Team Biden/Harris: 2 Fly on Pence's Head: 1 Team Trump/Pence: 0

 The 2020 United States Vice Presidential Debate is over and some news was made from it.

Please watch below to see the Debate in its entirety:

 

First, Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Senator Kamala Harris demonstrated that she could be the President of the United States should the need arise. Her ability to present the facts, the case for the Biden/Harris Ticket, and refute Pence's assertions that the Trump Administration is doing a good job for the American People (especially on COVID, health care, the economy, and the trade war) showed viewers a candidate that had the competence and temperament to lead if that time came. Her smiling and telling Mr. Pence on several occasions that "I'm speaking," was, quoting the Mastercard Commercial, "priceless."

Second, Mr. Pence may sound like a different musical band than Donald Trump but the lyrics are the same. He may have a calm and even pleasing demeanor but he was still rude, perhaps even chauvinistic, in his interruptions to Harris and his ignoring the moderator Susan Page when she told him he was going past his allotted time. He also lies like Trump. How many people were aghast when Pence created an alternate reality on how the Obama/Biden Administration handled the swine flu epidemic? How many people laughed at the screen when he said, for example, the Trump/Pence Administration follows the science with regards to Climate Change? Or how many mocked him when he said Trump could not be racist because he said Trump had Jewish grandchildren? So did Stalin. Ask Russian Jews what he was like to them.

Third, the moderator Susan Page performed poorly. If there are future debates, moderators should have the ability to turn the microphone off on the candidates if they go over their allotted time or if they brazenly interrupt the other person on the stage. Page continually let Pence go over his allotted time and did nothing when he totally avoided questions like the one on pre-existing conditions when he just turned around and asked Harris about court-packing. She also did nothing when Pence, like Trump, avoided the question about peaceful transitions if the Biden/Harris ticket is declared the winner.

To be fair, Harris, like Pence, dodged the Presidential disability question.

Fourth, the unexpected star of the evening was a fly that found a temporary home on Pence's head. For minutes, it just nested there, not moving and Pence seemed oblivious to its presence. One does not need to imagine the laughter of the millions of viewers watching it or the social media commentary on that. Even the Biden team launched a fundraiser on it.

[caption id="attachment_99016" align="alignnone" width="253"] Photo from KYRnews[/caption][caption id="attachment_99017" align="alignnone" width="500"] Photo from Business Insider[/caption]

The best lines of the evening belonged to Harris. These included:

On the Severity of COVID 19 and Possible Vaccinations.

"And here’s the thing, on January 28th, the vice president and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic. They were informed that it’s lethal in consequence, that it is airborne, that it will affect young people, and that it would be contracted because it is airborne. And they knew what was happening, and they didn’t tell you."

"So I want to ask the American people, how calm were you when you were panicked about where you were going to get your next roll of toilet paper? How calm were you when your kids were sent home from school and you didn’t know when they could go back? How calm were you..."

"If the public health professionals, if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it, absolutely. But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it."

On Pence continually interrupting Her.

"Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking."

On who Mr. Trump owes Money to.

"And it’d be really good to know who the President of the United States, the commander-in-chief owes money to because the American people have a right to know what is influencing the President’s decisions. And is he making those decisions on the best interest of the American people, of you or self-interest?"

The Economy

"Joe Biden believes you measure the health and the strength of America’s economy based on the health and the strength of the American worker and the American family. On the other hand, you have Donald Trump who measures the strength of the economy based on how rich people are doing, which is why he passed a tax bill benefiting the top one percent and the biggest corporations of America, leading to a two trillion dollar deficit that the American people are going to have to pay for. On day one, Joe Biden will repeal that tax bill, he’ll get rid of it. And what he’ll do with the money is invest it in the American people."

"Well, I mean, I thought we saw enough of it in last week’s debate, but I think this is supposed to be a debate based on fact and truth and the truth and the fact is, Joe Biden has been very clear, he will not raise taxes on anybody who makes less than $400,000 a year."

Pre Existing Conditions

"If you have a preexisting condition, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, they’re coming for you. If you love someone who has a pre-existing condition [crosstalk 00:01:21], they’re coming for you. If you are under the age of 26 on your parents’ coverage, they’re coming for you."

