling voice and appearance, though I like what she says. Buttigieg, Harris and Warren really shone, and Booker was also great. Sanders had dandruff on his suit! He did a great job though, a guy who just had a heart attack, amazing.
Gabbard, Steyer and Castro should drop out. I don’t dislike them but they don’t have “it.”
Wish we could have three Presidents: Warren, Harris and Buttigieg.
Allergy, I completely agree!
I volunteer him to sacrifice himself to the volcano so the island will be spared total destru…….oh, wait, that’s a different Joe? My bad. I’ll move along.
It’s always gonna be something with you, Joe…
I agree with Kaiser about Kamala, folks are sleeping on her. I think she is still going to break out. When Chris Hayes (and NOBODY is a bigger fan of Warren and Bernie than him!) said last night that there is a segment of the dem base searching for a non-Biden alternative to Bernie and Warren, he was 100 percent right. I am one of them. I won’t go with Biden, but Bernie and Liz are too far to the left for me. I mean, a lot of dems are moderate. On issues that the left use as their barometer anyway. I mean, I am strongly supportive of reparations, gender equality, lgbtq civil rights, sentencing reform, black lives matter…in many ways, I am a radical. But not in the way that they consider counts. So I am still looking. I had some hopes for Beto. I still have hopes for Kamala. I think Cory is criminally underrated! I dunno. We’ll see. It ain’t over yet peeps!
I doubt any of those who support Bernie or Warren will go to Harris. Studies have shown that centric Democrats don’t do well in terms of votes anyway.
Maria, I never said they would. I said that many people who do NOT support Warren or Bernie, are searching for an alternative not named Joe Biden. Generic statements about studies show aren’t really something i can address since there’s nothing there to debate.
I was going off the fact that you said many Dems are looking for an alternative who is more moderate.
This is my general go-to to illuminate this.
https://www.salon.com/2019/06/02/there-is-hard-data-that-shows-that-a-centrist-democrat-would-be-a-losing-candidate/
Right, and you answered that you don’t think any bernie or warren supporters would switch to Harris. They aren’t looking for an alternative to bernie or warren though. Unless…do you mean they won’t vote for her in the general? That they’ll Jill Stein trump into another four? I sure hope that’s not what you mean. Oh your “hard data” is a Piketty theory. Not polling, or voter registration. Or moderate Obama’s two terms. Okay.
You’re getting really defensive over this for no reason.
Most people didn’t vote for Obama because they thought he was a moderate.
You implied they wanted an alternative so I mentioned this.
Weirdly, my top two choices are Warren and Harris, as are a lot of people I know. I think that if having a woman in the White House is important to you, they both attract you. And ultimately, elections depend heavily on charisma, and I would argue they’re both extremely charismatic.
Can we all just agree that watching Trump have to hand over the White House to Harris would be one of the most amazing things on Earth. Whether you agree with all of her politics, I think she embodies everything he hates in a person, and her election would be a strong statement against what he’s done.
I’d be thrilled with either one of them, and I’ll vote Dem regardless (even if it’s Biden), and I think I’m not the only one who feels that way.
Insert you are not alone, you’re right! I read that most democratic women love both warren and harris. This is more of a twitter thing. But I would love to dig down further. I have this feeling they are talking about white women. I personally do not love both of them, and I AM white, but I never seem to share the same views as the majority of whites. It’s not something I try to do, it just happens that ways.
I’ve been team Kamala for about two years, but I think Warren will edge her out.
Sigh. Kamala’s been my girl since Drunky McRaperson’s SC hearings.
She isn’t getting the media exposure others are. It’s criminal.
I like Cory but, at this point, I think he is auditioning for VP.
Agree.
Same. He’s nailing it, tho!
I find it hard to believe criminal justice and black lives matter are important issues for you if you’re team Harris. She is in favour of private prisons, she did not come out in favour of police body cams and BLM was rightfully upset. She lost me completely when she mocked activists for wanting to put money into education and not prisons. Her record is terrible (and she refused to prosecute Steve Mnuchin!).
I’m realizing the more I talk to Americans they really don’t have any clear idea of what left and right is. They think Elizabeth Warren is like a marxist or something. I guess because she wants to regulate Wall Street to prevent another 2008? Which is a very normal thing in every other country.
+1
Many Black voters have problems with Kamala Harris. We don’t just blindly vote for people who share our skin color. Obama was not popular with Black voters until he proved himself.
