JAZZMAN CHRONICLES: DEFEATING TRUMP.
A LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO THE
WHITE HOUSE
FIRST ROUND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
Kamala Rising!
By Jack Random
It is
often said that presidential debates are not as important as the hype would
have them; that a debate at the end of June has no bearing on the end
result. To some extent that may be
true but it is also true that candidates are made or broken by the early
debates. It is also true that no
other single event has greater significance than a candidate’s first appearance
on the presidential debate stage.
Readers
may remember when Rick Perry, then governor of Texas, took himself out of
presidential contention by calling for the abolition of three federal agencies
but could only recall two of them.
Oops. In one of the most
ironic and revealing moves of the Trump presidency, Perry now serves at the
helm of that forgotten agency: the
Department of Energy.
The
pitfalls are many, the rewards are great and the one who prevails will rise to
become leader of the free world.
NIGHT
ONE: WARREN HOLDS FIRM
THE
CANDIDATES: BILL DE BLASIO, TIM
RYAN, JULIAN CASTRO, CORY BOOKER, ELIZABETH WARREN, BETO O’ROURKE, AMY
KLOBUCHAR, TULSI GABBARD, JAY INSLEE, JOHN DELANEY.
The first
debate in the current season did not produce a Rick Perry moment but they
absolutely revealed a great deal about the candidates on stage. Senator Elizabeth Warren secured her
place as a policy guru. Senator
Cory Booker, former Representative Beto O’Rourke and former HUD Secretary Julian
Castro competed in the category of Best Foreign Language. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
held her ground as the conscience of a party that seems to have forgotten the
critical lessons of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bill de Blasio inserted himself into issues without seeming
to play the bully. Despite a few
one-liners Senator Amy Klobuchar failed to capture the kind of attention she
needed to gain ground in the polls.
The same holds true for the Green Governor Jay Inslee who seemed determined
to emphasize his knowledge outside of protecting the planet.
To the extent that anyone won the first night of the first
round of debates it was Julian Castro.
He pushed hard on immigration and made Beto O’Rourke appear
uninformed. He also won the
Spanish speaking debate by virtue of the fact that he is Hispanic.
Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio reminded us why Senator
Sherrod Brown should be on stage when he talked about the Democrats needing to
be the party of the working people.
He lost us when he argued for a continued presence in Afghanistan. His gaff led to a shining moment by
Representative Gabbard who had to remind him that the longest standing war in
American history is an absolute disaster.
She had to remind him that the Taliban was not responsible for the 9-11
attack. Al Qaeda was. Had she more time she might have
reminded the uninformed congressman that the Taliban offered to hand over the
Al Qaeda suspects to an impartial tribunal but the Bush administration
refused.
Tulsi
Gabbard stood alone through this exchange and that should worry all of us who
spent more than a decade fighting the disastrous and ill-conceived wars in the
Middle East. At a time when
President Trump is threatening war with Iran every candidate on stage should
have rallied to Gabbard’s side instead of remaining politely silently. Hopefully the candidates who emerge
from this process will find their antiwar voices. If not they will find a great many potential supporters
peeling away from the Democratic Party.
It was
patently unfair of the moderators to ask Gabbard to defend her already
retracted position on LGBTQ rights.
She has a stronger record on these civil rights issues than Cory Booker
who strangely attacked her for not including transsexuals in her response. She was not asked about transsexuals
and Booker should know better. Too
often he seems a voice in search of a cause.
Nearly
every candidate on the stage Wednesday night demonstrated why he or she needed
to be there. Elizabeth Warren is
clearly the most knowledgeable candidate not only on economic issues but on all
issues. She is the leading female
contender representing the progressive wing of the party. Castro is the only Hispanic candidate
and the strongest voice on immigration.
De Blasio is an uncompromised liberal with nothing to lose. Inslee is the Green candidate. Beto has staked ground as the viable
alternative to Inslee as the Green candidate and the man who might stand a
chance in Texas. Booker is a
powerful voice on criminal justice.
