Here are the contestants again (in brief):
-Senator Cory Booker, New Jersey
-Julian Castro, former Secreatary of Housing an Urban Development
-Bill de Blasio, Mayor of NYC
-Former Congressman John DeLaney, Maryland
-Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii
-Governor Ray Inslee, Washington
-Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
-Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, Texas
-Congressman Tim Ryan, Ohio
-Senator Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
The second round of moderators:
-Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press” and NBC News political director.
-Rachel Maddow, host of “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC.
To set you up properly, please note Round Two focused much more on emotional issues and controversy.
Here it is/was:
Question for Sen. Warren: We’re currently 50 miles from Parkland, FL. Is there a role for the Fed in gun control? Here there was a major microphone problem. Lots of interference from former moderator mics. Cut to commercial. Interesting “We’ll be back soon” screen with date and time and “TV COMMERCIAL BREAK IN PROGRESS.” Looks like what we used to see at the end of the night, back when TV actually went off air. Weird. Interestingly, you can’t find this on YouTube. NBC cut it in the repack online. Ha!!!— Ok, so when Warren gets back to answering, she says she’s done more than 100 town halls, took 1000s of questions about the fed’s role in gun control. Most difficult is what do to do to keep us safe. Kids and teens die every day from guns. It’s a national health emergency. What’s sensible? Universal background checks, a ban on “weapons of war.” Do research, end sense of violence engulfing the kids. Moderators insist she answer the question—She says “Do serious research.” A collector isn’t the same as kid with a gun. Let’s make real change. [Where to start here? Universal background checks are the current standard nationwide. What Warren isn’t saying is “end person-to-person sales.” This is the only way to make every purchase go through a background check. How would she accomplish this? No criticism here, just a NECESSARY follow-up question! “Weapons of war” is an interesting variation on “assault weapons.” Very creative. Also very vague… “Do research?” We’ll wait for details. “End sense of violence.” Does this mean banning violent video games? Making guns illegal close to schools? Fixing potholes? Again, we’ll wait for details]
For Sen. Booker: “You have a buy-back program. How does this work?” Booker says he’s been hearing supposed solutions for awhile. “I hear gun shots every night in my neighborhood. We’re tired of having to teach kids about how to deal with an active shooter in their school. We’ve let the corporate gun lobby frame this debate for too long.” [Mad props for choosing to live in the type of neighborhood he’s trying to fix. Political Beast will leave it at that. Really mad props.]
Sec. Castro’s question: Active shooter drills. Parents afraid to send kids to school. No law changes. Will it get worse, or what will you do? Castro points out he’s a dad of a tenyear-old girl, and the worst thing is thinking your kid will worry about what will happen at school. After 2020, Castro claims he’ll have a Dem prez, House, and Sen, and activists against guns who’ve risen up will see legislative action. He’ll do it, even if it means ending the filibuster rule in the Senate.
—Sen Ryan interjects: Need to do counseling to stop bullied kids from becoming shooters.
To O’Rourke: “You come from a conservative state. What do you say to the guy who likes everything but your gun positions?” The former Congressman says he shares the stories of survivors of school shootings, talks about universal background checks, end of assault weapons and weapons of war. Also pushes “red flag laws,” where if someone poses a threat to themselves or someone else, they’re prevented from buying. Almost everyone agrees when it’s explained clearly, especially when the charge is lead by young people. [Every movement begun by every group of young survivors of school shootings has led to meaningful legislation…but only in states where guns are almost totally banned already. Remains to be seen how much power these young people (who can’t vote yet) really have.]
Sen. Klobuchar: Gun confiscation. Is this a conversation people are ready to have? The Senator says that when it comes to gun control, the test she puts policy to is, “Does this hurt my Uncle Dick in his deer stand?” She doesn’t see these laws doing this. She says we’ve all failed the parents and students that are victims of these gun crimes. If we get bested by these teenagers shaming us into doing something, good. [Klobuchar walks a fine line here. She sets up a reasonable standard, perhaps, with the “Uncle Dick” test, but then immediately embraces gun buy-backs and gun confiscation whole-cloth. This is a dance that’s gonna get tough when the music speeds up moving forward.]
