February 8, 2020

"I don't have anything to say about the debate. Maybe I should just move on."

I say out loud after poking around on all sorts of articles — a fact check here or there, assorted quotes but not a complete transcript, the old "winners and losers" roundups, and I noticed I was drifting off into articles about finding an apartment in NYC and how to travel together as a couple and Kim Kardashian's regret that her shapewear doesn't have a "peehole." I rewatched this TikTok baby 10 times.

There's my son John's live-blog from last night. He continued long after I fell asleep, but ended in a way that confirmed the wisdom of taking the sleep route out of the tiresome ordeal:
Haven't been updating this post in a while, and I can just repeat what I said in the last debate: "I've been zoning out on the rather dry discussion of who's for what trade deals."

Stephanopoulos prompts each candidate to give a canned statement on child poverty. This debate hasn't had any drama for a while now.

And it's over. Not the most exciting debate, and I'd be hard-pressed to say anyone "won" or "lost" tonight.
I'll just say one thing I remember. I wanted to get hold of the transcript to do this more accurately, but memory alone will have to suffice for now. I remember Tom Steyer saying — on 2 different things — that they need to focus on how Donald Trump is and will be arguing for himself and have real and specific arguments to push him back. The 2 things are the economy and appealing to black people.

I don't know if Steyer or any of the others had any specific arguments, so to me Steyer's warning worked mostly as a prediction that all of these candidates are doomed. Maybe that's why I withdrew.

The economy is going great, and Trump is pointing that out and saying you've got to keep me. I know what the Democrats tend to say to this prompt: You people at the bottom need to feel resentful that others are doing better than you are, and we're going to switch everything around somehow.

As for black people, Trump offers specific programs aimed at improving conditions for black people and impugns the Democrats for mismanagement of American cities and for taking the black vote for granted. In response, the Democrats have taken the black vote for granted.

51 comments:

Sydney said...

How many times can the same people debate each other and still be interesting?

AllenS said...

Democrats do not need to appeal to blacks, they only need to get rid of Trump and his policies that help blacks get jobs, and then the blacks will get back in the Democrat lineup. Unemployed people are easier to control.

Oso Negro said...

It would be much more interesting to stage a “Hate Debate”. Pick three moderators who hate Democrats to pepper them with cruel questions.

Marcus Bressler said...

Heard Chris Matthews had a meltdown about Bernie Sanders last night. He mentioned something about him (Matthews) getting shot in Central Park.

THEOLDMAN

Trump would only shoot people on Fifth Avenue so Prissy Chrissie is safe

rhhardin said...

If things are going well, change everything. That's the platform.

Owen said...

The Dems should read Thomas Sowell’s latest book, “Discrimination and Disparities.” Written with his characteristic (un)common sense and clarity, he addresses both the mystery of economic success and how to think clearly about people in groups such as “race.” It is a terrific and instant antidote to the poison they’ve been drinking.

Derek Kite said...

Yup. The only response the Democrats will have is that Trump is racist to try to attract african american voters. Because.

JAORE said...

Maybe they'll go back to praying for a recession, or that the country will be hit with a plague ("Trump' Katrina!") or.... some other disaster that hurts millions of Americans, but weakens Trump.

Sickening.

gilbar said...

You people at the bottom need to feel resentful that others are doing better than you are, and we're going to switch everything around somehow.

the (the ONLY WAY)that democrats can "switch" things around, is to stop the 'others' from doing good. They Laugh at the idea of a rising tide; all they offer is torpedoing the rich boats. This has worked in the past: will it work now?

also:
Tom Steyer ? what do you have to do to qualify for a debate? Write a check?

Mr. Forward said...

I was at a wedding once where the groom didn't show but the bride did. That wedding went better than last night's debate.

Beasts of England said...

Can’t you just feel the excitement. So much momentum. So much enthusiasm. Such an uplifting platform. Please clap.

RichAndSceptical said...

The Democrat Party is composed of people who believe they are victims and people who need people to believe they are victims.

Trump is destroying that myth.

RichAndSceptical said...

If I was a Democrat running for President, I would attack Trump while acknowledging that some things he did are good, but could be even better with me in charge. Attack his weaknesses and do him one better on his successes.

Beasts of England said...

It’s time for the Dems to focus on their firewall states. No, not the swing states - those are lost. I’m talking about New York, California, Illinois, Hawai’i - those kinda places. They should try to hold a minimum of five states, maybe even ten. At least make it look respectable... 😆

David Begley said...

Ann sums up the entire philosophy of the Dems,

“You people at the bottom need to feel resentful that others are doing better than you are, and we're going to switch everything around somehow.”

traditionalguy said...

Electoral politics always boils down to making the voters "Dissatisfied" with something, anything. And that bad Man Trump has brainwashed the voters with his optimistic thoughts that GREATER SUCCESS is just around the corner.

RNB said...

"[T]he Democrats have taken the black vote for granted." I'd hate to see what they would do to an ethnic group they actively disliked.

