Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Debate Desperation Time For Democrats
substack.com ^ | AUG 31, 2024 | Quoth the Raven

Posted on 09/03/2024 6:28:08 AM PDT by SharpRightTurn

You’ll have to believe me that I’m not trying to make a partisan statement when I say that everything the Democrats have done leading up to this election has been inauthentic, phony, and panic-stricken—from swapping out their candidate at the very last minute to flip-flopping on major issues like banning fracking, taxing tips, and EV mandates.

In some ways, I think the party would be doing better if they just took a breath and let Kamala Harris’s campaign unwind like any other normal campaign. But if Democrats are experts at one thing, it’s micromanaging things to death out of narcissistic adoration for their own faux intellect—hence we get genius ideas like price-fixing the economy, defunding the police, minting a trillion dollar coin, segregating college campuses to fight racism or trying to tell you what type of stove you can use at home.

Unfortunately for Democrats, the lack of finesse that comes with managing anything like an overly obsessive girlfriend sometimes starts to work against you. For example, Harris's campaign strategy to keep her out of the media for the first 40 days of being a candidate put abnormal scrutiny on her first television appearance, which turned out to have the intellectual horsepower of a Whoopie Cushion. The whole world watched Harris take pre-scripted and probably pre-approved questions from a Democrat-friendly anchor, on a Democrat-friendly network, and put on a masterclass of how not to effectively articulate herself, her policies, her position changes, or generally anything of substance.

For Donald Trump’s first debate with Joe Biden, the Democratic Party went full “control freak” and made innumerable requests for rule changes like the debate was being hosted at some Eastern European Ritz-Carlton and they were Hunter Biden on a coke bender ordering room service. They requested chairs, notepads, water, excessive TV breaks, and muted microphones, ostensibly fearing Donald Trump’s razor-sharp tongue and uncanny ability to talk sh!t on the fly.

When they got their request, and Trump and Biden faced off with muted mics, Biden was left to his own devices and promptly self-immolated on national television, while Donald Trump stood by, watched, and shrugged his shoulders as if to say in a Sopranos-style New Jersey Italian accent, “Can you believe this f**king guy?”

Now, after watching their precious Kamala Harris nearly implode during her training wheels, bumper bowling, CNN-sponsored softball-lobbing Fischer-Price™ My First Political Interview lovefest last week (which was rumored to have been edited down to 18 minutes from 41), Democrats are once again nervous that their candidate is unable to articulate themselves and their policies well enough to win a cordial debate on the merits.

So, the Democratic Party is now requesting another flip-flop (surprise!) and asking that microphones for the debate between Trump and Harris on September 10th remain live for the entire event. And in hilarious fashion, they’re accusing Trump of being scared to change the rules. The mic mute was a Democrat request a month ago and, as a reminder, Trump has been deftly maneuvering near-daily press conferences where he is assaulted by hostile reporters whose sole intention is to humiliate him, while at the same time Kamala Harris has still avoided any solo unscripted, consequential press conferences or interviews. The notion that Trump is rattled by the request, like the media has been parroting, is insulting to the intelligence of anyone with an IQ higher than AstroTurf™.

The Democratic strategy seems to be clear: they want Harris to have a hot mic so she can go “brat” on Trump and run her mouth in the absence of having any policy prescriptions that can drive the interest of voters. It’s the epitome of inauthenticity and phoniness. Much like when Hillary Clinton revealed the term “Trumped-up trickle-down economics” during a 2016 debate, the Democrats are going full cringe and trying to script an “unscripted” moment for her to be remembered by. They want her talking to Trump in the same condescending way she speaks to everyone, despite being devoid of substance in her words. Behold, Exhibit A:

And the Democrats ask for these things at their own peril: Donald Trump doesn’t need to rehearse off-the-cuff lines because he just says whatever the hell he wants to and is naturally hilarious, whether you like him or not. As other primary candidates learned in 2016, trying to “talk tough” back to Donald Trump has done nothing for any politician except backfire. When Jeb Bush told Trump he couldn’t insult his way to the Presidency, he…well, insulted his way to the Presidency.