Bernie and Warren being too extreme is a Republican talking point. They want an honest dollar for an honest day’s work. Families not to go bankrupt when someone gets sick. Their policies actually will greatly benefit Trump’s poor White working class base. At the Fox town-hall Bernie was winning over White conservatives, getting it through their thick skulls that they have been taken advantage of my the GOP. Many of the Democratic politicians are wealthy multi-millionaires and no longer remember the pain and the struggle.
All Intercept talking points and none true.
Agreed. Not one vote had been cast yet in any state. Tell me who is in the lead after Iowa and New Hampshire. 100% Team Kamala.
I honestly don’t think Harris has a shot. Mostly because of this:
https://twitter.com/ShaneGoldmacher/status/1184312266897772544
NEWS: Joe Biden has $8.98 million cash on hand
Sanders: $33.7 million
Warren: $25.7 million
Buttigieg: $23.4 million
Harris: $10.5 million
She’s polling in the single digits and doesn’t have the cash*.
*It is utterly shameful the amount of money spent on campaigns, but that’s a whole other topic.
It’s shocking to me that Buttigieg has all this money. He is in no way qualified to be President. If he were a woman people would be laughing. It’s a man’s world baby. Kamala has to stay in until the southern primaries. Those primaries have stopped more than one white superstar in their tracks.
Buttigieg is just so smart. I really appreciate that he takes the time to explain his position instead of going for sound bites. He’s too center for my vote, but he is an impressive guy.
I think Buttigieg is great. I’d be very happy with him as the President.
He’s Zuckerberg’s candidate.
So yall would be cool with a log cabin Republican President? Because that’s Mayo Pete in a nutshell.
Were you listening to him last night when he parroted GOP talking points about Medicare for All, guns, and abortion????
Oh and for the record, when he was being interviewed on CNN after the debate he was directly asked if he felt all of the Democratic candidates could beat Trump. HE SAID NO.
Pete is NOT a team player. In that clip he gave the GOP ammunition to use against his opponents. That’s what he did ALL NIGHT and yall are okay with it, think Pete is so smart, and he’d make a fine President?
Puh-lease. Homeboy says a lot of words that aren’t backed by any substance. He was a consultant FFS. He is a mediocre white dude who is the mayor of a mid sized city. He is in no way qualified to step into the Presidency. Beto was right about Pete last night: he’s poll tested, relying on consultants, and is pushing the same old same old centrist/DLC (ie, LOSING) way of running a campaign.
I tell you, 10 years ago this guy was a log cabin Republican. As DaisySharp says, if Pete was a woman (or heck, a straight man) everyone would’ve written him off already as an unserious candidate.
He has money because all he does is suck up corporate money and rich people money at high dollar fundraisers. His donors are maxing out for him. He will answer to them – the elite – not the people.
I went to a fundraiser (only paid $100; top “meet n’ greet” went for $250) for Mayor Pete (about 10 days ago, in Brentwood). He was AMAZING! Charismatic, intelligent, informed, passionate. He’s been my front choice for a while now, but I know the fly-overs will *never* vote for a gay president *knowingly*, not at this point in time. I also like Kamala a lot.
All I know is I will vote blue, no matter who the candidate is. I pray that we have a BLUE TSUNAMI this time!
Really?! He’s patient, professional, well spoken, a war get, has great ideas, and is killing it on all the debates. I 100 percent disagree with you. He’s great president or VP material and I hope he makes it. He appeals to LGBTQ and Christian voters, he’s fresh blood, he cares about climate change, he’s appealing to the voters who want healthcare coverage choice… he’s got a great shot as someone fairly down the middle. Look at all the reports on numbers. CNN consistently has him in the lead on debates for his context. Harris is done. She never has anything substantial to say. Just one liners and zingers. I’ve had enough of those with Trump.
What I love most about Kamala is her plans, many of which are appropriated and then credited to the media darling. But I read them first on Kamala’s website. We’ll see. I think a lot of people will be looking at Kamala, unless of course, ya’ll do your job and slander her like this. I see it all over the internet. Reminds me A LOT of what was done to Hillary. Things that make you go hmmmmmmm
I’m from Canada and as an outsider looking in, I find it mind boggling that: 1) all this money is spent before the actual election (money that could fund all these programs people argue cost too much money ; 2) How long elections go on (it’s almost politics as entertainment), and 3) that there isn’t a cap on spending to even the playing field (because it’s often a reflection on the wealth of their supporters and therefore the interests they will uphold).
I agree with you on all points, but BINGO! on #3.
I hear you, Emily. I’m from Canada, have lived in the U.S. since early adulthood, and can report that it’s possible to live here for twenty years without ever getting used to any of these things.
I read rumors that Obama is quietly advising the Biden campaign and if it’s true, I’m pretty pissed off tbh.
I don’t know where you got that rumor from, the Obama boys (Pod Save America) confirmed months ago on their podcast that Obama is not endorsing because there is divided loyalties. I can’t see Obama and Michelle agreeing on the same candidate for one. Additionally if Obama was giving Biden advice do you think he would be this much of a train wreck?
Maybe this is projection, but I bet Michelle is all in for Kamala. I heard that Barack likes Beto and Pete, which I found very strange. But I honestly don’t care who he likes. Endorsements mean nothing to me. Well, I would be quite interested in seeing who Hillary endorses, if she chooses to. But some guy? NO matter who that guy is? Please.
I hope he doesn’t get the nomination. He’s a terrible candidate that very few are excited to vote for. Yes, of course I’ll vote for whoever the nominee is, but “hold your nose and do it” seems like a crap strategy for getting people to the polls.
EW on the other hand is a candidate I’m enthusiastic about ❤
she is the way to go! she has really grown on me!
all these me in dc need some EW disciplinE!
Joe is THE WORST
and Bernie is cool but needs to endorse EW
I watched the first part of it. Yet again, there was a 15 minute segment trying to get Warren to admit that middle class taxes would go up under her health plan – and yes, overall costs may go down (which she keeps saying), but its clear that taxes are going to be raised on more than just the super wealthy for it. On the one hand, I wish she would just come out and say that, but on the other hand, I get why she is refusing to give the right a soundbyte about raising taxes on the middle class, and I think its annoying that the debates keep trying to push her into that corner. They dont care about the actual costs vs. taxes. They just want that line from her.
After 15 minutes screaming about medicare for all, with Buttigieg mansplaining healthcare to warren, we finally had Kamala come out and mention planned parenthood. THANK YOU. And then someone else (I cant remember who, it was a man) mentioned it as well and pointed out that it should not just be the women talking about it.
They also grilled Joe Biden about Hunter Biden – and either Beto or Castro came out and was like, “why are we feeding into this and spending valuable time talking about what Trump wants us to talk about?”
Those were the only interesting points IMO, and then I turned it off bc holy hell it was a mess.
I think that was Cory who said it shouldn’t just be the women talking about it. Did you see how bored Bernie looked while Kamala was laying down fire about women’s repro rights? I seriously thought he was gonna actually yawn.
I think you are right, that it was Cory. And yes, Bernie looked SO BORED. omg. I hate him.
also, why were they talking about cars? That’s when we turned it off lol.
hahhaa, I didn’t get that far Becks! I honestly cannot watch Gabbard, I get crazy. So I flicked in and out, and mostly watched clips on twitter. I am waiting for Yang and Gabbard to be cut. I will tune in for full debates, but…not yet.
Cory Booker and Julian Castro were the ones who said none of them were there to talk about Hunter Biden and the topic should be dropped. Booker repeatedly pushed the message that they need to stop focusing on what Trump digs up and he also was the one who said they needed to talk about Planned Parenthood. I think Castro did as well.
Buttigieg and his mansplaining really annoyed me, far more than the Biden clip above, because Buttigieg kept going on and on and on and kept coming back to it and he wasn’t right.
I agree lightpurple.
As ever, the one thing the Dems do best is shooting themselves in the face, over and over again. In spite of everything 45 has done, he’s still calling the shots and the GOP is still standing behind him and yet all they can do is take shots at each other instead of talking about issues and that shit pollutes the whole party – other worthy candidates are going to get hit by the shrapnel because people see this asshattery going on and think it represents everyone with a D by their name.
Obviously I am going to vote blue no matter what, but damn if they don’t all make it a chore.
Biden needs to gracefully step down and throw his full support behind the team, and then the nominated candidate, whoever it is.
Beto is a turd. Saying the wealth tax is divisive is crazy. 45,000 people would be subject to the tax. Compared to 327+ million who would benefit from some sort of redistribution. I’m sick of the institutionalist, corporatist moderates. If he thinks taking people’s guns is less divisive than taxing wildly wealthy cash hoarders he is crazy. Kamala is such a good speaker. Too bad she’s not for medicare for all. I might be able to get over her terrible record as a prosecutor / DA.