Back to Booker: Do you think you could get the Senate to confirm your Sup Court nominees if they support gun control? “Let me first say, if you need a license to drive a car you should have a license to own a firearm.” He points out that in Connecticut, where licenses are required, there has been a 40% drop in gun crime, and a 15% drop in the suicide rate. Whoever is the Dem candidate needs to be able to win in South Carolina, in Iowa, with a progressive agenda, but not necessarily an aggressive agenda. [Political Beast likes facts, but, unfortunately—no, like unfortunately—the numbers on gun crime and suicides is linked strongly to the opioid problem in New England. We need more statistics to disentangle the two. Creative thinking, though: “progressive, not aggressive.”]
To Mayor De Blasio: “You are used to saying what you want to happen and seeing it happen. What makes you believe Mitch McConnell will let you appoint the justices you want?” De Blasio says he does have a different perspective, and we need to have a better relationship with police. He’s raising a black son in America, and there are too many tragedies between our youth and the police. We need to have a better conversation about gun crime but also about policing. Stop being the party of no and the party of yes, and we can get these justices approved. [Like many of De Blasio’s answers and interjections, there’s a lot of pre-prepared material here, even if it’s not pre-judged for appropriate placement. For instance, dropping his adopted black son into a conversation about Mitch McConnell and Supreme Court nominees may not create an instant connection in the minds of voters.]
A gem for Senator Warren: “Do you have a plan to deal with Mitch McConnell?” [Can we take our turn at interjecting here, please? Just this once? Since when does the Majority Leader of the United States Senate himself get transformed into a problem to be solved in a question during a Presidential debate?!? Can you imagine someone asking a Republican candidate for Senate in 2018, “Do you have a plan to deal with Barack Obama?” We call B.S.] Back to Warren’s answer: She says the will of the people is supposed to matter in this country. Our middle class has been ignored recently. Those with armies of lobbyists and lawyers get stuff done. Short of a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, Dems will have to lead from the White House. “We have to push from the outside, give leadership from the inside, and make Congress reflect the will of the people.” [Ok, this is clear enough: First of all, the question makes clear that Mitch McConnell has gone from being the respectable Majority Leader of the Senate to being merely a disreputable problem to be solved by the Dems, and, secondly, the answer is Democrat rule of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Easy enough!]
Same line of questioning for DeLaney: You seem to think you can get things done in a bipartisan way. What makes you think McConnell will do this? DeLaney is willing to pass laws with one party if he has to, but we need real solutions, not impossible promises, and that’s the key to getting it done across the aisle. Working together has a long tradition in this country. People in Western Maryland tell him all the time, Dems and Republicans each get nothing done. [Hard to argue with this line of reasoning. It’s factually true less legislation has been passed since 2008 than in any 10-year period since the Civil War.]
Back to Booker (notice Maddow and Todd pitching repeatedly to their favorite here): How do you get bills on the floor with McConnell? “When I got to the Senate as a African American man, I knew from the beginning that criminal justice was a real problem. People told me we could not get comprehensive reform done.” He says “First Steps” is not perfect, but it’s a start. [Although his answer is somewhat convoluted, it is true that, along with Senator Klobuchar and President Trump (and Kanye West), Booker got some real work done with First Step.]
Governor Inslee finally gets a question: You have staked your candidacy on climate change. You’ve said it’s priorities 1-3 of your campaign. Does your plan save Miami from sea rise? “Yes, first by taking away Mitch McConnell’s gavel (nice touch).” We’re in a climate crisis, and this is the last chance, in this next administration, to do something about it. Inslee‘s WA plan has been called the gold standard in putting people back to work, with green energy jobs. He’s the only one that’s saying this has got to be the mobilizing principle of our nation. [Nothing about Inslee’s plan has been put through a cost analysis, and yes, here Political Beast will fail to fulfill your hopes for one. Let’s see who’s first to tackle that, then we’ll see how serious Inslee is as a threat.]