Whether or not the debate rule change will happen remains to be seen. I personally think the Trump campaign should be done acquiescing to what the Harris campaign wants. I think a majority of independents know Donald Trump’s willingness to debate, and if Harris pulls out, it’s only going to make her look significantly worse. Trump said to Biden, “Anytime, anywhere, anyplace” — and then he followed through and thrashed Biden on his home turf of CNN.

“He can do it anytime he wants, including tonight,” Trump said 4 months ago:

With Trump’s addition of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his team, his campaign has once again picked up support as Harris’s “honeymoon” has been ending. Not showing up to a debate will hurt Harris more than Trump, in my opinion.

And one thing is for sure: this constant obsession with trying to micromanage everything that their candidate does instead of just allowing them to speak on the issues that the party stands for comes off as desperate and pathetic.

For the last few decades, Republicans have always been for limited government, lower taxes, states' rights, the Second Amendment, and cutting spending—their platform today resembles their platform anytime in recent history. The Democrats, on the other hand, have been the ones moving their goalposts — now encouraging war, censoring free speech, turning the government into a bloated bureaucracy and recklessly running up the deficit — when former Democrats like Bill Clinton returned the country to a surplus and had previously called for smaller government.

It’s safe to say that the Democratic platform has moved so far left that people who were once in the middle now can’t help but identify as conservative. Democrats must be finding that out by how often they are switching positions.

And with two months still until the election, the more Democrats try to hide in their shell and get ticky-tacky while trying to minimize damage and not actively campaign their candidate, the more it is going to look like they have no confidence in their candidate.

We already know, based on the massive amount of flip-flopping Kamala Harris has done, that Democrats have no confidence in their policies. When watching how much they are trying to micromanage Harris and how she is presented publicly, it begs the additional question of whether they genuinely even have any confidence in their candidate, either.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: debate; harris; trump
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-45 next last
Good article.
1 posted on 09/03/2024 6:28:08 AM PDT by SharpRightTurn
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...

2 posted on 09/03/2024 6:32:58 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn

No desperation on the part of the Dems. They know that no matter how bad Harris is in the debate, the media will rally and tell the public she was nothing short of genius while she crushed the evil orange man.

A large portion of the public will listen, obey, and vote as their tvs tell them to vote.


3 posted on 09/03/2024 6:35:34 AM PDT by brownsfan (It's going to take real, serious, hard times to wake the American public.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All

Harris’ “bound-to-fail” presidential campaign is being kept afloat by a pervasive and cynical media.
<><>she’s had her hands all over Biden’s three years of American decline,
<><>media obfuscation and outright lies will not make voters forget:
<><>Harris cast the crucial tie-breaking Senate vote
<><>she was responsible for two Biden plagues
<><>the sap-happily named “Inflation Reduction Act” and his moronic “American Rescue Plan,”
<><>she contributed to the runaway inflation that has made American families poorer
<><>she was completely incompetent on both issues, yet the media claims “she had no influence.”


4 posted on 09/03/2024 6:37:03 AM PDT by Liz (Faith is believing what you cannot see; its reward is to see what you believe. St Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn

yes, excellent read!

I love this line:
“...ostensibly fearing Donald Trump’s razor-sharp tongue and uncanny ability to talk sh!t on the fly.”


5 posted on 09/03/2024 6:43:54 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (What is the cost of lies?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Liz

How could she be pulling 50% on the polls? She’s just a nightmare it’s all based on color and and gender. Biden has been even worse since he came back from vacation. What a piece of crap.


