In my opinion, during the first Democrat presidential candidate debate, most candidates tried to appear farthest left and bribe American voters with offers of “free stuff” such as free college, paying off student loans, and free medical care. The candidates claimed that’s okay because it will come from other people’s money such as higher taxes on the middle and upper classes.
Regarding healthcare, Bernie Sanders et al. are all-in on single-payer, government-run insurance which will wipe out private insurance and force many hospitals to close. Some other Democrat candidates were more circumspect and propose a combination of single-payer and private insurance. All 10 of the Thursday night candidates proposed giving free medical care to illegal immigrants.
All candidates displayed their complete ignorance of climate science and the implications of doing away with fossil-fuel-generated electricity. They used the terms “climate chaos,” “climate emergency” and “climate crisis” instead of “climate change.” They had no concept of the enormous cost, land-use requirements, or the effect on wildlife habitat and agriculture. They were also unaware that replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy would have almost no effect on global temperature. If the plan to reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to “net-zero” by 2050 is fully implemented, it would cut the global increase in temperature by 0.083 to 0.173 degrees C by 2100. The candidates also ignored the question of how to pay the $2 trillion to $10 trillion required for the transition. For more details on that issue see my ADI article: The Enormous Costs of Wind and Solar Electricity Generation.
During the debates there was a chasm between Biden and Sanders, the “old white guys” and the younger candidates.
Democrat columnist Doug Schoen writes: “Debates’ real winner is Trump — Democrats are at war with themselves and chaos reigns.” Schoen added that these first primary debates put the inner-party in-fighting and chaos on full display. “Ultimately, the debates were supposed to provide more clarity on this crowded field, but the amalgamation of ideas and arguments are difficult for even well-intentioned, considerate voters to digest.”
Note to readers:
Visit my blog at: https://wryheat.wordpress.com/
Index with links to all my ADI articles: http://wp.me/P3SUNp-1pi
My comprehensive 30-page essay on climate change: http://wp.me/P3SUNp-1bq
A shorter ADI version is at https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2013/08/01/climate-change-in-perspective/