Klobuchar is the reasoned moderate who knows how to talk to
Republicans. Gabbard is a veteran
of the Iraq War and the strongest voice against going to war again.
That
leaves only two: Congressman Tim
Ryan and former Congressman John Delaney. The former distinguished himself as not ready for prime time
on foreign policy and the latter wins the Dead Man award (1) as a man who
speaks a lot, says nothing. Delaney
interrupted at every opportunity and consistently failed to deliver poignant
remarks.
At this
juncture, Ryan and Delaney are out.
Because Beto stumbled, Inslee remains alive but should stick to climate
change as much as humanly possible.
De Blasio stays where he was: hanging on by a thread. Klobuchar and Booker get a pass but
they still need to distinguish themselves from the field. Warren holds strong. Castro and Gabbard rise in the hearts
and minds of their respective constituencies.
NIGHT
TWO: KAMALA
RISING
THE
CANDIDATES: MARIANNE WILLIAMSON,
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, ANDREW YANG, PETE BUTTIGIEG, JOE BIDEN, BERNIE SANDERS,
KAMALA HARRIS, KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, MICHAEL BENNET AND ERIC SWALWELL
We all want to be charitable. It is kind to say that former Vice President and frontrunner
Joe Biden could not keep up with the competition. He began his performance with checklist answers delivered at
a rapid clip and eventually broke down into a semi-incoherent ramble.
As the only African American on the stage, Senator Kamala
Harris took aim at old Joe’s rationale for working with the Old South’s
segregationists and his stern opposition to bussing as a remedy to
segregation. He could not have
known that one of the dark skinned children who benefited from bussing was
Kamala Harris. Harris took him
down softly but he is unlikely to regain his unbeatable status.
The rest
of the field offered interesting insights and solid rationales for their
candidacies but none made a move that will register in next week’s polls. Bernie was Bernie and I love him for it
but he has not evolved and others have caught up to him.
Marianne
Williamson is unlikely to sustain her place among legitimate candidates but we
should be grateful for her insight into how the Democrats will beat Donald
Trump. Essentially, Trump operates
out of fear and his opposition must counter with love. It is an oversimplification but there
is fundamental truth in it. The
Republicans have long been perceived as the Daddy party and the Democrats are
the Mommy party. Poor old dad has
been doing a bum job lately. It’s
time to give mom a try.
Mayor
Pete distinguished himself once again for his sharp mind and speaking
ability. His response to criticism
regarding the racial makeup of his police department was however inadequate. He said simply: “I didn’t get the job done.” The mayor needs to take care of
business in his own back yard before he moves on to the highest office in the
land.
Andrew
Yang demonstrated he is a man of substance. He deserves a place in the next government and his ideas
warrant serious consideration. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand staked ground as the
candidate representing women’s issues.
She was forceful, knowledgeable and well spoken. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has
assumed the role of attacking Bernie for not cowering when confronted with the
dreaded “S” word. It may do a
little damage to Bernie but it will not carry Hickenlooper to the next
tier. Colorado Senator Michael
Bennet appeared to be a nice man and a solid Democrat who simply does not have
the charisma to advance to the White House. Representative Eric Swalwell laid claim to represent the
next generation, goading old Joe to hand over the torch but he pushed too hard
like a rambunctious teenager. His
issue of gun control will stick but he must wait for a better opportunity to
advance.
In the
end the only candidate to significantly advance her cause is the junior senator
from the state of California. She
has learned on the trail. She
connects. She has proven to be a
determined opponent and Joe Biden felt the sting of her jab. She broke through the cacophony of
white noise while the others drifted.
Kamala
rises. Now she must sustain her
momentum.
Jazz.
1. The character Nobody in the 1995 film
Dead Man, directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring Johnny Depp. Music by Neil Young.
JACK
RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES AND THE FOUNDER OF CROW DOG
PRESS. HIS COMMENTARIES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED AT DISSIDENT VOICE AND
COUNTERPUNCH.
