I saw both debates last week and I did not talk too much about them. That is because everyone else did. I think it is more important to talk about the subject matter of the debates. The actual issues. You guys have to love me after this. I actually had to watch six hours of the most boring, irrelevant crap again. But I’m trying to be a pod-caster so I got to do what I got to do.
Let’s have some fun!
Introduction
I watched the debates last week and then watched them again this week so I could do this article. I have no interest in rehashing the debate. I do not see the point since everybody seemed to have been doing it. Not to mention, I do not think much of any debate right now because of the sheer number of candidates. There are around fifteen hundred candidates and I want to see the stragglers disappear first. I also know that, right now, these people are just trying to get votes from left’s base. None of them, right now, are worried about winning a general election. Centrists on both sides of the aisle never vote in primaries. All these people are pander bears and are just trying to get nominated. Once nominated, they will go wildly centrist to appease independents and never-Trumpers (which will probably not go well with the left’s base).
So let us not look at the candidates. To be honest, I do not know half of them. Let us look at the issues. Because I think that is going to determine who is going to win in November of 2020.
Climate Change
I was a little surprised here. The talk of climate change was very moderate. I think some did not even bring it up and the moderators never really pushed it. It was brought up by the candidates but all they said was that there is a problem but offered no solutions. All everyone basically said, to standing applause is, “…and we need to address climate change!” There were a couple of mentions about the Green New Deal, but no one really committed to it. They said they liked some of it but would not commit to any part of it.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez really screwed her party for 2020. Nancy Pelosi might as well pack up the rest of her dentures and leave Washington D.C because she is no longer relevant in politics. That is a bad thing. These dem candidates are going to have to take a stand on the Green New Deal. If they do not, they will get killed in a general election. Unfortunately for them, science and economics are on the side of Trump when it comes to climate change. According to NASA, the average temperature have gone up .8 degrees in the last hundred years. We need to go up by two to three degrees before we have to worry about this.
Economists Paul Romer and William Nordhaus won the Nobel Prize is economics this year. They wrote a paper called Integrating Innovation and Climate with Economic Growth. I guess if you just put “climate” in a paper you will be up for Nobel Prize and loved by the media. Unfortunately, when someone read the paper, which I did, things are not as disastrous as they were made out to be. According to the paper, climate trends point that we will not have an issue until 2100 and it would only cost 4% of GDP from each country to correct the the problem. Of course, that is only if we blame everything on man-made climate change. We would have to ignore the Earth wobbling and we would have to ignore some astrophysics that this is normal Earth.
And then there is this thing that is always ignore and seems pretty scientific. We probably have 150 years of climate history out of millions years of actual climate history and they are making absolute claims about it. I just am not sure spending trillions of dollars for something we do not even know about is something the voters are going to go for. Especially when China, India, Mexico and a bunch of African countries are doing nothing to curb their emissions.
Oh, yeah. The Green New Deal will cost $93 trillion over ten years. That is going to require a huge increase in taxes. Good luck with that.
Medicare for All
This is also going to be a real tough sell for voters.
The democrats, especially Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, want to replace all private health insurance that people get from work. Instead, we are all going to get stuck with federally funded solution. Which means we are not going to have any healthcare. This is a bad system and it has never really worked. It is going to cost trillions of dollars and will destroy the healthcare industry. Doctors are going to get stuck with a standardized fee. This will discourage well qualified people from trying to become doctors and patients will be seen by less qualified people like nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, which means healthcare will be rationed like it is in other federally funded healthcare..
Here is the thing about universal healthcare or any government run service. It does not work. That is because the government sucks at everything. And they are going to suck at healthcare. Look at how the government messed up the VA hospitals. People were dying because they could not see a doctor in a timely fashion. In Canada, the universal healthcare program is rationed. You will not get to see a doctor right away when one is needed and the service is bad. The public administrators will even recommend to patients that they get some sort of supplemental insurance, which Canada allows, and see a private doctor. Steven Crowder, who was born in Canada, did an undercover investigation about the Canadian healthcare system. Take a look:
The left will point to Sweden and Norway, stating that these countries have universal healthcare and it works and works well. And they would be kind of right. Kind of. But not completely. They have panels in Sweden and Norway that will approve certain treatments and procedures. So if one has a rare form of cancer and his life depends on a non approved treatment. Good luck. These are better known as death panels. Kind of an extreme term but it does exist. The other issue that explains why these countries kind of succeed is there population. Sweden has just under 10 million people and Norway has just over 5 million. The United States has 330 million citizens and anywhere between 15 and 40 million illegal aliens. And that does matter with universal healthcare.
