Last night, Democrats gathered in Detroit for the first night of debates. Much of the evening focused on the false dichotomy between “Center vs. Left,” especially on the issues of healthcare and feasibility of change in America. This framing can be a legitimate question, but many of the ideas being offered by the two camps are more similar than different. Yet some of the rhetoric last night would make you think the ideas were worlds apart. Accusations of “Using Republican talking points” flung a little too easily off the tongue from progressives, while some Democrats simply refused to imagine anything different with the exception of Trump being out of the White House. This stark juxtaposition presents scant opportunity for anyone except the Republican Party, who will likely abuse these divisions to depress turnout next year.
While Democrats mostly agreed on immigration, trade, and gun control, all other issues turned into a discussion of whether Democrats can dream big, or if incrementalism is akin to spineless cowardice. Most candidates didn’t propose any new ideas from their campaign, but instead felt the need to contrast their ideas with their opponents, which perhaps was a sign that some candidates needed a moment to continue onto the September debate with a more stringent threshold.
To be honest, several candidates on the stage will not be in the next round of debates. Most of the candidates echoed similar sentiments of incremental ideas, but many didn’t land anything memorable. While progressives Sanders and Warren held their own, the only moderates that stood out were the new-comer Bullock and the consistent skeptic Delaney, along with Buttigieg attempting to find middle ground between the two ideological camps. Others on the stage failed to offer anything different, especially the low-polling individuals. I would not be surprised if many of the folks on stage last night drop out in August.
Overall, I felt the first night of the previous debates was better, but I’ll leave that up to you. CNN took almost 20 minutes to ask the first question, and the debate abruptly ended roughly two and a half hours after it started. The time-keeping tactics led to several interruptions during organic debates, and it felt that foreign policy was tacked on, almost as if the moderators realized they forgot to ask their questions until the very last minute. Hopefully, tonight’s format will be better.
I’ll be posting another update tomorrow for Debate Night Two. If you’re interested a comprehensive look at what all the candidates stand for, take a look at my 2020 Democratic Candidate Comparison Sheet. Otherwise, below is a simplified overview of what each candidate mentioned during Debate Night One:
Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana
Governor Bullock opened with a criticism of “Wishlist economics,” arguing that many of the promises that Democrats are making aren’t realistic. He cites his experience winning in red states and getting real policies passed to help people. To the Governor, Medicare-For-All is an example of a Wishlist. Instead, he would support policies ending surprise billing and negotiate prescription drug prices.
On immigration, he worries that decriminalizing border crossings and free healthcare will increase border crossings. On guns, he invoked a nephew who died in a school shooting and called for commonsense reforms. He talked about corrupt organizations like the NRA preventing commonsense reform on guns, and warns that other interest groups prevent reform in other areas. This is not a choice between Left and Center, but focusing on Democracy and the Economy, according to Mr. Bullock. He argues that too many people are going to be left behind as we transition away from fossil fuels, and that any climate change plan must address these individuals. He refused to take nuclear action off the table, as the world is a dangerous place.
Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
Mayor Buttigieg warns that the country is running out of time; Endless war, climate change, and inequality are all threats to the nation. On healthcare, the Mayor says his plan gives Americans the chance to walk away from private insurance, but serves as a natural transition in case the industry is capable of change. He rejects the idea we should listen to the GOP criticisms, arguing the GOP will call Democrats “socialist” no matter what. For gun reform, he cites red-flag laws, assault weapon bans, and expanding mental health treatment to deal with gun violence, invoking that he was in high school when the Columbine shooting occurred.
Democratic reforms, such as ending the Electoral College, reforming SCOTUS, Constitutional amendments, and other reforms, are the only ways to achieve real change. He is critical of one-time loan debt forgiveness, and believes college should be more affordable for low-income individuals. To Pete Buttigieg, Republicans in Congress have enabled Trump, and argues that Democrats must focus on the enablers that created this corrupt system. Buttigieg is astonished he was in Afghanistan years ago, and that this war still drags on without an end in sight. He pledged to bring troops home within a year if he were president.
John Delaney, Former U.S. Representative of Maryland
John Delaney made it clear he disagrees with Sanders and Warren on almost everything. Delaney is fine with a universal basic healthcare plan, but doesn’t want to take away people’s private insurance and shake it up. He insists that several hospitals will close if Medicare-For-All is passed. Real solutions, not fantasy ideas, win elections, and Delaney argues that many leftwing Democrats will risk this.
He points out that Social Security didn’t outlaw pensions. On the environment, he believes the Green New Deal covers too much outside of climate change to be a serious proposal. Defended TPP and free trade as a whole, while arguing that Democrats are becoming isolationists. Mr. Delaney believes the capital gains tax should be raised, not a wealth tax, though failed to admit he would be impacted by the wealth tax proposed by Senator Warren.