Climate Change

"So, first of all, I will repeat and the American people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact. I will repeat that Joe Biden has been very clear that he thinks about growing jobs, which is why he will not increase taxes for anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year. Joe Biden’s economic plan… Moody’s, which is a reputable Wall Street firm, has said will create seven million more jobs than Donald Trump’s. And part of those jobs that will be created by Joe Biden are going to be about clean energy and renewable energy. Because you see, Joe understands that the West Coast of our country is burning, including my home state of California. Joe sees what is happening on the Gulf states, which are being battered by storms. Joe has seen and talked with the farmers in Iowa whose entire crops have been destroyed because of floods. And so Joe believes, again, in science. I’ll tell you something, Susan, I served when I first got to the Senate on the committee that’s responsible for the environment. Do you know, this administration took the word science off the website, and then took the phrase climate change off the website? We have seen a pattern with this administration, which is they don’t believe in science. And Joe’s plan is about saying we’re going to deal with it, but we’re also going to create jobs. Donald Trump, when asked about the wildfires in California, and the question was, the science is telling us this… You know what Donald Trump said? Science doesn’t know."

Trade War with China

"The president’s trade war with China. You lost that trade war. You lost it."

Pence's vote against the Auto Industry

"Joe Biden is responsible for saving America’s auto industry and you (Pence) voted against it." 

Pandemic Preparedness

"There is a weird obsession that President Trump has had with getting rid of whatever accomplishment was achieved by President Obama and Vice President Biden. For example, they created within the White House and office that basically was responsible for monitoring pandemics. They got rid of it. There was a team of disease experts that President Obama and Vice President Biden dispatched to China to monitor what is now predictable and what might happen. They pulled them out."

Foreign and Military Relations

"And the thing that has always been part of the strength of our nation in addition to our great military has been that we keep our word, but Donald Trump doesn’t understand that because he doesn’t understand what it means to be honest."

"So, after the strike on Soleimani, there was a counter-strike on our troops in Iraq, and they suffered serious brain injuries, and do you know what Donald Trump dismissed them as? Headaches. And this is about a pattern of Donald Trump’s where he has referred to our men who are serving in our military as suckers and losers. Donald Trump, who went to Arlington cemetery and stood above the graves of our fallen heroes and said, “What’s in it for them?” Because of course, he only thinks about what’s in it for him. Let’s take what he said about John McCain, a great American hero, and Donald Trump says, “He doesn’t deserve to be called a hero because it was a prisoner of war. Take, and this is very important when you want to talk about who is the current commander in chief and what they care about and what they don’t care about. Public reporting that Russia had bounties on the heads of American soldiers. And you know what a bounty is? It’s somebody puts a price on your head and they will pay it if you are killed, and Donald Trump had talked at least six times to Vladimir Putin and never brought up the subject. Joe Biden would never do that.”

Court Packing

"And do you know that of the 50 people who President Trump appointed to the court of appeals for lifetime appointments, not one is black? This is what they’ve been doing. You want to talk about packing a court? Let’s have that discussion."

Her Record and Racial Justice

"I will not sit here and be lectured by the Vice President on what it means to enforce the laws of our country. The only one on this stage, who has personally prosecuted everything from child sexual assault to homicide. I’m the only one on this stage who has prosecuted the big banks for taking advantage of America’s homeowners. I am the only one on this stage who prosecuted for-profit colleges for taking advantage of our veterans. And the reality of this is that we are talking about an election in 27 days where last week the President of the United States took a debate stage in front of 70 million Americans and refused to condemn white supremacists."

On the Election

"Of course, we have the support of Democrats, but also independents and Republicans. In fact, seven members of president George W. Bush’s cabinet are supporting our ticket. We have the support of Colin Powell, Cindy McCain, John Kasich. Over 500 generals, retired generals, and former national security experts and advisors are supporting our campaign. And I believe they are doing that because they know that Joe Biden has a deep, deep-seated commitment to fight for our democracy, and to fight for the integrity of our democracy, and to bring integrity back to the White House. We believe in the American people, we believe in our democracy, and here’s what I’d like to say to everybody. Vote, please vote, vote early, come up with a plan to vote, go to Iwillvote.com."

Senator Harris only reinforced the message that Joe Biden gave at the last debate and throughout this campaign. The country is headed in the wrong direction with Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

It is time for a change in 27 days.

