Democrats defend policies to reshape U.S. economy as first debate gets under way

[rooster59]

Democrats defend policies to reshape U.S. economy as first debate gets under way

By James Oliphant

 

U.S. Senator Cory Booker and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke listen as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks at the first U.S. 2020 presidential election Democratic candidates debate in Miami, Florida, U.S., June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

 

MIAMI (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contenders defended their ambitious plans to reshape the U.S. economy in the opening minutes of their first debate on Wednesday, saying Republican President Donald Trump's policies benefited the wealthy at the expense of working Americans.

 

In the first of two back-to-back debates featuring 10 candidates each night, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren promised to promote policies that would level the playing field for workers and the middle class.

 

"I want to return government to the people," said Warren, who vowed to break up tech companies and corporate monopolies. "It has been far too long that the monopolies have been making the campaign donations, have been funding the super PACS."

 

The first debate could be a make-or-break moment for some of the contenders struggling to be noticed in a crowded Democratic field of more than 20 candidates battling for the right to face Trump in the 2020 election.

 

All 10 participants in the first encounter had an opportunity to step out of the shadow cast by front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who are scheduled to take the stage on Thursday night.

 

Warren, gaining strength in opinion polls, was the headliner on the opening night. She was joined onstage by nine other candidates, including U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar and former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke.

 

Booker, Klobuchar and O’Rourke have had their moments during the first few months of the race, but they have not broken through yet to mount a serious challenge to the top contenders.

 

Former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, former congressman John Delaney, U.S.

Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee and U.S. Representative Tim Ryan also were on the stage. They all fall below 1% nationally in opinion polls and will be looking mainly to live to fight another day.

 

Trump hinted he would not tweet his reactions live during the first debate, which is taking place as he flies aboard Air Force One to Osaka, Japan, for a G20 summit.

 

About 45 minutes before the debate began, Trump urged his followers on Twitter to catch the campaign's response at several other social media accounts. "Sorry, I'm on Air Force One, off to save the Free World!" he said.

 

(Reporting by James Oliphant, Ginger Gibson and Letitia Stein in Miami; Writing by John Whitesides in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-27

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[lannarebirth]

This is the weakest of the two debates with only one front runner in the group; Warren. It was her's tolose and she held her own. I score it Warren, with Gabbard, Booker, Klobuchar, and maybe Castro being the also rans. The rest of this field can go away as far as I'm concerned.

[darksidedog]

An inflammatory post and a reply have been removed.

[lannarebirth]

47 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

This is the weakest of the two debates with only one front runner in the group; Warren. It was her's tolose and she held her own. I score it Warren, with Gabbard, Booker, Klobuchar, and maybe Castro being the also rans. The rest of this field can go away as far as I'm concerned.

 

I also think that whichever political handlers told their candidates to speak Spanish didn't do their candidate any favors.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I also think that whichever political handlers told their candidates to speak Spanish didn't do their candidate any favors.

Please explain why you think that?

[Jingthing]

Klobuchar inched back into the race with her performance. I still think she's the democrat's best chance of winning the presidency in a landslide, keeping the house, and flipping the senate. If the democrats don't win and win BIG then all these promises about free college and Medicare for all are vaporware anyway. What's wrong with GETTING REAL? 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Klobuchar inched back into the race with her performance. I still think she's the democrat's best chance of winning the presidency in a landslide, keep the house, and flip the senate.

 

I like Klobuchar, she’s extremely bright, articulate and, to my mind, right on so many issues, but I don’t yet see her as the candidate.

 

Warren’s platform of proposals is to my mind solid and substantially addresses the economic and power imbalances that plague the nation.

 

But I want to hear more from other candidates and I want to see who’s willing and able to distil the best policies from across all candidates into a single platform.

 

I’m very much looking forward to hearing Buttigieg speak.

[lannarebirth]

23 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Klobuchar inched back into the race with her performance. I still think she's the democrat's best chance of winning the presidency in a landslide, keeping the house, and flipping the senate. If the democrats don't win and win BIG then all these promises about free college and Medicare for all are vaporware anyway. What's wrong with GETTING REAL? 

