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DEMOCRATIC DEBATE: The "Excuse Me" Heard 'Round The World
DEMOCRATIC DEBATE: The "Excuse Me" Heard 'Round The WorldBy LizWarrenWriter
Monday Mar 07, 2016 · 1:56 AM EST
Bernie Sanders wouldn't have had to utter the now infamous admonition--complete with hand in the air--had moderator Anderson Cooper done his job and actually told Hillary Clinton (politely) to shut up when it wasn't her turn to speak.
She did it repeatedly all night--and it was not prompted by excess enthusiasm. It was calculated. She continued to talk--even introducing a new topic--more than once even after Cooper had repeatedly called time. She did it to be sure she always had the last word. We should all take note of this strategy as it is a reflection of how Hillary Clinton regards the rules: they don't apply to her.
Despite her best efforts, however, Bernie Sanders won on substance and because of that Hillary's sycophants in the mainstream media were scrounging for something to criticize. They seized on the fact that he was "mean " and spoke to her in a "tone."
The subject took up considerable time on post-debate media forums and seemed to concern these reporters more than the substantive policy differences we heard about, notably:
*That despite claiming to want to keep jobs in America, Clinton never met a Free Trade deal she didn’t like.
*That there is no excuse for inaction when children’s health is involved (focusing on the issue of lead pipes in Flint and elsewhere).
*That it wasn’t the job of middle class taxpayers to fund the Wall Street bailouts.
*That there is no such thing as “super predators”—only teens living in poverty who need education and jobs—something the wealthiest nation in the history of the world should be able to secure for them.
*That while we must close NRA-sponsored loopholes in our gun laws, appealing to the emotions of gun control activists is irresponsible if a candidate promises to draft or support laws that are on their face, essentially illegal. (Such as holding the manufacturers of legally sold and licensed firearms responsible for the actions of those who purchased them.) (Though I despise the tactics of the NRA, in this instance Id’ liken Clinton’s suggestion that gun manufacturers and/or dealers be held liable for tragedies like Sandy Hook—an action she claims would bring people to the table to negotiate tougher gun control laws—to holding Ford liable if some nut plowed into a playground full of children in his Explorer. It would not make people safer drivers.
*That despite Sanders’ offer to release the text of every speech he’s ever made to corporations (exactly zero) she STILL refuses to disclose the content of her paid (at $200K+ a pop) speeches made to private meetings of Wall Street contributors. (She claims she’ll release her content when the Republicans also disclose. Sanders rightly pointed out that she’s not running against the Republicans in the primary, she’s running against him—score one for the good guys.)
*One cannot serve two masters, so we need campaign finance reform if we are ever to have a truly democratic electoral process. And Sanders made the point well: corporate executives didn’t get where they are by throwing money away. If politicians were not influenced by Wall Street donations, corporations would not be spending millions to support campaigns.
*That there is no excuse for inaction when children’s health is involved (focusing on the issue of lead pipes in Flint and elsewhere).
*That it wasn’t the job of middle class taxpayers to fund the Wall Street bailouts.
*That there is no such thing as “super predators”—only teens living in poverty who need education and jobs—something the wealthiest nation in the history of the world should be able to secure for them.
*That while we must close NRA-sponsored loopholes in our gun laws, appealing to the emotions of gun control activists is irresponsible if a candidate promises to draft or support laws that are on their face, essentially illegal. (Such as holding the manufacturers of legally sold and licensed firearms responsible for the actions of those who purchased them.) (Though I despise the tactics of the NRA, in this instance Id’ liken Clinton’s suggestion that gun manufacturers and/or dealers be held liable for tragedies like Sandy Hook—an action she claims would bring people to the table to negotiate tougher gun control laws—to holding Ford liable if some nut plowed into a playground full of children in his Explorer. It would not make people safer drivers.
*That despite Sanders’ offer to release the text of every speech he’s ever made to corporations (exactly zero) she STILL refuses to disclose the content of her paid (at $200K+ a pop) speeches made to private meetings of Wall Street contributors. (She claims she’ll release her content when the Republicans also disclose. Sanders rightly pointed out that she’s not running against the Republicans in the primary, she’s running against him—score one for the good guys.)
*One cannot serve two masters, so we need campaign finance reform if we are ever to have a truly democratic electoral process. And Sanders made the point well: corporate executives didn’t get where they are by throwing money away. If politicians were not influenced by Wall Street donations, corporations would not be spending millions to support campaigns.
I may have more to say later, but for now, let me say just one thing about tonight’s debate etiquette (or lack thereof) and full disclosure—it includes a personal confession: When a person routinely interrupts, refuses to respect polite and generally accepted boundaries, and quite obviously angles to always speak last whether it's her turn or not--she needs and deserves to be shut down.
So I say this now as a woman, and as someone who is frequently guilty of the very same conversational sins myself: when you interrupt, speak out of turn or talk over someone, it's really bad form to then cry "poor me" and accuse (by indirect means through minions) the other person of being a bully, or imply that their justified reaction (borne of frustration with your bad behavior) is somehow a fault of theirs.
Hillary Clinton employed a debate tactic tonight (not for the first time since this process began) that is all too common among seasoned debaters and courtroom litigators: do whatever you can to make sure that your opponent never lands a blow or gets the last word. Make sure that his words won't have a chance to settle in the minds of listeners, or the substance of his facts have time to resonate. It’s a tool for those who are short on facts or weak on substance.
She executed it (interrupting the flow of his remarks as often and as best she could) with pinpoint precision. And alleging "sexism" when asked to abide by the rules is especially cheap. I am not surprised. I just wish the media doing the debate postmortem had exercised more objectivity in their analysis. And to Secretary Clinton, a word to the wise: vilifying an opponent through your media grapevine after displaying contempt for debate rules is no way to win votes--at least not mine.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/6/1497277/-THE-EXCUSE-ME-HEARD-ROUND-THE-WORLD
21 replies
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Seriously, I agree with this author. I think the entire thing is blown WAY out of proportion BUT I guess when that's all you got (because it was obvious that he won the substance of the debate), then you go with it.
Always somebody else's fault.
so that when he interrupted her and wagged his finger, she was obligated to stop speaking.
She should realize that he is entitled to interrupt and speak throughout her time, whereas she is obligated to keep silent when in the presence of someone so superior to herself.
You put into words all my discomfort this morning after!!
Ms. 7wo7rees
