While many around the water cooler this week may be discussing which candidate “won” or “lost” the democratic debate, the real winner is democrats and the real loser is republicans. The GOP has held two debates thus far, with a third coming October 28. Yet in these debates, the overcrowded republican field has clamored for speaking time and attention, and said very little about the issues that matter to most non-tea party Americans.
Working Families
A common theme in last night’s debate was the intention by the field of Democratic candidates to improve the lives of working Americans. Ideas put forward included passing paid maternity and family leave, raising the minimum wage, and reducing tax burdens on the middle class by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share.
At the Republican debates, the same amount of attention has been given to aiding corporations by reducing “burdensome” regulations and taxes that are currently forcing them to operate overseas and/or pay their workers minimal wages and their CEOs billions—the same practices that are responsible for shrinking the middle class.
Gun Violence Prevention
In the wake of near-daily school shootings, democratic candidates were united in support for common sense gun violence prevention such as universal background checks. While Republicans have used these tragedies to tighten their donor base with the NRA, and to assure the public that they will do nothing to prevent senseless gun violence, democrats are proposing real solutions to keep our communities safe.
Affordable Tuition
The democratic candidates also made it clear on Tuesday that they will prioritize reducing the costs of a higher education. While they differed on their means of doing so, the bottom line is that student debt is a major problem in this country, and democrats are committed to working on a solution.
Republicans, on the other hand, mentioned tuition ZERO times in their first two debates.
Climate Change
A major victory, not just for dems, but for all who inhabit planet earth, is the amount of time the democratic candidates spent discussing climate change and what it means for our nation’s future. This is, of course, in stark contrast to the field of GOP candidates who refuse to acknowledge that climate change exists, despite the fact that most Americans do.
While lead up to the debate tagged democrats as “boring,” this week’s headlines are praising them for offering real world solutions to the problems that working Americans face. In the end, Americans want more from their presidential candidates than entertainment. They want leadership, and democrats are proving they are ready to lead.