 

 

It's primary season and everything anyone says is going to get walked back to a certain extent if they become THE candidate. Warren's not going to make it if she sticks to her "breaking up the Electoral College" policy, which of course she can'tdeliver on anyway.

 

Tomorrow's the big night. Hopefully Bernie won't try to out progressive the most progreesive candidate. I like Yang as a dark horse. He's clearly the brightest and highest character candidate in the field. Though I've mixed feelings about his UBI proposal he's correct about the need for a VAT.

[Jingthing]

28 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I like Klobuchar, she’s extremely bright, articulate and, to my mind, right on so many issues, but I don’t yet see her as the candidate.

 

Warren’s platform of proposals is to my mind solid and substantially addresses the economic and power imbalances that plague the nation.

 

But I want to hear more from other candidates and I want to see who’s willing and able to distil the best policies from across all candidates into a single platform.

 

I’m very much looking forward to hearing Buttigieg speak.

Yes she hasn't broken through and probably never will. However, she definitely kept her candidacy alive and more in this debate. I see her as a more moderate lane choice waiting in the wings IF Biden fades badly. I think there is a decent chance that will indeed happen. Usually early front runners don't get nominated and also it may not be PC but Biden is old and that's not the problem per se but I do see signs in his performance that he's not at the top of his game and that appears to be age related. 

[BobBKK]

I don't see one great candidate. The Dems are all over the place when beating Trump 'should be' easy. Warren would never survive the scrutiny on her false 'heritage' claims that got her a leg up in her previous career. Biden?  he's a dinosaur but probably the best bet as people like boring safety. 'I am Spartacus Booker'?  Nah

[lannarebirth]

The "post game analysis" says the candidates didn't go after Trump enough. I disagree with that as this is the primary season and they ought to be going after each other first and then the final few should turn their focus to how they would knock out Trump. Biden of course only talks about Trump because he's got absolutely nothing to answer with against the other Democrats in the field.

[bristolboy]

31 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

I don't see one great candidate. The Dems are all over the place when beating Trump 'should be' easy. Warren would never survive the scrutiny on her false 'heritage' claims that got her a leg up in her previous career. Biden?  he's a dinosaur but probably the best bet as people like boring safety. 'I am Spartacus Booker'?  Nah

I see the lies are still circulating about Warren's claim helping her career. 0 evidence for that.

[bristolboy]

54 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

 

It's primary season and everything anyone says is going to get walked back to a certain extent if they become THE candidate. Warren's not going to make it if she sticks to her "breaking up the Electoral College" policy, which of course she can'tdeliver on anyway.

 

 

Really?

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/27/poll-popular-vote-electoral-college-1238346

 

[lannarebirth]

4 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Really?

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/27/poll-popular-vote-electoral-college-1238346

 

 

I'm not willing to review your 7,687 posts (under this current alias) but I'd be willing to wager that not 1 in a 100 is something you have posted as opposed to something you have posted about something someone else has posted. Come on! You're not stupid. Come up with some original material !

 

 

 

 

 

[bristolboy]

9 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I'm not willing to review your 7,687 posts (under this current alias) but I'd be willing to wager that not 1 in a 100 is something you have posted as opposed to something you have posted about something someone else has posted. Come on! You're not stupid. Come up with some original material !

 

 

 

 

 

If being original means being a fantasist, as is the case with some, I'll stick to being unoriginal.

[lannarebirth]

Just now, bristolboy said:

If being original means being a fantasist, as is the case with some, I'll stick to being unoriginal.

No, being original means making a comment or statement that stands on its own, rather than a critique of what someone else has said. If you're married, I pity your wife.

[from the home of CC]

 https://www.oddsshark.com/other/2020-usa-presidential-odds-futures

 

wouldn't bet on being saved by this lot..

[BobBKK]

2 hours ago, bristolboy said:

I see the lies are still circulating about Warren's claim helping her career. 0 evidence for that.

What???  US Colleges are pc pro-minorities. She LIED and got advantage. Why else do it? yea I'm .0000000001% red indian because my mom said so lol.