6 posted on 09/03/2024 6:44:15 AM PDT by Uversabound (Might does not make right, but it does enforce the commonly recognized rights of each succeeding gen)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn

The “so-called” mean tweet name calling President Trump engages in is right out of the Democrat Rules for Radicals playbook, so I say give it to the dems as good as they have been dishing out over the years. /A deplorable, astro-turfer


7 posted on 09/03/2024 6:45:51 AM PDT by OrioleFan (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, Democrats believe every day is April 15th.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OrioleFan

Exactly. Marquess of Queensberry Rules don’t work. Throw the ridicule right back at them.


8 posted on 09/03/2024 6:49:03 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn
when former Democrats like Bill Clinton returned the country to a surplus

That was the Gingrich revolution, and they passed those cuts three times, until Clinton had to sign onto the original version, then he claimed credit for holding out and getting a better piece of legislation. Bill Clinton had no intention of creating a surplus.

9 posted on 09/03/2024 6:51:10 AM PDT by OrioleFan (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, Democrats believe every day is April 15th.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OrioleFan

Clinton owed his re-election to Gingrich.


10 posted on 09/03/2024 6:51:59 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

BS


11 posted on 09/03/2024 6:53:16 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. +12) Where is ZORRO when California so desperately needs him?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Uversabound

They have to keep her numbers up artificially so the Nov voter fraud will appear believable.


12 posted on 09/03/2024 6:57:16 AM PDT by Liz (Faith is believing what you cannot see; its reward is to see what you believe. St Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn
when former Democrats like Bill Clinton returned the country to a surplus and had previously called for smaller government.

Newt Gingrich and a Republican government did this after two years of deficits and Bimbo Eruptions controlled by George Stephanopolus the BIMBO CZAR!

13 posted on 09/03/2024 7:01:34 AM PDT by N. Theknow (Kennedys-Can't drive, can't ski, can't fly, can't skipper a boat-But they know what's best for you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bert

Great must read piece. The Democratic-Preogressives are, as we once said in the 1950s, “Cruisen for a Brusen” and that’s a good thing. Democrats need to re-organized their party, just as the Republicans did after Mittens fell to Obama.


14 posted on 09/03/2024 7:07:34 AM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (. War is Hell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Uversabound

“How could she be pulling 50% on the polls?”

Because the polls are weighted at +10-15% Dem.

L


15 posted on 09/03/2024 7:13:49 AM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.p)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn

“…trying to “talk tough” back to Donald Trump has done nothing for any politician except backfire.”

That’s the Democrats’ problem in a nutshell - it would make no sense for Kamala to debate him.

However, the author makes an interesting point: the Democrats are all about doing things that make no sense. Their condescension and arrogance blinds them and they make bad judgements.

Let’s hope so, because I really want to see that debate.


16 posted on 09/03/2024 7:25:01 AM PDT by enumerated (81 million votes my ass)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn
when former Democrats like Bill Clinton returned the country to a surplus

Umm, yeah, I think Newt Gingrich and the Republican-majority House of Representatives in 1995 might have had a bit more to do with it than old BJ Bill did.

17 posted on 09/03/2024 7:31:22 AM PDT by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell>)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: brownsfan

“A large portion of the public will listen, obey, and vote as their tvs tell them to vote.”

I agree that a large portion of the electorate is composed of numbskulls. But among the more intelligent (but not yet engaged) voters, the debate can make a real difference in Trump’s favor.


18 posted on 09/03/2024 7:37:35 AM PDT by SharpRightTurn (“Giving money & power to government is like giving whiskey & car keys to teenage boys” P.J. O’Rourke)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Lurker

>> weighted

consider it a fraud bias


19 posted on 09/03/2024 7:40:18 AM PDT by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist! )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: SharpRightTurn

The Democrat/Harris campaign’s behavior reflects the utter ‘un-accountability” that they have been allowed for the past 4 years (and more). With media and deep state cover all of this time, they feel absolutely no responsibility to behave and act even reasonably responsible to American people. That’s why they feel they can OPENLY lie and scam their way into the Presidency.


20 posted on 09/03/2024 7:45:04 AM PDT by LibFreeUSA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-45 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson