Hi, I am Brandon Brooks and this is Demos Negash, welcome back to The New Voice’s politics chat. In this debate is frontrunner former Vice President Joe Biden, along with high major candidates Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Kamala Harris, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg. The rest of the candidates are Beto O’Rourke, Senator Corey Booker, Andrew Yang, Julián Castro, and Amy Klobuchar.

Demos: Castro had a pretty interesting start. I like how he embraced the people of Texas and made sure to acknowledge that. He realizes that campaigning on beating Trump is simply inefficient. That will not unite the Democratic party.

Brandon: I think you can define each candidate by their opening lines. With Castro, you have a vision that inspires a life without Trump. With Kloboucher you have quick wit but little substance on policy. With O’Rourke you have about his ties to Texas and his views on gun control. And with Booker, you have his background in New Jersey and a path to bipartisanship. With Yang, you have the background of the outside candidates and the freedom dividend. All of these candidates are trying to make their appeal early as these are the candidates struggling to qualify for the next and are hanging on by a thread by barely getting by to this debate.

Demos: I don’t know how I feel about candidates talking about certain issues during their opening speech like Beto just did. Though, it could possibly excite single-issue voters. With Yang, you really see him encompassing this in favor of the freedom dividend throughout America. I really need to see something from Yang tonight if he wants to get to the next debate. By giving multiple families 1K a month, he might see some headlines in the news.

Brandon: We have the first blip of the debate already with Mayor Pete starting slow. His campaign seems hellbent on focusing on the positives. He talks about the common valence issues (that also have little substance) such as bringing class and dignity to the White House. Pete might look to try and appeal to those moderate voters that Biden and to an extent Harris relies heavily upon. Harris, on the other hand, wants to just focus on just the anti-Trump rhetoric.

Demos: So far, I would say Bernie Sanders’ opening has been the best. His voice is a little off, however, the same message he has been sending has been working. Warren’s numbers have been catching up to his, so Bernie is going to need to show out tonight if he wants to keep ahead, especially in the progressive vote.

RCP Poll Average 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination

Brandon: I think what Warren is trying to do is to build a life together with that name recognition. Warren along with Biden and Sanders have the greatest recognition but mostly they don’t know anything about her. Starting out with her life story than using that to transition to her policy ideas is a good move in my opinion.

Demos: This is the first time I have seen Joe Biden go on the offense during these debates. No matter what you agree with, it was somewhat effective for the first time. A huge push for the centrists vs progressive Democrats during these debates has been the question of how do the progressives afford their system.

Brandon: After the third debate, it’s getting tiring to hear Joe Biden carry the mantle of Obama. At this point, he should just change his name to Barack Obama. He seems to be in the mindset that the problems will go away after Trump and wants to continue for a third term. It has given him the lead in the polls so far but its persistent use may have diminishing returns come Iowa and New Hampshire.

Demos: Bernie’s response utilized some effective methods to refute Biden’s claim about his healthcare plan. Bernie had tackled the cost issue, however, his rhetoric (which has been something Bernie is good at) was lacking. The back and forth between Bernie and Biden has been very interesting. I support the fair goal of these debates, however seeing more direct clash between candidates would be nice.

Brandon: This debate shows the themes of the prior two debates. The top dogs have been dominating the time, and with the three (Bernie, Biden, and Warren) coming at each other in a cutthroat matter. The other candidates have had little time besides their introductions. I don’t even remember half of what each of the candidates has said. This may be the first time Kloboucher has spoken in around 15 minutes.

Demos: I already like the healthcare debate from this debate. There is a ton of clash, and many people from all sides of it on the left giving their opinions on different options. I think Bernie ending the debate on healthcare was a good choice, considering he is probably the leader of Medicare for All.

Brandon: If I had a nickel for every time Harris wanted to focus on Trump instead of the policy at hand I’d be rich. Although she had a strong jump in the polls post the first debate her all-out focus on Trump instead of the actual policies may show why her numbers keep slipping to around 4th or 5th place.

Demos: Kamala Harris just kinda ruined that clash. It makes no sense why she shifted the debate from healthcare plans in the Democratic party to Trump. The party does not want to hear about Trump’s side of it because they already don’t agree with it. I want to hear clash from those with different opinions inside than hers. For voters, the issues are most likely whether or not they want to pick right or left, and how far on the left.

Brandon: This was a great clash on healthcare. Everyone somehow managed to disagree with one another and somehow managed to make great points. The only loser out of this would be Kamala Harris with her tirade and Biden has been attacked by at least three of the candidates. Julian Castro’s line of taking the mantle of Obama from Biden is one of the highlights of the night.

Demos: I already love the big moments from this debate. Castro and Biden are going at it. Bernie and Biden went at it. It seems that Biden is clashing with everybody.

It’s clear what was said.



Biden: “If you want Medicare, if you lose the job from your insurance—from your employer, you automatically can buy into this.”



I don’t think anyone should have to buy in to health coverage.



pic.twitter.com/lN56qaTL3y — Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) September 13, 2019

Brandon: I think Castro knows that this is a do or die debate here. I wish I would’ve seen this killer mentality sooner in the debates. His remarks are shutting his opponents down. His diss on Biden and his quick rebuttal on Pete trying not to upset someone was golden. I expect to see Castro’s number bump up to around 6th place or even maybe the 4th in the polls.

Demos: It seems everything I’m wanting to see in this debate is really happening. This is a debate where many need to make a name for themselves if they want to continue to stay competitive.

Brandon: Beto and Julian Castro are hitting hard on the idea of structural racism in America with major reform to stop issues such as racial wealth inequality and police brutality. This might make Biden’s plan uncomfortable as his view is more of a return to the status quo of 2016.

