Bret Baier breaks down highlights from Democratic presidential debate
Twelve Democratic presidential candidates took the stage on the campus of Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio; analysis from Bret Baier, Fox News chief political anchor and anchor of 'Special Report.'
A dozen Democratic presidential candidates continued their race to become the left’s most favored socialist when they debated Tuesday night. Once again, the debate stage showcased a lackluster group of extremist politicians pandering to their far-left base of support with harmful policy proposals that are way outside the mainstream.
The three septuagenarian candidates currently making up the top tier of the Democratic field include a confused and corrupt former Vice President Joe Biden some 20 years past his prime; unelectable socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who recently suffered a heart attack; and hopelessly out-of-touch former Harvard professor and current Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who wants to throw 180 million Americans off their private health insurance plans, including union workers.
Stuck with a field marred with enormous electability questions, no one is paying closer attention to the weakest field of presidential candidates in recent memory than 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
WARREN COMES UNDER ATTACK FROM ALL SIDES AT DEM DEBATE, AS BIDEN DEFENDS SON'S BUSINESS PRACTICES
These two nationally recognized liberals are likely thinking the same thing as everyone else: none of the 12 mediocre candidates on the stage in Ohio Tuesday night has what it takes to defeat President Trump in November 2020.
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After watching the three-hour snooze fest, here are some of the takeaways that Clinton and Bloomberg may be thinking about as they consider jumping into the presidential race.
The Democratic candidates are desperately lurching farther and farther to the left. This strategy of embracing extremism is clearly designed to capture the hearts and minds of the Democratic primary electorate by repackaging the tired Big Government policies of the past. Capitalism and liberty have become dirty words with this crowd. Look no further than new reports Tuesday night that Green New Deal author and socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York – along with radical Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota – plan to endorse Sanders for president. Throughout history, socialism has failed at every turn and will fail once again as the Democrat’s party platform in the 2020 general election.
Joe Biden’s son Hunter and his shady foreign business dealings were glossed over and badly mischaracterized. This should have been the big issue of the night. Serious allegations against the Bidens are being whitewashed by a biased mainstream media that has gone headfirst into the dishonesty tank during the Trump administration.
The impeachment witch hunt led the discussion because the Democratic Party has no positive agenda. All the candidates reminded viewers about the partisan nature of the baseless impeachment inquiry against President Trump by rushing to judgment before getting the facts. It’s become clear that impeachment is being pushed because desperate Democrats can’t defeat Trump at the ballot box in less than 13 months.
Democrats are offering the American people big tax increases, job-killing over-regulation, and lawless open borders. These failed and harmful ideas aren’t polling well with voters. But the far-left Democrats are so committed to Big Government that they ignore the fact that their plans would wreck the vibrant Trump economy and punish American families and businesses.
"Medicare-for-all," championed by Sanders, is so extreme that even some of the Democratic presidential candidates oppose it. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., pointed out that the disastrous proposal would result in a "multitrillion-dollar hole" in the federal budget. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota called the irresponsible plan a "pipedream." They’re both right.
The debate will not change the trajectory of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Nothing happened to suggest someone had a breakout moment and will show real upward movement in the polls. The top tier will remain Warren, Biden and Sanders.
Despite the best efforts of Democrats, President Trump’s amazing accomplishments to improve the lives of the American people simply cannot be explained away. The national unemployment rate of 3.5 percent is at a 50-year low and the unemployment rates for women, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans are at historic lows. Over 6 million jobs have been created on President Trump’s watch – including 500,000 manufacturing jobs – and a record number of Americans are currently employed. To paraphrase former President Bill Clinton, elections are about the strong economy – and continued prosperity.
In a debate that featured barely a spark – much less fireworks – there’s ample reason for Democratic power brokers around the country to be concerned about where the current overcrowded field is headed. So they might be looking for other options before the Iowa caucuses kick off voting for the presidential candidates in February.
Here’s the reality:
Job creators, entrepreneurs and investors alike know that President Trump at his core thinks like a pro-growth businessman, and that gives them confidence to make decisions that expand their businesses.
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On trade, President Trump’s vision and leadership have changed opinions on how we approach China, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union. The president knows there is a difference between free trade and fair trade when it comes to prioritizing American workers.
In Tuesday night’s debate in the critical Rust Belt state of Ohio – as the Democrats highlighted their failed vision of tax increases, overregulation, and giving away the store to China – the contrast with the positive Trump record couldn’t be starker.
Well-known liberal egotists Clinton and Bloomberg certainly think a lot of themselves and despite their baggage could probably fare better against President Trump than the current slate of boring Democrat wannabes.
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And if the Democrats really want to recreate the 2008 Obama coalition, there’s another candidate who could immediately become the party’s frontrunner due to nostalgia alone. Her name is Michelle Obama. But the problem with nostalgia is that we tend to remember what we liked and forget what we didn’t like.
The clear reality emerging at the end of the long debate was that these are desperate times for a Democratic Party suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.