Lurker21 said...

I know. The "live blogging" was stuck at 9:23 or so for a long time. Does that make it "sleep blogging"? "Comatose blogging"? "Dead blogging"?

The ones who made it fun - Island Girl, Spartacus, Spock, the Unleashed Power of Love, and "that little girl ... was me" - weren't there.

It won't get any better when the Little Giant gets an invite.

buwaya said...

Thomas Sowell is vastly underappreciated.

His concept of "market dominant minorities" alone is worth an entire field of study in sociology and economics. He gets priority for noticing the generality of the phenomenon that has been in plain sight.

Ryan said...

Wake me up when they have a candidate, if they can make it that far.

wendybar said...

Sydney said...
How many times can the same people debate each other and still be interesting?
2/8/20, 5:59 AM


WHEN were these debates EVER interesting???

Temujin said...

First of all, your TikTok post was the best thing that came out of the Dem debate. The debate was utterly cringe-inducing at best, predictably snore-inducing as a whole.

I love the phrase "Stephanopoulos prompts...". Of course he does. That's what he does. He's a Dem operative who guides Dems into saying what can appear sane, and goads Repubs into saying things that can get twisted into hate speech. (Remember Mitt's war on women? That was a Stepphie creation.)

And I love how these people suddenly declared RACE is the topic (they almost forgot how racist the entire country is!). Thank God Tom Steyer remembered.

Lincolntf said...


Hahaha. Biden said something like "If my son was still in Iraq..." while reaching for an applause line. Um, Joe, buddy, there is no danger of your son going back to Iraq. He washed out of the U.S. Navy for being a crackhead and a liar, did you forget that? It's why you had to use your influence to get him his sinecure with Burisma. Try to keep up, slow Joe

Lurker21 said...

No. The son in Iraq was Beau, the one who passed away.

Biden is Frank Skeffington, the Irish-American politician in Edwin O'Connor's novel (and Spencer Tracy's film) The Last Hurrah. There's a touch of King Lear in him. It can be moving, but it's not going to make him president or make him a good president.

TJM said...

Funny how the moderators did not ask any of the Demtards about immigration. I wonder why?

Bob Boyd said...

How many times can the same people debate each other and still be interesting?

This bunch is still trying to get to once.

rcocean said...

Blacks will vote 85-90 for the D in November - just like always. That's why the D's "Take them for granted". Trump isn't trying to win black votes - he's trying to win Dumb middle-class Boomers, who wake up every day thinking "what about black people?"

Although i'm feeling this demographic is moving on to climate change, and "Babies at the border".

Sebastian said...

"I don't have anything to say about the debate. Maybe I should just move on."

Yeah, maybe. Maybe you should let go of your residual liberalism, your vain hope that the Dem candidates might give you any reason to rationalize a vote for any of them, that prog politics has any substance to justify your phony neutrality.

Face it: they are fools, their views are vacuous, they have nothing to say that is worth saying anything about. Move on. We on the other side welcome your company.

rcocean said...

There were three wrong with the debate:

01. Yang being there
02. Steyer being there
03. It lasting 3 hours.

I'd love to see how much of the audience tuned out after the 2nd hour.

rcocean said...

Its amazing how extreme and stupid the D's came off, even though the D's posing as "Newsmen" kept tossing them softballs all night.

DavidD said...

David Begley said...
"Ann sums up the entire philosophy of the Dems,

'You people at the bottom need to feel resentful that others are doing better than you are, and we're going to switch everything around somehow.' "

But will she vote for Trump this time around?

Paul said...

Blacks do not like homosexuals... hence bye bye Buttwhatever-his-name-is. Socialism won't fly well either so bye bye everyone else.

So.. this is why Bloomburg is buying his way in. The Democrat slate is shitko (as they say on the series Defiance.)

Trump will win so the REPUBLICANS NEED TO FOCUS ON WINNING THE HOUSE AND KEEPING THE SENATE!

Lucien said...

Listening to CNN and MSNBC it seems that the media are irked that no “front runner” has emerged — so that people will actually vote (ewww) on who they want to be the D nominee. The idea that there might be a whole series of primaries in which actual voters decide who to nominate is anathema. We are really all Deplorables to them.

AZ Bob said...

Pete Buttigieg reminds me of a well-dressed, well-spoken encyclopedia salesman knocking at my door trying to get me to buy something I neither want nor need.

khematite said...

Two Democratic talking points on the economy:

(1) Trump's economy really isn't all that great

(2) Obama laid the foundation for it

Mark said...

I have to say that the usual anti-Trumpers last night were not up to their usual excellent and convincing comments regarding Trump.

Seeing Red said...

I was a Democrat running for President, I would attack for Trump while acknowledging that some things he did are good, but could be even better with me in charge. Attack his weaknesses and do him one better on his successes.

2/8/20, 6:44 AM

Sounds good, but Trump already fired the opening salvo last year with a Baltimore, he’s been your representative for XXX and things haven’t gotten better.

