Keller @ Large: Second Democratic Debate Showcased A Party In Disarray
BOSTON (CBS) – Some of us warned the Democratic Party when they announced their debate plans last winter that it was a formula for disaster. Too early, too low a bar for inclusion, too likely to turn into an intra-party mudfest.
Last night's circular firing squad kicking off round two proved the point.
Were those champagne corks popping at GOP headquarters when former Congressman John Delaney warned that Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders would burden the party with "bad policies like Medicare-for-All…that will turn off independent voters and get Trump reelected"?
Was it cheeseburgers all around at the Trump re-election offices when Congressman Tim Ryan of crucial swing state Ohio warned that "the Democratic message" is that they plan to swoop in and take from beleaguered union workers who've traded anemic wage hikes and eroding job security for good health-care plans "the only thing you have left"?
And what's the over/under on how long it will take the president to retweet Montana Gov. Steve Bullock's nickname for policies espoused by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – "wish list economics."
Those of you who've already bought into one of the candidates onstage last night will protest that your horse performed superbly.
(OK, maybe not backers of the somnolent, seemingly-lost Beto O'Rourke.)
But you're not who the party desperately needs to sell.
Those voters more likely saw a bitterly squabbling party in near-total disarray, harshly disagreeing over core issues like immigration and health care reform and fundamental political questions like what it means to be a Democrat and how to connect with non-Democrats.
Last night's debate was compelling in the way a street fight or car crash commands your attention. But it was also headache-inducing, as candidates with no chance and no real reason to be there hooted and hollered in a last-ditch bid for attention.
Can there be any doubt tonight's second helping will be just as indigestible, yet delicious to the Republican ad makers stockpiling all those tasty sound bites?
The ticket to reclaiming the White House for the Democrats is the staggering venality and incompetence of the incumbent. They could have held off on these bleep-shows until the fall and kept the focus on Trump's self-destruction.
Instead, they've confused and, likely, appalled voters they need to win over, and provided the enemy with rich stockpiles of political plutonium.
If the Democratic Party leadership hasn't already bought political malpractice insurance, they'd better get on it now.