Can I just say something about Medicare for All, which many keep missing because healthcare really isn’t their thing? When I started practicing law, I did elder law, which is primarily Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is a fabulous, popular program but it is not a cure-all. Traditional Medicare is a straight up indemnity program, with large carve outs in covered services. What is covered is subject to deductibles on both Part A (hospital inpatient) and Part B (doctors, ER, most hospital outpatient stuff) and co-pays (Medicare pays 80% of the approved rate, patient pays 20% of the approved rate or more if the state allows balance billing and the doctor charges more than the Medicare rate.) So many people have supplemental private insurance to cover that cost-sharing or they enroll in a Medicare HMO, a private plan that contracts with Medicare and covers more services. Private plans of some sort will still exist and Medicare contracts its operations out to private insurance in each state.
Thank you! I’ve been talking about this to everyone till I’m blue in the face, and NO ONE seems to get it! WHY people are opposed to those that want to get/keep private and/or supplemental insurance is beyond me. If you want to enroll in a Medicare/HMO for all kind of program, be my guest. If you want to enroll in a combo of Medicare plus supplemental, go for it! If you want to have a concierge private insurance coverage for yourself/family and you can pay for that, be my guest. People need to stop trying for FORCE everyone to fit into one mold!
I grew up with an HMO for insurance, and I HATED it. I couldn’t wait till I became a working adult and get a different kind of insurance. Yes, mine is through work (not-great pay for decent ins. trade-off), but it was MY choice. And yes, I have co-pays. Again, MY CHOICE. It’s what YOU are willing to pay for. If YOU want MFA, go for it. If you want to supplement, go for it, if you want totally private, be my guest. CHOICES!
YES!!!!!
people are ignorant, stupid, or WILLFULLY uninformed when it comes to healthcare
Thank you. I wish people would understand all of this. And you cannot force people onto it. This is crazy and will lose us the house AND the senate. A medicare optional buy in, is the ticket. Why is choice so hard to grasp? And a huge medicaid expansion please! I want EVERYONE to have health care so no noise from the cheap seats please!
I read an interesting article about how people don’t believe the money is there, for libraries, roads etc. The money is there, it’s how we choose to spend it. I think this applies to healthcare as well, without raising taxes.
I have a renewed faith in the democratic base now that they realised that they should be supporting the candidate that has well developed plans for just about every issue facing America instead of the one that spent her 40s putting people behind bars. I think it really does take time for America to get to know you. I’m absolutely pulling for Warren
I believe I’ve mentioned this before – I wrote him off after his disgusting treatment of Anita Hill…
The loser of this debate and all the others is CNN. I hate how CNN does them. They are set up to create sound bites and infighting. The moderators are terrible. There are also the commercials that play during the debates that Bernie has called out multiple times. All debates, for both parties, should be on PBS or at the very least commercial free.
I only watched bits of last night. Tulsi is an idiot. Legit one of the dumbest political people I’ve seen in a while. Considering how stupid the entire GOP currently is it takes some real dumbass ingenuity to be a stand out moron but Tulsi managed. I’ll be glad when half the candidates drop out. Tulsi, Yang, Booker, Beto, Castro, Klobuchar… time for y’alls to take your walking papers.
I came here to say that I am a healthcare provider and Medicare absolutely sucks. Medicaid for all would make more sense. It is not human nature, in my experience, to go to preventative appointments, and that is the crux of Medicare. It’s crap insurance that pays for little or no prescriptions without additional coverage.
I have universal health care. If by preventative appointments you mean screenings and check ups, then yes I go regularly. Why wouldn’t I? It’s free.
There is a greater than 40% no-show rate in patients who have Medicare. Thank you for being proactive. Almost have of our population is not.
I grew up in Europe, and the system where social security is taken out of your salary every month is great. You don’t really think of it, and if you have to see a doctor, or even if you have a serious illness, it’s covered, without “weird massive random bills” afterwards.
Medical bills here are really hard to understand, with ridiculous sums from under a dollar to thousands – and somehow they can never ever tell you what things cost beforehand. It’s just terrible.
I agree wholeheartedly with universal healthcare. Insurance in America is a racket. It is heartbreaking to see one of my patients get a job and be so proud to have private insurance after receiving Medicaid. Then the reality of the premiums coming out of their paychecks that then inhibits their ability to afford copays and prescriptions is just so discouraging. It is absolute bullshit. It’s like “pull yourself up so we can suck you dry.” Everyone should have access to quality healthcare. Everyone.
If you had to meet with Putin, who two candidates would you take with you? I’d take Warren and Buttigieg.
Let me know who you would pick, I’m curious!
Kamala
Yes, Kamala is great!
I’ll tell ya, if you brought both Kamala AND Hillary…Putin doesn’t walk out of that room.