Left Behind in Las Vegas- the Democrats’ Debate that Wasn’t

Left Behind in Las Vegas- the Democrats’ Debate that Wasn’t

There’s an old adage that is often said about gambling in Las Vegas: “At the end of the day, ‘the house’ always wins”, which means that while a few can leave the casino wealthier, it is the casino, itself, which comes out ahead…

Last night, at the Democrats’ first debate, it was indeed “the house” that won- “the house” being the debate that was managed by DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, CNN Anchor and Clinton Global Initiative Member/Contributor (not kidding) Anderson Cooper, and the candidate herself, Hillary Clinton.

So managed and coordinated was this debate, it seemed that the four candidates supposedly opposing Hillary Clinton- Lincoln Chafee, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders and Jim Webb- were under direct orders from “the house” not to lay a single, solitary glove on Hillary Clinton. The presumption that the Democrats are engaged in a contest for the presidential nomination is actually a farce, which was exposed for all the world (who bothered to watch) to see, once and for all.

While Hillary was able to land some punches on her would-be opponents, it was blatantly obvious that there was not a single challenge to anything she said, nor any position (in many cases, opposite from one another) she has ever taken in the past, by any of the other four so-called contestants. Never was this more obvious when none other than Bernie Sanders, the self-described socialist running for the Democrat nomination, and who actually leads Clinton in New Hampshire, came to Hillary’s defense concerning her e-mail scandals, when he said “…America is sick of hearing about your damned e-mails…” with Hillary nodding and smiling in agreement, even before Sanders had even finished his sentence, suggesting that this moment had been rehearsed and scripted, prior to the debate.

As predicted, the entire debate came down to three themes:

 

  1. The debate was engineered by CNN and the other four candidates to make Hillary look good;
  2. The debate was moderated by CNN far differently than the way this network moderated the Republican debate, as the questions in last night’s debate were issue-oriented as opposed to the questioning in the Republican debate, which were designed to encourage the Republicans to attack each other, instead;
  3.  The debate was engineered to give Hillary the lion’s share of focus that night, and all in a scripted theme of party unity- unity behind Hillary, and unity in the absolute avoidance of criticism against her and Barack Obama, as well.

 

Jim Webb, the “lone adult” on the stage was repeatedly cut off from answering the few questions directed at him. No wonder. He is the type of Democrat that harkens back to the days of Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy- anti-Communists who advocated a strong military and a robust international presence- the type of Democrat who hasn’t run for president in a half century. Alone in his recognition of the greatest threats to American security, it was obvious that Senator Webb is well outside the mainstream of today’s Democrat Party- a party whose distinction from socialism is almost invisible.

Martin O’Malley, the feckless, albeit loquacious speechmaker whose biggest credentials are his steadfast opposition to gun ownership, got into a brief dust-up with Sanders on that issue, based on an odd separation of rural (Sanders) versus urban (O’Malley) views toward gun ownership. What was obvious were his adoring glances towards Hillary, and her calculating (“hmmm… he would make an excellent ambassador to Ireland…”) eyes appraising him as a supportive member of her team.

Lincoln Chafee was the clownish presence on the stage, whose biggest accomplishment, as he stated three times, was avoidance of scandal during the terms of office he has held (it’s easy to avoid scandal when you accomplish absolutely nothing). The biggest laugh he provided was when he blamed one of his votes in the senate on his new arrival immediately following his father’s death. Now there’s a man we can all believe in, right?

Bernie Sanders came across as an angry revolutionary in the style of the old communist radical, even advocating “revolution” on three separate occasions. His themes- “the rich are evil”, “the corporations are evil”, “the banks are evil”, “Wall Street is evil” were all joined  together in his plan to take all of that wealth, and use it to pay for universal health care, prescriptions and college tuition for all, including illegal immigrants- advocating a complete socialist transformation of the United States away from the very thing that made it the economic powerhouse of the free world. Yet, when it came down to Comrade Bernie’s opportunity to knock Hillary out of the ring, by going after her on the e-mail scandals, he caved…. Not only was he a conscientious objector during Viet Nam, he was a conscientious objector to attacking the Democrat front-runner, as well.

For Hillary, it was her chance to shine amongst the lessers surrounding her, and throughout the night she glowed in the admiration bestowed upon her, as though she were saying, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall…” When pressed by Cooper on the e-mails, she ended the questioning with a oh-so-prepared and scripted, “I want to talk about the issues and what the Republicans are doing to this country” fulfilling expectations that the entire evening was designed to make the Republicans look like monsters: “The Republican War on Women”, “The Republican War on Immigrants”, “The Republican War on Religious and Racial Minorities” and her own admission that she is the “outsider” by virtue of her sex, and that it is she who is best qualified to bring change to Washington because, at the end of the day, she is a woman…

On a question as to whether “Black Lives Matter” or “All Lives Matter”, each of these candidates opted for the former, going out of their way, as if to say, “Black lives matter more, and here’s why…” Ahh…there’s nothing like the race card being played by five elderly white politicians, against a Republican field which includes one African-American, two Hispanics and a woman, to boot.

What also became quite clear, during the debate, is that none of these candidates would make any changes to Obama’s failed foreign policy if ultimately elected, which should provide a “wake-up” call to anyone who has grown skeptical of Obama’s “leadership from behind”. In fact, save for Webb, the candidates were in unison when they indicated that they would pursue a foreign policy that not only embraces Obama’s foreign policy, but goes far beyond it.

It is also oft-stated that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” but sadly, for the American people, this will not be the case regarding last night’s debate- regardless of whether or not Vice President Joe Biden decides to “ante in”….

-Drew Nickell, 14 October 2015

© 2015 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.