Demos: It is interesting to see where different Democratic candidates stand on this issue. They all relatively stand around the same side of the issue, but the key difference is the policy they want to enact to approach the goal.

Brandon: Harris is looking dumbfounded at this debate. Getting grilled by the moderators on her history and by the candidates alike. She is very much on the defensive about her past as a prosecutor and Attorney General of California.

Demos: When it comes to an issue like this, the actual policy that the candidates propose is very important. Exposing the bills that these candidates have are very important.

Brandon: Kloboucher is getting grilled as well as her record as her attorney in Hennepin County. She deflected the question totally when asked about racial injustice and police brutality by talking about issues with more support such as catching rogue killers or releasing non-violent offenders instead of the issues at hand.

Brandon: Despite all of the attacks between each other, one of the highlights of the debate was the praise of Beto’s handling of the El Paso. I expect him to jump up as well due to his handling of gun control and his direct approach tonight. It seems that the debate taking place in Texas gave both Castro and Beto a mamba-like instinct in the debate.

Demos: It is unnecessary, but the way that candidates like Biden keep playing around the notion that they need to uphold what Obama has done is probably needed for candidates like him. Much of his base comes from areas that Obama was heavily popular.

Brandon: Biden is really pushing back on anti-Obama sentiment, even denying any connection with the 3 million deportations that Obama had during his presidency. He refuses to acknowledge the past actions and just wants to focus on the ideas of now without looking at contradictions with his whole history. Julian Castro is really coming for Biden by grilling Biden’s taking of credit of Obama’s good work without acknowledging the bad work.

Demos: When it comes to immigration, we have already seen good debate it in immigration At this point, the parts that really catch my ear are soundbites or rhetoric they use to attract to the American people.

Brandon: Since these are the actual contending candidates, it’s a good chance to hear all different ideas to distinguish themselves from another instead of the debate ending almost immediately due to the very weak candidates just agreeing with the top dogs.

Demos: It kind of furthers the notion that the current debate system is really inefficient. Through this debate, there has been more clash and debate about the actual policy, which is really what the American people need to hear. Now that the candidates that most people would actually consider voting for are in one debate, I expect the ratings for this debate to be much higher than those of the last two.

Brandon: One of the more boring parts of the debate is about trade and the economy. Most of the Democrats simply agree that we need to take on China and take a stand as one of the dominant powers on earth. If you asked me which of the candidates said exactly that it would be a shot in the dark to guess who it was.

Demos: The foreign policy debates are usually the most interesting topics for me during these debates, but I think it might get old soon. There is no reason for them to keep talking about what we have done wrong in the past for all of the foreign policy debate, but how they plan on going forward when it comes to it. The discussion for the War on Iraq should be much greater than talking about who voted in favor or against it. I think it would be very interesting to have an in-depth discussion about our relations with different countries around the world, especially in the Middle East, such as Iran and Israel. It would provide some really interesting discussion, especially with some of the progressive votes with candidates such as Elizabeth Warren. I would like to see Tulsi Gabbard possibly be on stage for that debate, considering one of her biggest platforms has to do with the military-industrial complex.

Brandon: After this, let’s grade all of the candidates.

Demos: It might be a little hard to really pick a clear winner from tonight. There were the “actual winners” and “winners”. First, the candidate that I expect to see out of the debates by the next Democratic debate is Amy Klobuchar. She really had no huge impact on the debate, with the exception of making a reference to Bernie’s Medicare for All bill. With this lineup, if you are hanging on the edge, then you better believe that you need to come out and do great to stand a chance. That’s something that I did not see from Kloboucher, so she gets an F. As for Joe Biden, I would give him a C. I believe that with all the attacks toward him it’s going to be hard for him to really score something higher. He did go on the offense tonight, which was a nice change of approach. I would also give a C to Pete Buttigieg. He usually does fine when it comes to the debates, and I certainly do not see him drastically falling in the polls after today, however, he really needs to focus on policy in these debates. The “philosophical” approach he keeps talking about in the media will not really boost him in the polls. If he kept that mindset and backed that up with his progressive platform, then I would expect him to boost in the polls. I would give a B to Sanders, Yang, Beto, Booker, and Warren. I got what I wanted to see out of all of them, nothing more and nothing less. That is probably the best I have seen Beto and Yang in these debates, although I would appreciate it more to see them clash with other candidates, especially Yang. The big winner of the debate for me was Julian Castro. His responses were very good, yet it was his clash with Joe Biden that surprised me. He realizes that Joe Biden is running more under the umbrella of Obama rather than his own ideas, so during the debate he came out and attacked him for it (and was even able to catch him contradicting himself). I would easily give him an A.

Brandon: The candidate with the standout night was Julian Castro. He was involved in the debate and was the one landing the sharp jabs to everyone, A+. Beto was also able to stay alive in the debate was the only one praised by almost everyone for his handling of El Paso, A. Sanders stood his ground with his policies and at times dictated the debate. Booker and Warren both had good nights, but didn’t do as much to standout as in past debates, B. Andrew Yang also did a good job contrasting himself from no-shows in previous debates and making himself heard, B-. Joe Biden had some good jabs and points but was also contradicting himself too much and seeming out of place too often, C-. Kamala didn’t stick out in the debate, often adding nothing positive in the debate with tirades instead of policy discussions, D+. Klobuchar was the least known of the candidates and made it known why she is least likely to make it to the primaries, by making quips and anecdotes instead of actual policy she gets an F. For Mayor Pete he gets an incomplete by being somewhat of a no-show. Even the other candidates got time to shine despite the top three dominating, all except Pete.



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