I really wanted to see what candidates had to say about health care, and it was disappointing to see such disagreement, with so many including Biden, the front runner, wanting to continue on with some version of Obamacare. But this is inline with what I predicted when Obama and Max Baucus made it clear that they were committed to further entrenchment in a failed system, which I think is the main purpose of Obamacare; Specifically to put off Universal for a long as possible, and hopefully forever.
I agree with Cavebear that the words of politicians are basically worthless, but I don't think their body language is worthless, which made watching the actual debate worth my time, at least to some extent, but the only sincerity I thought I saw in that regard was from those who had nothing to lose and are about to be excluded from the primary process. Granted, I did not see the debate the night before.
I had to stream the debate which was very poor quality with an overlapping and re-lapping jerky sound track. At one point in talking about Obamacare, Biden use the words and sounds "is," "la," "mmm," and "Obamacare," and what came out in the cut up sound track sounded like he was talking about something called "Islamacare." The sounds merged so well than I thought Biden and just fumbled his brain and tongue, but then decided it was probably the sound track, which had been fumbling all night long, even worse than Biden himself. Don't misunderstand; I don't think Biden is worse than any of the others, but I don't understand why he's the front runner either. No one inspired me much. And Democrats need an inspiring contender more than anything else. Maybe the one that has the best bumper sticker.
And I keep thinking that guy that wants to give every American $1000/month is a plant trying to make the Democratic party look nuts, but I'd like to see a GAO analysis on that one, as well as on the various healthcare proposals. I heard a lot of numbers thrown around last night, but no one cited any sources to support them. They just had numbers that came from somewhere or other, and no one had any sources to actually attack an opposing plan either. It's like no one actually knows what anything is going to cost. And the most critical item is over looked; How much are the necessary increases in taxes for healthcare going to offset the actual out of pocket costs of our current private insurance? That seems to be excluded from most debates. I heard someone allude to that, but no one seems to have any data to show whether Universal is ultimately cheaper or more expensive than private insurance, which is really what matters, unless of course Universal is as bad as private insurance is now, but making it better should also be part of anyone's plan. That was not addressed very well last night either. Mostly it seemed to be about costs, which no one actually knows.
Overall, I think debates are not that helpful. What they do is give people a kind of first impression sense of politicians, and most of all, give people a sense of who they think is better, but as to whether they will be actual assets to the country, I don't think we can tell. Debates may be better than just a list of names of people with thumbnails of how they look, but I'm not sure about that either.
First, thank you for the agreement about words. I won't push your agreement further than you meant. I do agree that there is some value is watching body language, but I have little skill at that, so I don't try anymore (if I haven't learned it at 69 years I never will).
Second, sorry the debate came through a bit garbled. That can be worse than not at all.
Third, with 20 candidates trying to stay in the top 10, there is going to be some contention. That's one reason I'm not paying daily attention to what any of them are saying. By the time I get to vote in my State primary, there will be 1-3 and I'll make my decision then. It's not like I could resurrect the 13th candidate I really liked.
Fourth, most of the candidates are supporting the AHCA, but adding voluntary like-medicare as an option. We'll see where that goes. I have private health care insurance and like it. And, BTW (to everyone) the Dems should consider that one of the things unions have fought for and won is really good health care insurance for their members. A Dem opposing that should be cautious. I think Biden understands that more than the younger candidates. Technically, it does not affect me, but I consider it for others when I vote. Yeah, I'm a real Boy Scout...
Fifth, giving the poorest people $1,000/month is just a support system we already have. Its not a new idea; we are already doing that with tax credits. I'm not bothered by that. I'm willing to help poor children be fed whether at home or school. This idea is not a real problem.
Sixth, yeah the large debates aren't really very useful for understanding the candidates. But (as the Reps did last time) the Dems have to have a winnowing process to remove the weaker and/or less funded candidates. It shouldn't be that way, but I don't have ny better ideas on how to do that. Do you?
Seventh (of Nine, LOL?), the basic question for the Democratic Party (of which I am a de facto member having been a Progressive Republican before we were cast out) is whether to go for an ideological nominee to satisfy their base or whether to go for a nominee best suited to beat Trump.
My personal opinion is that I would vote for nearly anyone best suited to rid us of Trump, as almost any of the Democratic candidates would be better. But I temper that with the hope the nominee could also stand up to Putin and Kim Jong-un. China is negotiable.
I can see Biden calmly refusing Putin and demanding a back-down from Kim Jong-un. I can see Warren doing that. I can see Harris doing that. I can't see them taking Sanders seriously. It's possible that other candidates might, but I'll want to see some proof. But the Soviets didn't take Kennedy seriously either, so you never know.
Sometimes presidents rise to the office. And even surprise you when they do. I think well of Truman, and (don't spread it around) Nixon and Reagan. Clinton did well internationally.
So, everything is still up in the air for me. I'm not buying any lawn signs yet...
