The Democratic Debate That Wasn't
W.J. Astore
Last night witnessed another scrum among the top twelve Democratic challengers. It wasn't really a debate since each candidate only had a minute or two to respond to questions. I've seen headlines describing the debate as "the moderates versus the progressives," with the usual scorecards about which candidates "won" and "lost," but I don't think any candidate "won." And it was the American people who clearly lost.
First, what was missing. There was no serious discussion of U.S. foreign policy, of America's military-industrial complex and colossal "defense" budgets, or of climate change. The situation in Syria was discussed in the context of President Trump's alleged betrayal of the Kurds, but that was all. There was no discussion about nuclear weapons and their proliferation (and America's decision to "modernize" our arsenal at a cost of at least a trillion dollars). There was no discussion of America's overseas empire of 800 military bases. There was no serious discussion about ending the Afghan War, or the enormous cost of America's wars since 9/11.
So, what was discussed? Trump's impeachment, of course. Medicare for all versus "choice." A woman's right to control her own body (obviously a very important subject). How and whether to change the Supreme Court. Taxes. Guns. Tech monopolies. Opioid abuse and holding drug companies responsible for the same. Even Ellen's friendship with George W. Bush.
CNN and the New York Times sponsored the debate, hence they controlled the questions. The initial goal seemed to be to get Elizabeth Warren to admit she'd have to raise taxes to pay for her Medicare plan. She largely ducked the issue, insisting the rich and corporations would pay for it. Another question raised the specter of Bernie Sanders's health after his recent heart attack, and also of Joe Biden's age, i.e. that if he's elected, he'll turn 80 while he's in office. It was that kind of "debate."
Speaking of Joe Biden, he didn't perform well in this debate. He often misspoke and his answers drifted off course. I can see why the smart money is gravitating toward Elizabeth Warren.
Another person who suffered from the debate format was Tulsi Gabbard. Few questions were directed her way, and she was often ignored or cut off as she tried to speak. Her attempt to challenge Elizabeth Warren on her qualifications to be commander-in-chief went unanswered as CNN cut to commercials. Nice try, Tulsi, but CNN was having none of that.
With respect to Trump and Syria, only Tulsi Gabbard attempted to explain the long history of U.S. involvement in the area, which was, in essence, a regime-change war directed against Bashar al-Assad. (Recall that President Obama in 2015 said that Assad had to go.) But again CNN was having none of that, and Tulsi's point was left hanging as other candidates babbled about not serving the agenda of Vladimir Putin.
And there you have it: yet another debate from which the American empire and the military-industrial complex emerged as the clear victors.