Get out and vote.

Joe Biden calls for Unity and Bipartisanship in an Address at Gettysburg

 Invoking the legacy of Lincoln, 2020 Democratic Presidential Nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden called for the people of the United States to unite and work together to overcome the nation’s difficulties and save the soul of the country.

Please click below to watch the entire event.

Citing Lincoln as a President who “believed in the rescue, redemption, and rededication of the union,” Biden repeated the sixteenth Presidents warning that “a house (the country) divided cannot stand.”

 The Democratic Presidential Nominee went on further stating:

“Today, once again, we are a house divided, but that my friends can no longer be. We’re facing too many crises. We have too much work to do. We have too bright a future to have it shipwrecked on the Shoals of anger and hate, and division.”

 “As we stand here today, a century and a half later after Gettysburg, we should consider again, what can happen when equal justice is denied, when anger and violence and division are left unchecked. As I look across America today, I’m concerned. The country is in a dangerous place. Our trust in each other is ebbing. Hope seems elusive. Too many Americans see our public life, not as an arena for mediation of our differences, but rather they see it as an occasion for total, unrelenting, partisan warfare.”

 The former Vice President, repeating themes said in earlier addresses, pledged to be a President for all Americans and called for:

• “A return to bipartisanship and working together with one another.”
• To build bridges to bring people together, not walls to divide them.
• Proclaiming that there is no place for hatred in the United States.
• Racial justice and Law and Order, saying “I do not believe we have to choose between law and order, and racial justice in America.”
• Getting rid of white nationalist paramilitary groups and looters who use the peaceful protestors for their own fringe ends.
• Everyone to rely on science and knowledge to nationally combat COVID 19 including wearing a mask and adequately social distance. Mr. Biden reminded everyone that “this pandemic is not a red state or blue state issue. This virus doesn’t care whether you live, or where you live, what political party you belong to, it affects us all. It will take anyone’s life. It’s a virus. It’s not a political weapon.”
• Economic and Social Equality where “we cannot and will not accept an economic equation that only favors those who have already got it made; everybody deserves a shot at prosperity.”

Mr. Biden invoked Lincoln again in his closing remarks calling everyone to come together, saying:

“Lincoln said, “The nation is worth fighting for.” So it was. And so it is, together as one nation under God, indivisible. Let us join forces to fight the common foe of injustice and inequality, hate, and fear. Let’s conduct ourselves as Americans who love each other, who love our country, who will not destroy, but will build. We owe it to the dead who were buried here at Gettysburg. We owe that to the living, and to future generations yet to be born. You and I are part of a covenant, a common story of divisions overcome and hope renewed. If we do our part, if we stand together, if we keep faith with the past and with each other, then the divisions of our time will give way to the dreams of a brighter, better future. This is our work. This is our pledge. This is our mission. We can end this era of division. We can end the hate and the fear. We can be what we are at our best, the United States of America. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you. We can do this.”

The former Vice Presidents' words are inspiring and poetic. They beckon to an America where the ideals this country is based on could be achieved by all who live here.

The only question or pause readers should consider is that the former party of Lincoln has for decades been agents of obstruction, division, and backwardness. It has existed since the segregationist Dixiecrats found a home in the Republican Party in the 1960s and has become increasingly worse in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Trump Administrations.  They attempted to and/or stymied any forward legislation embraced by the Clinton and Obama Administrations.

Even if they are consigned to electoral exile after the November 3, 2020 elections, they have a 50-year track record that they will do anything to keep the country from moving forward.

Bringing people together and working in a bipartisan fashion should be the goal and aim of a Biden/Harris Administration.

However, they should be prepared to govern alone in case Republicans likely maintain their obstructionist ways.

They should be prepared to use whatever tool in their Executive and Legislative Power (including reconciliation and a relaxing of the filibuster) to advance the People’s Agenda.

 

Please watch the Lincoln Project's "Recovery" and "Covita"

 Their latest ads focus on Mr. Trump's premature return to the White House after spending three days at Walter Reed Hospital.

The first segment called "Recovery" is a short sequel to the sad and haunting "Hospital" ad that preceded it.

It shows the President of Betrayals return to the White House.

