Third Democratic Debate SEP2019 @ TSU

Trump got elected and keeps his base happy due to knowing what's good for ratings and picks his national security advisor based on how they perform on camera and in combative interview settings. All these things that are shallow to some of us, are innate human nature. If I remember right, we make our first impressions of people in seconds and these impressions tend to last, especially these days when attention spans are as short as a tweet.

The "Kumbaya" display annoyed me a little too. I expect one of these folks to debate Trump at one point and would like to see how they perform under stress. What will they do when their opponent calls them "nasty" or "sleepy" and lies about their record. Maybe they are playing on the public fatigue of political dysfunction and zingers are the only aggression that is positively received by the electorate at the moment?

If we don't like it, we could vote for Yang and his (or Gillibrand's) democracy dollars idea. This way politically savvy people can directly affect non-politically savvy ones the same way political action committees and corporations do. He is also the least shallow one of the 10 because he uses a lot of data, research and real life knowledge (judging by the debate). At the same time, he is considered the least electable per 538 poll. (I don't understand why Trump the rich guy promising tax cuts is so great, but Young, another rich guy promising extra income is so bad, as far as electability is concerned. I'll go read the Young thread to find out... OR maybe @Commodore can explain - I think he once said that only rich guys know how to keep economy great)

 

A single issue could doom both parties, then if it would be just a question of last man standing.

For Trump and the Republicans, it's guns.

For left wing of the Democratic parties, it's healthcare.

It's just amazing to me how a possible lack of compromise could torpedo a politician's chances of being elected or re-elected.

 

My understanding of the Biden-Castro exchange is that Castro was sloppy with his vocabulary and it caused a miscommunication. Transcript here, starting around minute 31: https://www.rev.com/blog/democratic-debate-transcript-houston-september-12-2019

Biden puts forward "Medicare for choice." He describes how if you want Medicare (because you lose your employer-offered insurance or whatever), you can buy it. Around minute 34, Castro criticizes Biden's approach because it is an opt-in approach. That is, the customer has to proactively sign up for Medicare if they want it. He knows some people who need it will nevertheless not sign up for it, and he cites a study that 10 million people will be uninsured because they need Medicare but won't sign up for it. So, Castro says his plan would be an opt-out plan, meaning it would cover everybody who doesn't refuse the coverage. But then he mixes his terms "buy-in" and "opt-in", saying you wouldn't have to "buy-in" to get coverage when he meant you didn't have to opt-in. Biden, misled by Castro's terminology, says you wouldn't have to "buy in" on his plan either if you couldn't afford it -- meaning you would have to sign up ("opt-in"), but subsidies would apply. Castro now has also confused himself and he insists that Biden says you have to "buy in," meaning really "opt in," while Biden insists that someone who is poor doesn't have to "buy in" meaning really "doesn't spend money out of their pocket."

That's where the replay usually stops. Castro seems to figure out the miscommunication thereafter, in minute 36, saying: "We need a healthcare system that automatically enrolls people regardless of whether they choose to opt in or not. If you lose your job for instance, his healthcare plan would not automatically enroll you, you would have to opt in. My healthcare plan would. That’s a big difference."

 

While that is all true, Castro is an unlikable POS.... He and Ted Cruz can go form an Hispanic human centipede along with Mama Ninfa.

 

Dam dude when you don't like somebody you REALLY don't like them.

Yikes.

 

Show me one instance of the mainstream propping up Biden.

Most of the reporting is on his gaffes and how he is losing his lead.

I can't remember the last positive report on Biden.

 

They would poop pure queso.

 

Beto isn't going to win anything by saying he wants to take AR's from people. It's one thing to add more control, it's another to say that you are going to confiscate someone's property in America. Americans just don't tolerate that type of rhetoric.

 

This is nonsense Biden is attacked far more than any other candidate from both sides of the political spectrum. The far left is probably the worst with their hit pieces -- despite this Biden continues to hold a solid lead. People not living in a political bubble aren't looking for a woke inspirational leader they want a solid candidate who can beat Trump.

 

FBI/ATF or whoever going into homes confiscating guns is gonna be a tough sell.

 

You’re not making any sense and, again, I question if you even watched the debate.

She’s polling at 1%, you said so yourself, yet there’s some massive conspiracy to prop her up....? Apparently, y’all do happy hour early in Texas.

 

How so?

 

So, you're obviously a Warren supporter. If not, she has a plan for that...

 

She's right. It's silly when liberals talk about "free" universal healthcare, and equally silly when people talk about their "free" employer-based care. Of course it's not free. Someone (you) is paying for that, whether it's in taxes or reduced wages.

This is exactly why M4A is a hard sell. It's very scary to tell everyone that they are losing their current plan. The public option plan is a much easier sell.

 

Things change. When something traumatic happens it can change a person’s view point; that is unless you are a “thoughts and prayer” type.

 

Reading your posts....just wow. I gather we’re on the same side (ish), but it’s crazy that we’re on the same side and see the political world so differently.

You do you. Just please vote for a Democratic next November. Please don’t sit on your hands and do nothing if/when you don’t your way.