I watched all four hours of the recent Democratic debates (Night One; Night Two), and my biggest takeaway is that the Democratic Party has some very good thought-leaders with amazing visions for the future of America. I fervently believe that I saw our future President on the stage one of these nights. I’m feeling hope for 2020.
On the flip side, I did not watch any of the vapid, time-filling, and time-killing commentary, either before the debates or afterwards. While I totally believe in the value of The Press, I am decidedly less enthusiastic about the value of individual personalities involved. I’m looking at you, Chuck Todd.
Now that I’ve had the opportunity to see all the front-runners on stage, along with a bunch of other interlopers, this is the perfect time to take a snapshot of my opinions and thoughts.
Stack ranking
This is the most important list, the one that indicates who I think would make the best President. It’s not a prediction of who will win, I’ll leave that to Nate Silver. And as always, the caveat that virtually all liberals interject compulsively, defensively, and habitually during all discussions of this type: No matter who wins the nomination, I will Vote Blue in 2020.
- Kamala Harris
- Elizabeth Warren
- Cory Booker
- Julián Castro
Issues
Health care industry
I do not understand why people fight to keep their “private” insurance. First off, it’s not private, it’s provided by your employer. Which means that if you leave your job or get fired, you’re fucked, not to mention you’re also in a pseudo-servitude situation where you’re beholden to the job, just to stay healthy. This is not a good system.
And why should employers be offering health care, anyway? Why don’t they offer housing, too? Ohhhhh, wait, we know how that turns out.
Companies care about profit. They do not care about employees, and I dare you to come up with a single for-profit company that actually cares more about the employees than making money. You can’t do it.
This is why the government should be in charge of healthcare and regulate the shit out of this industry: The government’s primary job is to protect the interests of its people.
I am not satisfied with candidates who want to institute a “choice” by letting people stay enslaved to their employers through insurance or choose to enroll in a government plan. It needs to be all government run and stop treating healthcare like a business.
Women’s rights and health care
Among other stances and opinions, two particular issues came up that I think are fantastic ideas: 1) The ERA needs to get passed (Castro), and 2) Abortion rights need to be protected by a federal law not a court ruling (Warren).
Race issues
I was overjoyed to see Biden get slammed by Harris. That old white man had it coming, for all the decades he’s been hiding his passive bigotry and sexism behind the curtain of “liberalism”.
Reparations is an issue I’m just starting to really weigh, but my approach here is similar to my approach regarding feminism. If you, the aggrieved party tell me I did something hurtful, it’s my responsibility to make amends. I believe all white Americans living today have benefited unjustly from the genocidal behavior of our slave-owning forefathers. We must make it right. And like everything else, just because it’s hard, or painful, or complicated is no reason not to try.
Other issues
There were so many other issues discussed on either night, most of which got me fired up and excited to be a liberal. There were also more than a few disappointing moments when certain people showed themselves to be less than we thought, worse than we feared, or more conservative than we knew. These people need to get off the stage, literally and figuratively.
Candidates – My faves
Kamala Harris
My number one, with a bullet (aimed squarely at Biden!). More than once she let herself out of her “Hillary” box and expressed some fiery energy. It was fantastic to witness!
Harris isn’t afraid to call out hypocrisy in the press when asked how she’ll pay for her plans, that no one asked the [fucking] Republicans the same thing. She’d restart DACA and close the detention centers; she sees the humanitarian emergency we’re dealing with if a mother has to hire coyotes to bring her family to the US facing certain detention and deportation.
She’s moderate—in a liberal sense— on gun control; I’d like to see her get tougher on it, and adopt Booker’s plan (below). She is very well-rounded and is knowledgeable about all the major issues. My only disappointment came after the debates when she walked back her stance on universal healthcare. She must get on board with the Medicare For All plan.
Elizabeth Warren
Has always struck me as inspiring on an intellectual level, not an emotional level. But that changed after Night One. She’s got it; she could lead this country very well: She’s principled, smart, and not afraid to say what she believes and she articulates how her vision is possible. Unlike typical white-man candidates, she comes right to the point and doesn’t waffle (see O’Rourke).
Her willingness, nay, eagerness, to take on big corporations, financial corruption, health care, and everything else is just awe-inspiring.
I’m cautious about her because of her conservative and Republican past. Her stance on gun control isn’t liberal enough, and I wish she’d stop trying to reach out to the white working class. They are a marginal group, so start treating them like one. Elizabeth, you don’t have to be “of” the people to lead the people.
Cory Booker
I was looking forward to learning more about this candidate during the debates, and I wasn’t disappointed. I already found him appealing, as a powerful unafraid liberal, and also after watching him question people during various Senate hearings.
I particularly like his stance on gun control which is that they ought to be licensed like cars. He’s a strong defender of LGBTQ rights, and he would cancel ICE. On health care, he’s for a public option only, as well as cutting the ludicrous profit margins for insurance agencies and pharma companies.
While I think he’d make a great Presidential candidate, I think he’d also make a very strong VP option.