John Hickenlooper, Former Governor of Colorado
Mr. Hickenlooper believes in pragmatic progressivism, invoking the gains by moderates in GOP districts in 2018. He argues a public option allows choice and that is the American way to bring the costs down in America while expanding access to healthcare. He was critical of inaction on immigration by Congress, argues it is simple task that many congressional candidates have failed to do. The former Governor pointed to his successful record combatting the NRA, implementing environmental reforms, and pushing for near universal healthcare in a battleground state.
He worries that going too leftwing will lose the election. Talks about police reform, education reform, and affordable housing as a part of his pragmatic record. On foreign policy, Mr. Hickenlooper points out the cost of engagement, and believes wars are not frivolous decisions. However, he defended staying in Afghanistan for humanitarian reasons.
Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator of Minnesota
Senator Klobuchar says the top issue is beating Donald Trump. She favors a public option, like Obama wanted, but not Medicare-For-All. Noted that progressives have supported public options as recently as last year, yet now are rejecting them as a toxic idea in a political ploy.
She pushed for border security and path to citizenship. Additionally, she said the NRA is bad and promises not to fold on universal background checks, magazine size, and assault weapon bans. Ms. Klobuchar blames Mitch McConnell and the NRA for ruining any progress on guns, and extrapolates this kind of relationship to poison any real issue. On education, she ppposes free college for the wealthiest kids. For the Senator, she believes you need to leave open the idea of meeting with anyone at any place, including dictators.
Beto O’Rourke, Former U.S. Representative of Texas
Mr. O’Rourke opened by saying we are Americans first. On healthcare, he promised that middle class Americans will not face tax increases for Medicare, while arguing that expanding the ACA will still leave millions uninsured.
He promises to ban PAC donations to candidates. Beto cites Texas as his evidence he can compete in competitive states and win the Electoral College against Trump. Describes the problems with systemic racism, promising a new voting rights act and endorses reparations to help rectify the issue.
Tim Ryan, U.S. Representative of Ohio
Congressman Ryan argues that not everyone can access America’s greatness. The economic system is now suffocating the middle class, which is killing the American Dream. He believes new and better systems must be built. On healthcare, Ryan says Medicare-For-All is going to end the healthcare plans for unions. Instead, he favors a buy-in program for Medicare.
On immigration, Mr. Ryan argues that even if we decriminalize the border, Trump can still deport people. Tim Ryan cautions polls and leftwing shift, arguing it is too early to glean much from polls, and worries the party has gone too far left. To combat climate change, he argues that electric cars, solar panels, charging stations, and battery markets all can be cultivated about the United States. He also argues that agriculture needs to be better. These climate rules can’t go into effect by 2040 — need more jobs and change now in terms of innovation. He believes China is a threat to America, and thinks some of the Trump tariffs are good, but many are bad. Mr. Ryan refuses to meet with dictators.
Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator of Vermont
Senator Sanders opens up by calling the healthcare industry corrupt. Sanders says his critics are wrong to criticize Medicare-For-All, mentioning the amount of people dying, underinsured, and going into debt over medical coverage. People lose insurance every year either due to their employer or changing jobs, which is something Medicare-For-All aims to fix. Mr. Sanders stresses that many people go into debt, despite their insurance. He also believes M4A would be better than any union plans, argues union wages will go up after de-coupling healthcare.
When pressed on if free stuff will attract more illegal immigration he ignored the question. On gun control, he believes the NRA must be stopped to get real gun reform. To reassure people worried he is too far-left to win, Sanders cites polls that he can win battleground states, such as Michigan and Wisconsin. Outside the United States, Sanders opposes policing the world.
Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator of Massachusetts
Senator Warren believes that Donald Trump is a disgraceful president, and everyone running would be better than him. While she promises to beat Trump, she also reminds us our problems didn’t start with him. At the moment, rigged system exists, and Democrats don’t need to be spineless to win this election. Instead, Democrats must have bold, new ideas to cultivate the imagination. Ms. Warren bristled criticisms of her plans, arguing some candidates like John Delaney were using “Republican talking points” when it came to healthcare.
Warren insists that millionaires will pay more than the middle class to fund Medicare-For-All, citing how much profit the insurance industry takes in annually. She does not believe we should criminalize asylum seekers. To her, Warren doesn’t want Democrats to pick a candidate they don’t believe in, just because they are scared. On society today, Warren says we needs to call out white supremacy as domestic terrorism. On trade, she argues that labor and environmentalists deserve a seat at the table, and is critical of the way trade deals operate in America. She opposes any pre-emptive strikes, especially involving nuclear weapons.
Marianne Williamson, Author & Activist
In her opening statement, Ms. Williamson invokes the Founding Fathers, and talks about trying to do better. She argues that corporations are false gods, conventional politics is bad. She believes Democrats need to talk about causes, not just symptoms.
On campaign finance, she argues that we need publicly funded campaigns. To her, systemic racism and hatred is culminated in several ways, such as Flint, which is the tip of the iceberg of Hate. On race, she argued for reparations well above $100 billion, in the ballpark of $200-500 billion. Ms. Williamson defends that rich people will take advantage of free college, but it’s worth it to take care of everyone else.