In case you had better things to do last night than watch the latest Democratic debate, which was held in Columbus, Ohio, here are some lowlights of what you missed.
To start on a minor but telling note, the U.S. flag was once again nowhere to be seen. Onward and downward.
The overarching theme at last night’s battle of the wits was “Get Elizabeth Warren.” As Politico notes:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
The candidate who brags about having a plan for everything was pilloried for not detailing how she would pay for her most expensive proposal. She was accused — sometimes subtly, sometimes explicitly — of being naive, dishonest, not adequately respecting her colleagues’ ideas, tearing people down, and failing to enact major legislation. She was attacked for believing in policies that were “punitive” and a theory of governing that was a “pipe dream.”
To Warren’s credit, she kept her powder dry. To her discredit, she failed to answer any of the more trenchant questions her opponents fired at her, which bodes ill for her should she be required to defend her agenda in a general election.
Warren wasn’t the only candidate who couldn’t — or wouldn’t — answer a direct question posed to her. Another, unsurprisingly, was Joe Biden. The following question, asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, was gift-wrapped as much as Anderson was able, prefaced by the claim that Donald Trump’s accusation of corruption on Biden’s and his son’s part was “false.” Then came the question:
You said if you’re president, no one in your family will work for foreign companies. If it’ll be inappropriate when you’re president, why was it appropriate when you were VP?
It’s hard to imagine Biden’s handlers didn’t anticipate this question and script a carefully worded response. Instead, all Biden could come up with was “Impeach Donald Trump.” Watch:
CNN’s Anderson Cooper runs interference for the Democrats, claims that Trump “falsely” accused Biden of corruption
Biden responds by lying, falsely claims that he never talk to his son about business. Even his son said that he did. pic.twitter.com/jxeVoHTSIU
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 16, 2019
One candidate who had no trouble answering tough questions was Beto O’Rourke, who has made an art form of destroying his own candidacy with “brutally frank” answers. Watch this interaction, again involving Cooper, on the subject of gun confiscation, which has become a central focus of O’Rourke’s campaign.
?BETO: 'I WILL HAVE MILITARY TAKE YOUR GUNS'?
Beto says there will be "consequences" from "law enforcement" if you do not turn in your legally-owned AR-15/AK-47.
This is a violation of 2nd, 4th & 10th Amendments
Beto believes gun owners are terrorists.
RT to prove him wrong pic.twitter.com/c5YF2ajRpZ
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) October 16, 2019