Back to Texan O’Rourke: You want big changes in a short time. What’s your message to those who supports the overall goal, but don’t like government telling them what to do? O’Rourke’s answer? Gotta bring everyone in to the conversation. He describes a town he was in recently (Pacific Junction) that hadn’t flooded before, now surrounded by three other towns that had flooded, and was “already underwater from Trump’s tariffs.”[Oooooh, nice alliteration.] We have to capture more carbon out of the air, pay farmers to clean the environment. [Political Beast is not even gonna touch this; these ideas are so amorphous.]
Castro’s turn: Who pays for the mitigation on climate change, whether sea walls or not? Is this a federal government issue, or should the government be involved at all in places where people should just move? Castro says: That’s not a meaningful part of the issue. He’s been working in Puerto Rico with HUD, trying to deal with natural disasters in a sustainable way, not blaming those who live on the coasts. [Man, we mean, what do you say when you’re asked, “Will you expect 50 million people nationwide to just abandon their cities and leave the coast?” If the warnings are real, though, that’s the reality. Can’t blame Castro for dodging, though.]
We finally get around to Congressman Ryan: There are lots of plans include taxing carbon. WA state tried it, it failed at the polls. How do we pay for climate change improvement? —Ryan pivots here, and it isn’t popular. Pay attention— “We could talk about climate, guns, or any issue, but Dems have a perception problem. Not connecting to mainstream people. We’ve got to change the center of gravity from elitist and coastalist to mainstream, working class —not getting any applause here—or we won’t win.” [Much respect to a candidate who uses his rare opportunity to speak to try and poke his party toward success, however much they dislike it.]
Tulsi Gabbard and a change of direction: Why should voters who care about LGBT issues trust you, when you’ve changed your views in the past? The Congresswoman says no one should tell anyone who they should love or marry. She serves on the equality caucus. She grew up in a conservative home, held views she no longer holds. She’s served with LGBT soldiers, and she would give her life for them and vice versa. We need to address discrimination in housing and civil rights. [Nothing weird or worrisome here. People’s positions change. Obama’s did, and he’s the most popular non-assassinated ex-prez since Teddy Roosevelt.]
—Booker interjects: We don’t talk enough about trans rates of murder or LGBT kids not going to school because they’re scared.
For Klobuchar, a Poly Sci query: Issue of demographics and civil rights. Dems have always counted on black and LGBT support, now they’re counting on Hispanics. What have you done for civil rights? First, we have to make sure the STEM jobs are going to minorities. Senator Klobuchar helped pass the bill Trump signed helping fix this. A black woman in New Orleans has her baby die when she goes to a hospital with swollen hands, and black women make $0.51 for every dollar a white man makes. [The numbers are correct on pay discrepancy, not clear on what the woman in New Orleans has to do with civil rights. Not being calloused toward loss of life, just making note of a really odd pivot.]
Castro: You’re Hispanic. Is that enough to make you relevant? [He gives examples of many minorities abused. Says it’s not just about Hispanics. Who has the balls to ask this question on national television, phrased just this way?!]
—Question from audience: “Do we have an obligation to help those around the world whose safety do not affect Americans directly?”
O’Rourke: “Yes, but only in consultation with our allies. Unfortunately, under this administration, Trump has alienated our allies and diminished our position in the world. As president, I’ll make sure we strengthen our allegiances.”
DeBlasio interjects: “What about the War Powers Act? We’ve learned painful lessons about ourselves as Americans. We’ve gone to war without Congressional authorization. My dad served in the Pacific with physical and emotional scars, ultimately took his own life. Even in a humanitarian crisis, we shouldn’t go to war without Congressional approval. We learned this in Vietnam, but we’ve forgotten.”
To Tim Ryan: Why isn’t the war in Afghanistan over? How would you get us out? Answer: He’s been in Congress on the Armed Services Committee for 12 years. Nobody likes it, but you have to stay engaged in these places. Trump doesn’t even have people in place to deal with situations around the world. These flare-ups like a drone getting shot down cost us and take away money we could us in communities around the country. [Again, telling the audience what they don’t want to hear. Stupid? Smart? Braindead? Brave?]
—Gabbard interjects: “So, that’s what you say to soldiers’ families? You just have to stay engaged? We are no better in Afghanistan now than we were when we began.” [We’ll treat this as hyperbole, not as a real claim.]
