Round two of the Democratic Party presidential debate last night was another excruciating and pointless spectacle. I say pointless because this debate, like every other American political debate in modern times, featured very little actual debating. The candidates mixed it up and went after each other in brief spurts, but those episodes of unscripted interaction were promptly stifled by the moderators. Mostly, what we saw was a bunch of mini canned speeches and talking points dressed up to vaguely resemble an authentic human thought.
Speaking of scripted, we are told by the media that Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) delivered a stunning and incredible performance at the debate. She is now the “rising star” in this race because the media has decided to make her a rising star. Former Congressman Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-TX) and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg were rising stars once, too, until the media remembered that they are white men. Now it’s Harris’ turn on the hype train. Of course, none of this really matters because, by the time the elections roll around, the debate on June 27, 2019 is going to seem like a distant memory of a dream long ago.
Be that as it may, Harris had two attention-grabbing moments last night. The second was when she accused former Vice President Joe Biden of racism without accusing him of racism. She launched into her smear by stipulating that “I don’t believe you are a racist” and then immediately transitioned into explaining why he is a racist. The first moment was a line she obviously came to the debate hoping to use. Interrupting some squabbling between the other candidates, she declared: “Hey, guys, you know what? America does not want to witness a food fight. They want to know how we’re going to put food on their table.” Raucous applause followed.
Despite the cheers of approval from the audience and the pundits, this line is wrong on two levels. First, people actually do want to witness a food fight. That’s the whole reason we tune in. And it’s the whole reason we always leave disappointed. Second, more importantly, and speaking for myself, I am certainly not looking to Kamala Harris or any other politician to put food on my table. It is not the president’s job to make sure that my family has three square meals a day. That’s my job and I’m more than happy to do it.
This may seem like splitting hairs, but it’s an important point. That line from Kamala is very similar to lines we’ve heard in a million other debates, except for one change. Usually, the candidate will say that “Americans want to know how they’re going to put food on their table.” Kamala’s version replaces the “they’re” with a “we’re.” That change makes all the difference and it perfectly encapsulates the modern Democratic Party.
These people see us, the average citizens, as blind and helpless baby birds, chirping for the government to come and regurgitate into our mouths. And the sad reality is that many Americans are indeed helpless baby birds. The goal of the Democratic Party — and the reason behind all of their desperate promises to give us free health care, free college, debt forgiveness, etc. — is to inculcate that sort of dependence in all people. They want an entire population of blind, scared, and flightless little birds waiting for mommy bird to come with a couple of worms to hold us over. Kamala Harris made that clear last night.