Same thing could be said about Bernie, 40 years in the public taxpayer’s trough, he has 3 houses for himself.....

Seeing Red said...

IF younger fresh-faced republicans were smart, they’d be running on tightening up the ethics rules.

Charlie Currie said...

That baby's imitation of Bernie Sanders is lit.

Wince said...

He continued long after I fell asleep, but ended in a way that confirmed the wisdom of taking the sleep route out of the tiresome ordeal.

Sleep... or hemlock: it's all good.

DavidD said...

Temujin said...
“First of all, your TikTok post was the best thing that came out of the Dem debate.”

“Matthew take it the ball.” (“Matthew took the ball.”) That’s what he said.

mtrobertslaw said...

Buttigieg's spoken words suggest he is saying something very important. But when they are written down and read, it becomes obvious they are nothing but pleasant sounds that signify nothing. That baby in the Tic Toc video Ann cited makes more sense than than he does.

Gahrie said...

As for black people, Trump offers specific programs aimed at improving conditions for black people and impugns the Democrats for mismanagement of American cities and for taking the black vote for granted. In response, the Democrats have taken the black vote for granted.

For about the last forty years, both parties have largely ignored issues important to Black people and the plight of Black communities. This was because both parties knew, no matter what Republican politicians did or said, and no matter what Democratic politicians did or said, around 90% of Black voters would vote Democrat. Every four years the Democrats would call the Republican presidential nominee a racist and talk about Republicans wanting to put Black people back in chains, to get Black voters angry and out to vote.

This may be about to change. Blexit and Kanye's defection are real things. Given the contents of the SotU, I'm betting that Republican polls show that Trump has a chance to grab a significant percentage of the Black vote in November. 20% would be huge, 30% would be absolute disaster for the Democrats. The Democrats and the MSM appear to be in complete denial of this happening.

More importantly, if Trump gets 15% or more of the Black vote in November, you can bet both parties will spend the next four years paying attention to Black issues.

Yancey Ward said...

It isn't just black voters Trump is going after, he is also going after hispanic ones.

People think, so what if Trump goes from 9% of the black vote to 15%? Well, that wins Virginia and solidifies all the midwest states he won in 2016. It also makes it possible to contest Illinois and New Jersey. If you see a similar trend in the Hispanic vote, then it also puts into play Colorado and New Mexico. If the trend applies similarly to the Asian-American vote, then every state is a possible Trump win except probably Massachussetts and Vermont.

People misunderstand the Democrats reliance on minority voters. Small changes towards the Republicans have outsized effects on the Democrat vote percentages- it can close 10% gaps easily in a state.

Rosalyn C. said...

If the debates and the Dem nomination process doesn't get more interesting people will totally tune it out. Or start a fantasy league featuring bouts with match ups such as Pete versus Bernie, Liz versus Amy, Yang versus Bloomberg. I'd like to bring back Kamala versus Marianne for excitement. Who do you think would come out on top?

Rosalyn C. said...

Obviously I've left out Biden because he looks too old and worn out.

narciso said...

well the proof is in the very selective turnout, in iowa, this week, which they still couldn't properly ascertain, btw the thread that was checking the count, mysteriously disappeared,

Greg the class traitor said...

The economy is going great, and Trump is pointing that out and saying you've got to keep me. I know what the Democrats tend to say to this prompt: You people at the bottom need to feel resentful that others are doing better than you are, and we're going to switch everything around somehow.

Except the signal feature of the Trump economy is that wages in "low wage" industries are growing faster than wages in "high wage" industries. and, contra the "He's just benefiting from Obama's work": 1: The Obama economy had growth heading down. 2:The Obama economy was characterized by "the rich getting richer." Unlike the Trump economy, where the poor are getting richer faster than the rich are


As for black people, Trump offers specific programs aimed at improving conditions for black people and impugns the Democrats for mismanagement of American cities and for taking the black vote for granted. In response, the Democrats have taken the black vote for granted.

Yep. And I expect that as a result Trump will get at least 15% of the black vote in 2020. Which will, as Yancy points out, crush the hell out of the Democrats.

Especially when some of the voters who switch from Democrat to Republican at the top, do the same down ticket, as well.

And when a chunk of the % increase will come from black voters just not voting, which means they're not there to vote Democrat on the down ticket races

The Democrats should be in a screaming panic, and not just about Bernie. But the MSM, and Twitter, refuse to see the problem, so for the Democrats, it doesn't exist.

And won't, until election day. And, snicker, election night

Ken B said...

Much worse than taking them for granted: trying to kill charter schools.

Education is a killer issue for the GOP, if they are willing to make it an issue. They have not, but there are hints Trump will. It is a clear case of where the Democrats have sold out black voters for teachers' union cash.

Dangi blogger said...

Nice blog
my best farming application & more information

Dangi blogger said...

Nice blog
my best old & historical storys, more information