Election 2020: December Debate

Well, not expecting very much, I watched the debate with the off-switch of the Remote Control in my hand.  But, to my surprise, not only did PBS / Politico handle the debate with great zip, verve and style, the candidates said some useful and interesting things that were inspiring and thought-provoking.

But, looking at this firmly from my point of view,--and your mileage may vary, obviously, but we've got to be honest about the lenses through which we view this election--I must make clear what my objectives are.

First, let's make an unordered list (which means that the items are not in order of importance) of matters that I am worried about.

(1) Climate Change / Environment.  This is not the most worrisome thing for me, because I'm old, and I'll probably be past caring when the climate really goes to hell.  But on second thoughts, I probably should care about it, because it is a time-sensitive thing.  But practically, you can't get anywhere because the fossil-fuel (read oil, gas and coal) lobby has such a stranglehold on all businesses and politics, and through them on Congress, the Senate, and the Presidency.

(2) The Financial Well-Being of the Population At Large.  This does not simply mean that I want to have money taken from the very rich and given to the poor, though that would certainly be one option.  The wealth of the very rich is sort of illusory; capitalist economics has made it so.  For instance, if laws are passed making it impossible to burn gasoline, all the holdings of people who have stocks in oil companies will be worth nothing.  But guess what: the very rich have enough power to prevent the poor increasing their power, again through influencing Congress and the Senate, etc.

(3) Social Justice.  Discrimination is not something that the vast majority of us thinks about all the time, but for those who are affected by discrimination, it is right there, front and center.  As never before, we have enacted legislation that promises women, minorities, and those with alternate preferences equal rights and privileges as everybody else, but there is huge hostility towards this process from certain groups, which feel threatened.  Most importantly, there is hostility from uneducated whites, and their lack of education is not only in the areas of the three R's, but in general knowledge about how things work, or should work.  But those in power see advantages in keeping things the way they are.  Some of them are cynical, but others simply notice that ignorant folks are more easily persuaded by the advantages of wild schemes that only consolidate the power of the rich.

(4) As you can see, Money in Politics is a huge problem, and I see this as synonymous with corruption.  (This whole Impeachment story is one of how differently Trump and his handlers view money, from how Congress views money.)  Elections are now so money-driven that a person of modest means could almost never run for elected office, and win.  TV ads are expensive, and the political process is so complicated that TV ads are almost essential.

(5) Health Care.  Yes, this is important.  And I'm beginning to believe that a single-payer scheme is the most logical, provided the bureaucracy that it needs can be kept sane and streamlined, which certainly is a tall order.  (You can just imagine how much lobbying there is to prevent a government takeover of health care!)

(6) Education.  This is a very difficult problem for us to discuss.  How difficult is it going to be to persuade every parent in the US that a broad, intensive education is important, and worth encouraging their children to work for?  The American Way is cutthroat competition: get ahead by showing how much better you are than all the others.  The realities of a difficult life get in the way of kids learning to cooperate and work for a future that's better for everyone.

(7) Gun Legislation.  People are so tired of talking about this that it hardly came up during the debate.  It is not that people are no longer interested.  It is that there is so much agreement that it is a waste of time talking about it with those who agree about it.

So, to summarize, it becomes clear that Corruption and Money in Politics are the most acute problems that face us, because Combating Climate Change and Health Care Reform, and Financial Services Reform, and Gun Legislation, and Clean Energy Initiatives are all impossible if lobbies are allowed to influence policy decisions.

Elizabeth Warren.  Senator Warren (now in her early 70's) had consistently reasonable answers to every question, though her lecturing tone was a little annoying.  Not so much to me, personally, but because I could imagine that her tone would annoy others who would otherwise support her.  But will the hordes of former Trump followers be comfortable backing E. Warren?  I'm determined not to be looking over my shoulder at everyone else.  Warren is solid.

Bernie Sanders.  He comes across as a little more moderate than Elizabeth Warren, but he seems relentlessly angry.  And he is angry, not in a personal way, but angry at the system that disenfranchises ordinary folks.

Pete Buttigieg.  Most of the policies the Mayor espouses are fine, except for his Health Care plan, which is a little wimpy.  But the biggest problem with Pete is, in my mind, his lack of a sense of urgency about fighting corruption head on.  Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are mad about corruption.  Pete is more even-tempered about it, but will that work?

Amy Klobuchar.  She came across far more powerfully last night than ever before.  She seems a little too much of an insider, very much into her effectiveness as a Senator.  That's important.  But she must stop talking like a Senator, and talk like a President.  All her values align with mine, but in the US, values alone are not enough; you got to have charisma.  And, unfortunately, it is charisma that everybody is looking for in these debates.  If she believes she is a president in the making, she could make us believe.

Joe Biden.  The Un-Trump, Joe Biden, is a sort of a fall-back candidate.  If all else fails, we have Joe Biden!  He's too much of a old-school man to deal with the problems we have, and the problems that the GOP of the next four years will be throwing up to slow us down.

Andrew Yang, and Tom Steyer.  I hate to give these two guys a thumbs-down, because between them they have lots of good ideas.  But Yang has too much of a mechanistic view of social psychology, and--forgive me--I just can't take Steyer seriously, though if he had come along one year earlier, and if we watched TV more often, he might have been more convincing.

As one of the PBS commentators said it last night: people are watching the candidates to see whether their values align with theirs.  This is almost a no-brainer, but until it's expressed that way, it seems a puzzle about what is going on in these debates.

Once the values thing is sorted out, like me, most people are looking for charisma, and why?  Because it reflects on how other voters will vote!  I know, I know; I said I was only concerned about how I will vote.  But, well, I guess I lied!

Arch