Some Ramblings about the Democrats

The Candidates Debate

So, who won the debate last night? I’m not sure there was a clear winner. But here are some of my thought about how things stand now.

The most genuine candidate is Bernie Sanders. And seems like a nice guy.  What you see is what you get with him. His positions are pretty consistent (for a politician). He is a dyed in the wool Socialist who believes in a redistributive economy. Where via taxation – money would flow into the government and be redistributed more evenly to the general population in areas like free health care, free college, and forgiveness of student debt..  

That is anathema to someone like me who believes in a free market economy. Where you keep what you earn. Sanders’ foreign policy with respect to Israel is among the worst of all his opponents.  A position so anti Israel that he is gained the support of the 2 BDS supporters in congress:  Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. Here’s more from Foreign Policy Magazine. 

The 78-year-old Vermont senator, who lived in an Israeli kibbutz in the early 1960s, frequently refers to Israel as an “occupying power”—a moniker Israel’s government and its allies in the White House and Congress consider a slur. He has made clear that he would be prepared to condition the $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel on its treatment of Palestinians, a position that is out of step with Republicans and the Democratic congressional leadership. Sanders referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December 2019 as a “racist.”

On Sunday, Sanders announced that he would not attend the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, a traditional venue for Democratic and Republican political candidates, expressing concern about the platform it “provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.” The remarks drew a barrage of criticism from Jewish American organizations and commentators, who characterized it as an “odious,” “offensive” “smear.” 

I don’t see how anyone who supports the Jewish State could support him. This is worrisome because he may very well end up being the Democratic nominee. Based on his performance in the caucuses and primaries thus far - he seems to have the momentum.

What about the other contenders?

Elizabeth Warren is almost as much of a Socialist as Sanders is and her position on Israel is not much better. But I don’t think she did all that well last night. She seemed more interested in smearing her rivals then in discussing her policies. I also think people are tired of the constant repetition about her humble beginnings and struggles as a woman. At this point I don’t think she has much of a chance anymore to be the nominee.

Joe Biden is a traditional liberal Democrat whose domestic and foreign policies are indistinguishable from Obama’s - under whom he served as Vice President. One can debate the pros and cons of that. And he is a lot better than Sanders or Warren. But I still disagree with many of his domestic polices. As I do with his policies with respect to Iran and Israel. And like Warren, at this point I don’t think we have to worry about him too much.

Pete Buttigieg is by far the most articulate and possibly the most intelligent candidate. He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. He seems to argue his positions better than any of the other candidates.  But even though he is trying to sell himself as a moderate and more mainstream, by his own words he would be the most progressive President in US history were he to be elected. 

And while his position on Israel is better than Sanders and Warren, he would not be averse to conditioning foreign aid on things which Israel might see harming their own interests. While I think he still may have a chance, I don’t think he is going to end up being the nominee. In part because of his vary young age; his  lack of experience in government beyond being the mayor of a small town in Indiana (South Bend); and the fact that the country not  is ready for a gay president. Yet.

I like Amy Klobuchar. She may very well be the most moderate Democrat running. Her domestic polices are more mainstream, But still liberal. She seems like an enthusiastic supporter of Israel but even so - she would probably go back to polices of the Obama administration. And she would restore to the US as a partner to the terrible nuclear deal with Iran.  I am not anxious to lift sanctions on a regime that continues to export terror with impunity. (I would do the opposite and increase sanctions to the point that Iran would be willing to negotiate a better deal than the one we had. But I digress.) Klobuchar doesn’t have much of a chance to be the nominee either.

Tom Steyer has about as much of a chance of winning the Democratic nomination as I do. Not worth discussing.

That leaves billionaire and former New York mayor, Mike Bloomberg. He may very well be the most conservative candidate running. And the most pro Israel. But that’s only when measured against the others. A ‘nanny state’ domestic policy is pretty much socialist in nature and something I could not support. When asked about Israel yesterday, his answer sounded like a return to the failed policies of the past. Even moving the US embassy to Jerusalem was not without criticism. While he said he supports it, he also said he would not have done it without getting some concession from Israel in exchange. 

While I thought he stood a decent chance to become the nominee, he too has lost his luster after joining his opponents on the debate stage. Until then, he had doing pretty well in the polls. His slick campaign ads were very effective. In my view he would have been wiser to stay away from those debates until after Super Tuesday where he could have gained some momentum based on the positive image projected in those ads. When challenged to join he could have simply said that since he was not a contender in those states, he wasn't going to debate in them. But he decided to join and hurt himself  badly. Not sure he can recover by Super Tuesday next week. His chances of wining the nomination are slipping. Rapidly. 

But still. if I had to vote for any of these candidates, It would probably by Bloomberg. He is the best of a bad bunch. It’s too bad there is no Republican, whose foreign and domestic polices are much more in line with my own, is running. 

Not that I blame any of them. Trump is the incumbent and he has implemented many conservative policies. And his base is more energized than ever. Much the same way Sanders’ base is.

If those 2 candidates end up  being their party’s nominee, it’ll be interesting to see where swing voters will go. Will they go to the man who has embarrassed this country beyond words but whose polices have helped their financial status? Or will they go for a Socialist like Sanders but is much more of a Mentch? If I had to guess, I don’t think Socialism will win the day.