Oh, yeah. It will cost about $7 trillion a year. That is going to require a tax increase.
Socialism
No, no, no. Not going to happen.
No one wants socialism except for the left. It has never succeeded and it has always lead to poverty, suffering, death and tyranny. Democrats want to lose the next election, keep pushing socialism.
Gun Control/Confiscation
This is going to be a tougher one for republicans. Not only do leftists support gun control but so do liberals. A lot of left-of-center liberals believe our gun laws are too loose. And, with electronic media plaguing the world, we hear about every bit of violence, no matter what the story is or if we even have the story, and go on social media and politicize the story immediately. There are morons like Swalwell and Warren that want to confiscate our guns, limit the number of rounds one can buy and raise the gun age to twenty-one. So a soldier can shoot a weapon in the army at eighteen but cannot buy a gun. Oh, yeah! And we have to have background checks, even if a father wants to give a son a gun.
There are going to be some huge problems for democrats. First off, most in the country do not believe in gun control. Even some of the liberal states like Vermont, Massachusetts and Colorado are against gun limits or some heavy-handed gun control. In fact, 38 of the 50 states believe in gun rights. That’s why the Second Amendment has never been seriously challenged with repeal. We already do have stringent background checks and waiting period for handguns. Those background checks check military history (dishonorable discharge is disqualifying), criminal record (domestic violence is disqualifying), citizenship and mental capacity. To sit back and say that gun regulations are non-existent is just untrue. And, by the way, if we make it criminal to have a gun, only criminals will have guns. It’s a cliche, I know. But it’s true. I would even go so far as to say these gun-free zones is basically inviting criminals. I think schools should allow teachers who want to be armed to be armed. I guards should be armed and very trained. They should expect someone to attack and always be prepared. Not like that garbage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida last year.
But here’s the kicker and will guarantee nothing will be done to overthrow these rights: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” That is the Second Amendment. I know a lot of people come of with many different reasons to make the amendment seem outdated. Only the government can create a militia (that’s garbage, the revolutionaries were not soldiers). The Second Amendment to apply to assault rifles. Dumb argument. There is no definition of an assault rifle or weapons of war. But I will go a step further: the amendment does protect your right to have an “assault” rifle. The amendment wants you to have a rifle to defend from the tyranny of an overbearing government, not for hunting. Damn, the muskets of the 18th century were weapons of war!
This is a bad policy for democrats to stand on.
Illegal Immigration/Healthcare off Illegal Aliens
This is a loser for democrats. The country, or at least the sane branch of it, does not want open borders. They do not want illegal aliens getting free healthcare, food stamps, low income housing and a pathway to citizenship. Most people do not care that these people are put in a jail from breaking the law and that those jails may suck. Jails suck, don’t break the law, you won’t end up in jail.
This is a loser for democrats and we are going to see them turn. This is an issue that show the true nature of the democrat party. Right, democrats have to pander to the Antifa and Ocasio-Cortez left to get through a primary. But this policy is suicide in a general election. If the democratic candidate actually went and backed these policies, I would say Trump wins 45 states, maybe 48. California, Washington State, Oregon and New York and they are getting killed with poverty, homelessness, disease and high taxes. And they want to support want to support people who are now allowed to be here?
Yeah, good luck with that.
Racism
If I am spending some time on Twitter and I am not called a sexist, bigot, homophobe, misogynist, alt-right, xenophobe that hates children, I lost the debate I was having. I mean, misogynist is a clinical term of hate. Anything that ends with -phobe means you have a mental problem.
These terms have been overused and I hold a badge of honor because it tells me I won the debate. Well, you know that already. Spent an entire podcast on how to debate.
