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I thought there were several surprises in the debate. My initial response was that of the professional pundits, though for different reasons: the women did superbly on many levels. Despite polls showing virtually all of the leading Democratic contenders defeating Trump, the DNC and the media has presented Biden as the only candidate that can beat Trump. The decision to isolate Warren from the other leading contenders by putting her in the first group was a transparent attempt to insulate Biden. In terms of rhetoric, Warren is fundamentally indistinguishable from Sanders. People do need to remember that she described herself as a Republican as late as 1996, explaining this by citing the party's friendlier embrace of "the markets." So every time I hear her, I have to wonder how serious she is after the years of Reagan-Gingrich "supply side" "trickle-down" voodoo. Sanders' use of "socialism" weighs nothing--and probably a bit against him. Wanting to spend time debating the meaning of a word in the present circumstances indicates a real failure to understand those circumstances. Worse, I think his making an issue of the term is a purely electoral stroke on his part to recover the kind of support it garnered him four years ago. Still worse, his version of "socialism" is--as Howie Hawkins just reminded us all--a rewarmed liberalism. But back to the debate . . . despite that stacking of the deck in favor of Biden hardly kept the other participants did a very decent job of mopping the floor with him, albeit it in short sweeps. Harris' exposure of his Thurmond-esque appreciation of states' rights on busing was brilliantly done, for which the media and commentators have made an issue of her lack of clarify over health care. I was particularly impressed with Bennet's quick cut to the core commentary on Biden's BS about bipartisan "compromise" with McConnell--a compromise that amounted to the kind of surrender we're used to seeing by the "New Democrats." In the end, it seems clear that the DNC, MSNBC, etc. are hell-bound to foist Biden on the party's base . . . because they don't really have any other viable alternative to the candidates who are trying to channel an angry and thoughtful electorate. At least, they don't really have one yet. And, as a candidate, Biden is as flawed in his way as Trump or was Clinton. This means that all the Sturm und Drang by the more "progressive" candidates will boil down to supporting Biden (or, if necessary, a stand-in for Biden) as a "lesser evil." Cheers, Mark L. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