[johnnysunshine]

I think Marianne Williamson is the best by far...though...she may be "ahead of our times."

[mike324]

5 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

It's primary season and everything anyone says is going to get walked back to a certain extent if they become THE candidate. Warren's not going to make it if she sticks to her "breaking up the Electoral College" policy, which of course she can'tdeliver on anyway.

 

Tomorrow's the big night. Hopefully Bernie won't try to out progressive the most progreesive candidate. I like Yang as a dark horse. He's clearly the brightest and highest character candidate in the field. Though I've mixed feelings about his UBI proposal he's correct about the need for a VAT.

Yang is an interesting one to watch for sure. He is certainly the brightest of the bunch. He has good potential and his ideas are feasible, those that make fun of him don't even bother to listen to him but unfortunately America won't be electing an Asian anytime soon.

[bristolboy]

2 hours ago, BobBKK said:

What???  US Colleges are pc pro-minorities. She LIED and got advantage. Why else do it? yea I'm .0000000001% red indian because my mom said so lol.

 

Ethnicity not a factor in Elizabeth Warren’s rise in law

"In the most exhaustive review undertaken of Elizabeth Warren’s professional history, the Globe found clear evidence, in documents and interviews, that her claim to Native American ethnicity was never considered by the Harvard Law faculty, which voted resoundingly to hire her, or by those who hired her to four prior positions at other law schools. At every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman.

The Globe examined hundreds of documents, many of them never before available, and reached out to all 52 of the law professors who are still living and were eligible to be in that Pound Hall room at Harvard Law School."

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/01/did-claiming-native-american-heritage-actually-help-elizabeth-warren-get-ahead-but-complicated/wUZZcrKKEOUv5Spnb7IO0K/story.html

[Jingthing]

Yang is an interesting one to watch for sure. He is certainly the brightest of the bunch. He has good potential and his ideas are feasible, those that make fun of him don't even bother to listen to him but unfortunately America won't be electing an Asian anytime soon.

A novelty candidate and that's all he'll ever be. However the basic income idea is obviously the wave of the future with automation.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Trouble]

It was evident that MSNBC did not give the candidates equal time. Everyone knows what Warren thinks. Would have been nice to hear from the lesser knows. It was honestly a very boring two hours and there was nothing new to be learned from the exercise.  I have to laugh at the question about climate change as not one candidate admitted to the fact that even if the USA went to zero carbon emissions it would not save Miami unless the two biggest polluters, China and India, did something as well and that isn't going to happen. What I found also interesting is the Delaney comment about the hospitals closing if they had to accept payments only at the medicare rate.  That's something I would like to hear more about but we never will because that isn't part of the pie in the sky dreams these candidates are pushing. No one ever asks and no candidate ever tells us how they will pay for all of this. It's no longer a million here and million there, it's trillions. 

[Credo]

12 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I also think that whichever political handlers told their candidates to speak Spanish didn't do their candidate any favors.

I would imagine that it was slightly unsettling for some viewers to hear Spanish being spoken, but to be fair, one of the presenters was from Telemundo, a Spanish speaking network.   He even asked a question in Spanish.   Close to 70% of Miami is of Hispanic origin and speak Spanish and that was where the debates were held.   

I think where things got a little out of hand, is that rather than showcasing their ability, it seemed like a bit of competition got started.   That gets distracting.   It's also notable that Julian Castro, who is the only Latino running only made a small statement in Spanish and he is, of course, fully bilingual!

 

 

[beechguy]

6 hours ago, bristolboy said:

 

Ethnicity not a factor in Elizabeth Warren’s rise in law

"In the most exhaustive review undertaken of Elizabeth Warren’s professional history, the Globe found clear evidence, in documents and interviews, that her claim to Native American ethnicity was never considered by the Harvard Law faculty, which voted resoundingly to hire her, or by those who hired her to four prior positions at other law schools. At every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman.

The Globe examined hundreds of documents, many of them never before available, and reached out to all 52 of the law professors who are still living and were eligible to be in that Pound Hall room at Harvard Law School."