Abortion
This has become another hot point for the democrats. And they are burying themselves over it. It all started over this statement by Ralph Northam, governor for Virginia.
This statement launched the infanticide debate where some people and the left has embraced it. Now, all the democratic candidates are embracing abortion up until the moment of birth. I am not exactly sure how we got from, “legal, safe and rare” led to abortion when the baby is fully developed.
The is a disaster for the democrats. Their position, which was tolerated by the right, is now seen for what it is: genocide. The anti-abortion push has been extreme. More people today are against abortion than ever before. And, what’s worse, there does not seem to be any limits. I do not see the difference between killing a baby three days before a baby is born and killing a baby three days after it’s born. I think that’s the problem a lot of people who are neutral when it comes to abortion are having a problem with. This is just too much and where is the limit? This extreme will get a candidate past the primary but sticking to this will not get someone elected in a general election.
I have a podcast on my thoughts on abortion if you want to check it out.
Free College
I was pretty smart. I wanted to go to college at UCLA or UC Berkley. I didn’t. Cause I couldn’t afford it. I went to Cal State Northridge. After I graduated, I wanted to go to law school. I didn’t. Because I had two kids and a wife that couldn’t work and I couldn’t afford the $200,000 tuition. I took a job teaching computer networking, got paid well, sharpened my skill and have a career. I worked full time and am proud of my degree even if I did not use it. I bought my books, paid off my moderate loans, worked hard and have a degree I never used until now.
She is so stupid. This speech, by itself, proves she should not be a government official. Bad language alert: Fuck you, AoC.
Let me point a couple of things out in this little diatribe of hers. She told a 17-year-old to take out $250,000 in student loans? I hope she was going to be a doctor and not study Lesbian Dance Theory because she will never be able to pay that off otherwise. AoC might as well told her to buy that Rolls Royce she always wanted! This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! College taught my fiscal responsibility, logic and the value of hard work. For a degree I do not use!
But the big thing in her little speech is that she has student loan debt she’s having trouble paying! She is a United States congressman (no I didn’t say congresswoman or congressperson) earning $175,000 a year and she can’t pay her school debt? And I’m suppose to trust this broad to create laws that will determine the course of our economy? Fuck that! She should be kicked out of Congress just because of that stupid speech. She’s fiscally irresponsible. Her Green New Deal proves that.
Listen, just to kill college debt today will cost $4 trillion dollars. It’s not sustainable and college is not a right. We should spend more time teaching our kids to be fiscally responsible and there are consequences. Not to mention, this could open the flood gates for far worse decisions such as paying off credit card debt, car payments and mortgages. Just a really bad idea.
Insanity
Ben Shapiro said it best. All democrats have to to do is not be crazy. I am paraphrasing it, that’s why I’m not quoting it. Well, there was some crazy on that stage.
Let look at with Robert Francis, I mean, Beto:
He spend a minute and nine seconds answering that question, forty-five of it in Spanish, and he never answered the question! In fact, the moderators even pointed out he did not answer the question. Beto is done.
But, crazy of the night came from “writer” Marianne Williamson. She had like three questions all night, this was the most awesome, but it was not the only awesome question. The chick is absolutely crazy!
This gal is awesome! I hope she wins the nomination. Can you imagine her debating Trump? And the funny nicknames he’d come up with? Sanitarium Mary, Mad Mary, Mental Case Mary, Weird Williamson. I could not find a lot of synonyms for crazy that started with a “W” but I’m sure Donald T. will figure something out.
Such fun stuff!
Who Won?
Trump won. I think Fox News sums it up really well.
These people looked insane. Sorry, they did. The democratic base has gone so far left, 75% is like, what the fuck? Here is the problem they are going to have, especially because there are going to be, at least, two more debates: They are going to have to commit to weird stuff and people are going to hear it. If they decide to stick with those positions, 75% of the population is going to think they are crazy and will not vote for them. If they decide to back off those positions, they are going to be seen as inauthentic and lying. And they will lose big.
This is going to be so much fun!
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/DecadalTemp
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181008174322.htm