Dem Debate Tweets With A Few Of My Thoughts

This first one captures my impression of the debate.

The most important thing is that everyone on that stage tonight is leaps and bounds better than Donald Trump. Tactically, mentally, morally. We have an incredible bench. 🥰 #DemocraticDebate

— Seattle for Pete Buttigieg (@Seattle4Pete) September 13, 2019

Andrew Yang really leans into the “model minority” stereotype and the immigrant exceptionalism tropes, and it makes me uncomfortable. #DemocraticDebate

— Aya M. Waller-Bey, MPhil (@Aya__Marie) September 13, 2019

I thought that Yang made a number of good points.  He's an outsider in a number of ways - as a Chinese/American, as a business man, his  lack of political/governmental experience.  And he's smart.  That lets him raise issues we wouldn't normally get.  But he also seems a little isolated from things as well as this Tweet  from a Filipina/American who calls out his use of the smart-Asian stereotype and his implied lack of acknowledgment of non-East Asian Asians, who make up most of the Asian/American population. But it's good to see his face and ideas up there in the Democratic debates.

Bernie is asked in #DemocraticDebate how his socialism is different than Venezuela, Nicaragua & Cuba. It’s a ridiculous comparison & Bernie says the Democratic socialism he supports is more like Scandinavia. Guaranteed healthcare, worker rights, & no accumulated wealth for the 1% pic.twitter.com/Dly5fZ7WGt

— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) September 13, 2019

Bernie seemed to have a cold, but he's been around a long time, has been fighting the status quo forever, and his ideas are now mainstream.  He's one I'd have full confidence in going one-on-one with Trump.  He knows the facts and he's got the passion.

Bernie went right to policy substance and Kamala goes right to the gloriousness of MEEEEEEEEE. Says so much. #DemDebate #DemocraticDebate

— Secular Talk (@KyleKulinski) September 13, 2019

I've been really impressed with Harris in her Senate role questioning witnesses.  But as someone pointed out tonight, she's a lot better at asking questions than answering them.  While I think this Tweeter exaggerates, she does seem to be caught off-guard with people questioning her credentials and record.

I remember a time when you would never hear a phrase like "the 1 percent", "the prison industrial complex", or "systemic racism" on the presidential debate stage.

I'm hearing it tonight bc of years of work by organizers and activists.#DemocraticDebate

— Rebecca Nagle (@rebeccanagle) September 13, 2019

Yes, I was struck by the kind of issues that were raised and how united most of the candidates were on the basic issues.  And the fact that Beto broke the tip toeing around gun issues wide open with his impassioned stance.

Beto O'Rourke:

"Hell yes, we're gonna take your AR-15, your AK-47s, we're not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans any more!"

Beto DGAF, and I am HERE FOR IT.

Best line of the night. #DemocraticDebate#DemDebate

— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) September 13, 2019     

I've come to the conclusion that O'Rourke would make a much better Senator than a President.  He's got a way of saying things clearly and with passion.  I'm less confident of his overall common sense and ability to administer.  A role in the Senate is perfect for his talents.

And Butteig also made history for a presidential debate.

Pete Buttigieg's closing statement was a powerful, important message, regardless of where his candidacy goes, says reporter @ec_schneider. “Talking about coming out on a national, presidential stage is a remarkable thing.”

Catch up with the #DemDebate: https://t.co/6oalb9qphE pic.twitter.com/AOBKnRIrg9

— POLITICO (@politico) September 13, 2019

Let’s note that when asked about his comments about not giving a damn about what happened to African-Americans 300 years ago, Biden talked about playing record players to kids. Not a good answer. #DemocraticDebate

— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) September 13, 2019

I'm afraid Biden is the great white hope in this group.  He's the link to the Democrats of old.  He's the 'safe' candidate.  Like Hilary.  (Who did actually win the popular vote and would probably have won the electoral college without Russian interference in the election - which includes what we know about things like FB ads and what we don't know about about the wins in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.)  But Trump would run circles around him in a one-on-one debate.  Trump's lies and insinuations would leave him tongue-tied.  The only possible way he could win would be because people felt sorry for him.  And that's not a good look for a president.

And talking about playing the record player to help kids learn is exactly the kind of thing that raises questions about his time having passed.  But there were folks who defended his reference to record players.

Everything old is new again including Biden 😂

— Dolly Madison ✌🏻 (@dollymad1812) September 13, 2019

I think tonight’s big winner in the #DemDebate was @CoryBooker. He put forward a clear vision for our country—one that’s optimistic and about uniting all Americans to rise together.

He's definitely on my shortlist. 📝#DemocraticDebate #DemDebate3

— Kyla Paterson is unabashedly feminist (@KylaGraceP) September 13, 2019

I think Booker is another candidate who could go head-to-head with Trump.  He too knows his facts and talks well.  And he's been a mayor and a US Senator.

Another is Elizabeth Warren:

“The mass shootings are terrible, but they get all the headlines. Children die every day on streets in neighborhood, on playgrounds. People die from violence from suicide and domestic abuse. We have a gun violence problem in this country." ~ @ewarren #DemDebate #DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/VwrAq8anh7

— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) September 13, 2019

I'd like to see her when she wasn't turned up to full indignation mode.  She has a right to be indignant, but I'd like to hear her sometime talking in a normal voice.


I noticed a lot of obvious GOP Tweeters out to trash every candidate - except Tulsi Gabbard, who wasn't in the debate.

And here's an article about a despicable attack ad on ABC during the debate by paid for by donors to the GOP New Faces PAC,

 "opened with a photograph of the young Latinx congresswoman’s face being set on fire to reveal images of the 1970s genocide in Cambodia underneath." 

Republicans are running TV ads setting pictures of me on fire to convince people they aren’t racist.

Life is weird!

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 13, 2019

This is the kind of open hate the grew worse and worse in 1930s Germany.  No, this is not a frivolous comparison.  I've read Victor Klemperer's I Will Bear Eyewitness  in which he, among other things, documents the language used by the Nazis from the 30's through the end of WWII.  This sort of ad targeting AOC is not only blatantly untrue propaganda, but it's also a call to crazies to physically attack people like AOC.

And this reaction to O'Rourke's call to buyback assault weapons:

From the Texas Tribune:

Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain drew fierce ire Thursday night for a gun-related tweet that many considered to be a death threat against Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke.
Twitter took the comment down within hours because it violated a rule forbidding threats of violence and O'Rourke's campaign planned to report the tweet to the FBI, according to CNN. It's against federal law to threaten "major candidates" for president.