Julián Castro
This guy surprised me, in a really good way. I knew about him a bit, in that he was a strong liberal, but I hadn’t ever really tracked his positions or looked up any of his speeches. He hit all the right liberal notes for me, plus he had a passion and wonkiness that he used to nail O’Rourke, who was clearly bewildered and befuddled.
The first thing Castro talked about on stage was passing the ERA. ‘Bout damn time someone started talking about this again.
Castro will never be at the top of a ticket, but these debates were a good audition for a future VP slot.
Candidates – My second tier, VP picks
Inslee – It’s likely the other candidates are talking about the environment and climate change solely because of AOC and Inslee. Good for them, they’re heroes in my book. Plus, gotta support the hometown boy!
Klobuchar – Generally too conservative for my tastes to deserve top-billing. But could be a good asset as VP to win over scaredy-cat “liberals” and libertarians “who might vote for the right Democratic candidate”.
Gillibrand – Let’s all remember she was a lawyer for Phillip Morris, and she was privy to them hiding and obfuscating documentation that proved they knew their product was deadly. Yes, she actively assisted Big Tobacco. But her feminism and her passion for getting money out of politics is invigorating.
Yang – Like my governor, a smart guy who’s campaigning on one issue: $1000/month for all Americans. Radical idea that’s had limited success other places, but seems to literally be buying votes here.
Swalwell – Wants to make the old guard step aside to make space for the next generation in politics. Also passionate about ending gun violence: Mandatory gun-buyback for assault weapons
Bennet – About as middle-of-the-road as you can get and still be a modern Democrat. Keep ACA and build on it, reinstate DACA, against Citizens United ruling, etc…
Candidates – We can do better
Sanders – The very definition of “we can do better”. This guy really ought to use Benjamin Franklin as a role model: A sage old though-leader, but not presidential material. Sanders has a lot of drive and vision, but I don’t think it’s necessary that he be the one to execute on it. Plus, the word is “human”, with an “H”; there’s no god damned “y” in that word.
O’Rourke – Not really a liberal, now is he? I mean, put him in WA State and he’d look awfully GOP-adjacent. Plus… Does every non-answer really need such a long shaggy-dog preamble? I thought white male politicians had finally learned to cut to the chase and answer the questions and stop waffling, but I guess not.
DeBlasio – It’s not the worker’s party. I’ve seen that in action in the UK in the Labour Party. It smells liberal on the surface, but trusting the people who “speak for the workers” got Labour Party supporters a leader who is actually a Brexiteer. Workers can be a strong group within a progressive liberal modern party, but they must not the primary group.
Ryan – The same as DeBlasio about making the Dems the party of the workers. Literally dismissed the ideas of climate change solutions, gun controls, and all the other important progressive issues in favor of saying: “We are not connecting to the working class people”. Sorry boys, this position is not liberal enough, with far too much potential to marginalize other progressive policies if these policies get in the way of “creating jobs”.
Delaney – I like his thoughts on revamping the health care system to something more like the UK’s NHS. But he’s too bipartisan and weak. He seems to believe that prosecuting the sexual abuser T* isn’t what the people care about. He’s wrong.
Williamson – I can’t believe that she got enough polling support to be invited to this event.
Candidates – Never, nope, no way
Biden – You had your time. And you served us well, for the most part, considering the era you served. But it is time to pass the torch, so pass the motherfucking torch already.
Gabbard – Now you’re ok with LGBTQ? Too little, too late. Goodbye.
Buttigieg – Again, for the record: His pre-Israel stance is completely unacceptable in this modern age. Israel is committing genocide on the Palestinians, and you still endorse the West Bank settlements? Never gonna support you.
Hickenlooper – This guy is the worst of all the old-school tropes of what a Democrat is: Afraid of conflict, can’t take a stand, too cautious, buys into the GOP slander that any Dem platform is “socialism” and that “socialism” is bad. I’ll bet you a decade he also thought “liberal” was a slander and cheerfully sold out us real liberals, just so he wouldn’t get called names on the playground.
Preferences and predictions
At this very early point in the process, my perfect tickets, in order:
- Harris-Booker
- Harris-Castro
- Warren-Castro
- Warren-Gillibrand
- Booker-Gillibrand
But to briefly step on Nate Silver’s toes, here’s what I think we’ll end up with:
- Biden-Warren
- Biden-Buttigieg
- Biden-O’Rourke
- Warren-Castro
- Warren-Bennet
But it doesn’t really matter, ultimately. I will be voting for whomever the Democratic Party ends up with, regardless of my own opinions or preferences.
Always remember: Any vote for other than the Democratic nominee is a vote for the sexual assaulter T*.
Play the odds, cast a protest vote, take solace in the overwhelming majority in your state within the EC, skip voting altogether, whatever…
It doesn’t matter. Unless you specifically vote against the sexual assaulter T* by supporting the Democratic candidate, you might as well be voting for him.
The Modern Jeffersonian 