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/01/did-claiming-native-american-heritage-actually-help-elizabeth-warren-get-ahead-but-complicated/wUZZcrKKEOUv5Spnb7IO0K/story.html

But it apparently had something to do with her getting into Harvard, now their prosecuting those, who used influence for similar activities.

[bristolboy]

14 minutes ago, beechguy said:

But it apparently had something to do with her getting into Harvard, now their prosecuting those, who used influence for similar activities.

No, this was about getting a position on the faculty.   And as as the Boston Globe's exhaustive reporting showed, no one in a position to hire her even knew of her claim to be Cherokee. Give it up already. You and BobBKK have got nothing.

[beechguy]

12 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

No, this was about getting a position on the faculty.   And as as the Boston Globe's exhaustive reporting showed, no one in a position to hire her even knew of her claim to be Cherokee. Give it up already. You and BobBKK have got nothing.

Warren, and most of her fellow candidates, are the ones that have nothing, and should give it up.

 

I get solicited for jobs every week, I'm paying a $1.25 less per gallon for fuel, than 3 years ago, better insurance at lower cost, $150-$200 less taken out of my pay check every month, still got a $2000 refund this spring. The list goes on, why would I vote for a Democrat.

[bristolboy]

5 minutes ago, beechguy said:

Warren, and most of her fellow candidates, are the ones that have nothing, and should give it up.

 

I get solicited for jobs every week, I'm paying a $1.25 less per gallon for fuel, than 3 years ago, better insurance at lower cost, $150-$200 less taken out of my pay check every month, still got a $2000 refund this spring. The list goes on, why would I vote for a Democrat.

Your mistake was in choosing one piece of data that could be checked. Actually, oil prices were lower 3 years ago. In fact just a little over 3 years ago they were very low indeed. Unlike you, I don't give Presidents credit for such things.

https://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart

Ordinarily I never believe or disbelieve when a poster makes a personal claim. No way of knowing if it's the truth, But given your form, in your case I'll make an exception.

[blazes]

30 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Your mistake was in choosing one piece of data that could be checked. Actually, oil prices were lower 3 years ago. In fact just a little over 3 years ago they were very low indeed. Unlike you, I don't give Presidents credit for such things.

https://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart

Ordinarily I never believe or disbelieve when a poster makes a personal claim. No way of knowing if it's the truth, But given your form, in your case I'll make an exception.

 

You are offering us the price of a barrel of oil at WTI prices.  Which rarely reflects accurately the ups and downs of the price at the pump.

Anyone who knows the price of a barrel of oil at any one time will also be able to gauge whether he is being ripped off (or not) at the pump as he drives past familiar gas stations in his own town.

[beechguy]

2 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Your mistake was in choosing one piece of data that could be checked. Actually, oil prices were lower 3 years ago. In fact just a little over 3 years ago they were very low indeed. Unlike you, I don't give Presidents credit for such things.

https://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart

Ordinarily I never believe or disbelieve when a poster makes a personal claim. No way of knowing if it's the truth, But given your form, in your case I'll make an exception.

Let me clarify a bit. Your correct, that 3 years should be a 5, late in 2010 through 2014 was when prices were higher. Do I blame Obama for that? No, but it didn't help that he and fellow Democrats were resistant to drilling and pipelines. https://www.gasbuddy.com/Charts

 

Insurance, I have better and less expensive coverage now, than 2016 and before during the Obama years. Still not as good as 2008 and before, but maybe we'll get there. More government isn't the answer.

 

Taxes, improved tax situation now domestically, but all I've heard from Democrats is repealing the tax breaks, nothing about reigning in spending, etc. I'm in the U.S. now for family issues, but spent a number of years OCONUS, and legally paid very little if any Federal Income Tax. If AOC, Warren others have their way, I'll just leave again, screw them.

 

Lies, you bet, and no shortage. Free health care, nope, not going to happen without stealing somebody else's money. Free college tuition? The same.

 

I don't believe all of the government numbers, but at 3.7% Unemployment, 3.1% GDP, Consumer Confidence levels good, something must be going good.

 

So bottom line, what do the Democrats have to offer me, and millions of others, that work for a living? Not a damn thing.