I take Marianne Williamson’s threat seriously. She probably does intend to harness love to try and defeat President Trump. The same kind of love she repeatedly displayed for the movie Avatar, or mind airplanes, or aliens.
The problem is Marianne Williamson will never secure the nomination of the Democratic Party of America mostly because she’s too, well, nice.
Don’t get me wrong, her pseudo-Ebonics and hippy talk were grating, even to last night’s debate moderators. But between her and maybe Pete Buttigieg, with Tulsi Gabbard the night before, we saw a side of the Democratic Party that isn’t as invested as the rest of their colleagues in the destruction of the United States from the inside out.
No offense intended towards Tulsi or Mayor Pete. They’re nowhere near as kooky as Ms. Williamson. It’s just that almost all the others were, to borrow a word from President Trump’s lexicon, nasty.
There is a throwaway nastiness with which the Democrats now speak of America and it’s history. A nastiness about how they say they’ll deal with gridlock. Even a nastiness in how they talk down to and shame one another for not being woke enough 30 years ago.
Kamala Harris is perhaps the most deft at channeling this nastiness into political points. That’s what makes her Trump’s most fearsome opponent.
But if former Vice President Joe Biden had a target on his back last night, Harris will go into the next debate with a big giant one on her forehead. Goodness knows she has enough closet-dwelling skeletons to knock her off the top spot.
Who has the killer instinct to get at Kamala Harris? Hickenlooper? Yang? Gillibrand? Give me a break.
But who else has the killer instinct to get at her?
Hickenlooper? Yang? Gillibrand?
Give me a break.
Yang’s busy complaining about his microphone being surreptitiously turned off (no one likes a sore loser) and the others were just dross.
Last night’s debate was nothing less than a race to the bottom on every issue mentioned: China, abortion, immigration, gun control.
It was as if the candidates had been handed a crib sheet that said, “Hardest Left Proposals” and then they all proceeded to read from it, line by line.
Which brings us to Bernie. How could I forget Bernie?
I used to think the Abe Simpson shouting at a cloud meme was cruel to Bernie.
Here’s a guy who has spent his career advancing socialism to a degree of (hypocritical) success. His plans suck for the rest of us. But he’s personally done very well from his pro-Marxist agitprop over the years. He deserves some credit for working so hard for his destructive goals.
And then he ended up just shouting at a cloud all night.
Buttigieg was what you’d expect. Fairly rehearsed, appearing relatively genuine and decently articulate. But his time isn’t now. His time is in four years. And he’ll have a great crack at the presidency if he keeps his composure over the second Trump term. And if the great Eric Swalwell doesn’t lure him into a never-ending death stare contest.
Swalwell was another of my favorites last night. Bless his heart.
He’s about five years older than I am, and kept playing the “I’m a kid!” card.
In fact his repeat line was “pass the torch”, a phrase obviously rehearsed plenty during his University of Maryland dorm room days. If Bernie and Tulsi and Yang and maybe Williamson drop out before him, he’s got the stoner vote in the bag.
“Pass the torch” was noteworthy for another reason. Leaders don’t ask permission. They take it. Or they just do something and ask forgiveness later. In begging Biden for the relay baton, he subconsciously let the audience know he’s not ready for real power.
Those ready include the people who make direct statements of intent, no matter how quixotic they may be.
Kamala Harris said she would undo Trump’s tax cuts on day one: something she wouldn’t have the power to do.
Joe Biden said he would put insurance executives in prison: a harrowing warning about what leftist authoritarianism post-Trump will almost certainly look like.
Were it not for Swalwell’s ego, clearly in competition with his head for disproportionality, he’d be the first one out after last night’s performance.
But Swalwell tickled me because he kept delivering what he thought were big applause lines. When the applause never came, he mumbled on until smattered claps arrived to put him out of his misery.
Were it not for his ego, which is clearly in competition with his head for disproportionality, he’d be the first one out after last night’s performance.
The candidates statements on their first day on office was also worthy of note.
Swalwell said he’d tackle gun violence.
For Michael Bennet it was climate change.
Kirsten Gillibrand wants a “family bill of rights”, which isn’t actually a terrible idea.
Kamala Harris wants to undo Trump’s tax cuts.
Bernie Sanders would institute “political revolution” or something.
Curiously, Biden said on his first day in office, which would be several months after beating Donald Trump, he would use his initial 24 hours to “defeat Donald Trump”.
Buttigieg said he would fix America’s democracy.
Andrew Yang would give everyone $1000.
Hickenlooper said climate change, too.
While Marianne Williamson — my new favorite person ever —- said she’d call New Zealand and tell Prime Minister Jacinda Arden that America was better. Brilliant.
No doubt Team Trump are rubbing their hands with glee after the last two nights. But I should remind them: the Democrats did the same when the first field of Republicans walked on stage in Cleveland on August 6th 2015.
If they show complacency, who knows? Maybe Prime Minister Arden will get that phone call after all. (She won’t).
Raheem Kassam is the Global Editor in Chief of Human Events