Ryan: “I don’t want to be engaged here either, but the reality is if we don’t stay, the Taliban will grow.” Gabbard says we won’t squash this Taliban who was there before us and will be there after us. Taliban didn’t attack us on 9/11. Ryan insists the Taliban was protecting those who did attack us. If you think we should withdraw from the world, you’re agreeing with Trump. [Valid positions, both.]
—Open question: Greatest geopolitical threat to the U.S.—
DeLaney: China, greatest threat nuclear weapons
Inslee: Donald Trump
Gabbard: Fact that we’re at a greater threat of nuclear war than ever in our history
Klobuchar: China and Iran
O’Rourke Climate change
Warren: Climate change
Booker: Nuclear war and climate change
Castro: China and climate change
Ryan: China
De Blasio: Russia
O’Rourke: As president, how would you address Trump’s potential crimes? O’Rourke goes way back and points out that Washington resigning his commission is a great precedent. Not pursuing Trump will set a precedent that some people are above the law. We start impeachment now. If we don’t now, O’Rourke says he will pursue these facts with the DOJ. [Amazing that NBC would allow their moderators to ask questions about impeachment, potentially after Mueller AND CONGRESS will have cleared President Trump.]
DeLaney: No U.S. president has ever been pursued after office. Can it happen? “No one is above the law. I support Speaker Pelosi, and she knows more than any of us. This president is lawless and shouldn’t be above the law. This isn’t the number one issue the voters ask us about. Drug prices, jobs, infrastructure. Only 50 counties got 90% of the startup money last year. There are 3000 counties. No one asks about the Mueller Report.” [Well put.]
—Klobuchar interjects: “If we don’t pursue him, we’re letting Russia and the Republicans run our elections.”
—————CLOSING ARGUMENTS—————
DeLaney: Together we are on a mission to find the America that’s lost through inaction. We created the America n dream for lots like me, son of an immigrant. We did this with real solutions, not impossible promises. I’m running to solve the problems. If infrastructure, comprehensive health care and immigration and jobs or local towns.
De Blasio: It matters in this fight for the heart and soul of our country. It matters that you nominate someone who’s seen the face of poverty and given people a $15 minimum wage. Saw the destruction wrought by bad health care and gave universal health care and Pre-K for free. I’ve done this in NY and want to do it for America. Putting working people first matters.
Inslee: We have three grandchildren, I made a decision that on my last day on earth, I want to be able to look them in the eye and tell them I did everything I did to protect them from the ravages of climate change. I’m the only one to make it the top priority. If you join me, we Chan have a unified national message, save our children and the life on this planet. This is our moment.
Ryan: There’s nothing worse than not being heard or seen. I know, because I represent a forgotten community. They try to divide us between black or gay or male. I come from the middle o industrial America, but there are forgotten people all across America, homeless in LA or a nurse in New Hampshire. When I walk in the Oval Office every morning, you will not be forgotten
Gabbard: Our nation was founded on service above self. Putting in place a government that serves the people, not puts stuff on the backs of people, to the service of the rich and powerful. Our White House will be a beacon of light, where people eat free health care, good jobs, Anne’s green economy and clean air.
Castro: Spanish [to thundering applause]: I know the promise of America. I will work hard every day for your education, health, and jobs. We’ll say adios to Donald Trump
Klobuchar: Three things. I listen and I get things done. Second, I can win and beat Donald Trump. I’ve won in the reddest districts, and third, I am not the establishment candidate. Don’t come from money, don’t have a machine.
Booker: Fifty years ago this month we moved into a neighborhood because whites fought for us to be allowed to buy a house. We do best when we work together. I’ll call us to a common purpose. This is a referendum on who we are. What we need and deserve is to be shown the best of us.
O’Rourke: I’m on the stage for those that are sleeping under aluminum tents tonight. Climate activists, students, we will bring all of them in and that’s how we beat Donald Trump. This is our moment.
Warren: Great honor to be here. Born and raised in Oklahoma. By the time I graduated high school, we had no money, so I couldn’t be a teacher, but I got a $50 a semester scholarship to a Community College. That little bit of government helped me. That’s what it’s for, and that’s what I want to do with our government, to bring us together and serve everyone.