The ad, without a narrator, graphically states that while the Mad King may be recovering from the virus, over 200,000 American Citizens, with the spot shifting to a dying person on a ventilator, will not recover "from Donald Trump."

The ad concludes with "America or Trump."

The second ad called "Covita" is a marked change in tone from the previous two ads.

Like the "Recovery" ad, it plays back the 2016 Popular Vote Loser's return to the White House.

However, it is different in that it amusingly parody's Evita's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" with a singer reciting Covita.

Among the memorable twists are:

"Don't cry for me White House Staffers. The truth is I will infect you."

"I broke my promise. Won't keep my distance."

"As for wearing masks and acting sane, that is nothing I will ever do."

"So don't cry for me Secret Service. Though COVID might just well kill you."

"While on my joyride, I spread the virus."

The ad concludes with the KKK endorsed candidate going back into the White House coughing.

The Biden/Harris Campaign Condemns Trump for Pulling Out of the Stimulus Talks

 Donald Trump and the Republicans proved again today that they do not care about the people.

Today (October 6, 2020,) the Mad King stupidly pulled out of the COVID 19 Stimulus Talks with Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats, claiming the House Speaker was negotiating in bad faith and he would pass a stimulus plan after he wins reelection this November.

Really.

This is the same person who said he could get deals on:

• Mexico paying for the border wall.
• Quality, accessible, and affordable health care.
• Rebuilding America's infrastructure.
• A better nuclear agreement with Iran.
• A trade agreement with China.
• Freezing North Korea's nuclear program.
• Middle East peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. To be fair, the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain is significant.

The trade deal that Congress did pass (N.A.F.T.A 2.0) had more input from the ideas of, wait for it, Nancy Pelosi than the “writer” of The Art of the Deal.

If Donald Trump says he will do something, bet on the likely hood it will not happen.

The United States Stock Market, the entity that Trump always boasts about when discussing economic performance, took a 600-point downward shift when learning about the Stable Genius’s decision.

The airline industry, which Nancy Pelosi implored to not lay off workers, will probably do so.

Small businesses desperately need lifelines to get through the end of the year.

More resources are needed to be devoted to combatting COVID 19.

States and Cities (Blue and Red) need help.

Millions of American workers and families need the restoration of enhanced unemployment benefits (cut off in July) and other forms of assistance to weather the pandemic which, as the 2016 Popular Vote Loser personally knows, is not going away.

Republicans are to blame for this economic mess.

They mishandled how to combat the Coronavirus and the resulting economic fallout.

Even while he has the COVID 19 infection, the President of Betrayal is having, as others have pointed out, Mussolini styled photo ops, stupidly taking off his mask (he is still contagious) and tweeting that all is well and to not "let the virus dominate your life."

Tell that to the 210,000 people that are dead.

Democrats in the House have passed two versions of the Heroes Act while Republicans have quibbled over the price and been lukewarm to consider any additional measures.

The members of the former Party of Lincoln are more preoccupied with a last-minute power grab to put a reactionary nominee on the Supreme Court who could vote to take people’s health care away during a pandemic and a woman’s right to choose.

The Biden/Harris Ticket feels the same way about Trump and the Republican's actions.

The campaign issued a statement that read:

“Donald Trump ended the efforts to pass bipartisan relief that our nation desperately needs. He ended talks that would get help for our businesses and schools, for families struggling and for those unemployed — that would have preserved hundreds of thousands of jobs. Make no mistake: if you are out of work, if your business is closed, if your child’s school is shut down, if you are seeing layoffs in your community, Donald Trump decided today that none of that — none of it — matters to him. There will be no help from Washington for the foreseeable future. Instead, he wants the Senate to use it’s time to confirm his Supreme Court Justice nominee before the election, in a mad dash to make sure that the Court takes away your health care coverage as quickly as possible.”

 “He turned his back on the small businesses that are struggling to keep their doors open. He turned his back on the firefighters and police officers and other first responders who depend on state and local government budgets that are strained to the breaking point. He turned his back on teachers and school children — standing in the way of support to get the PPE and cleaning supplies and ventilation needed to safely reopen schools. He turned his back on every single worker whose job hasn’t come back yet--and who are left to wonder when they’ll get the break they deserve. He turned his back on families struggling to pay rent, put food on their table, and take care of their kids.”

 “Worse yet, he never even really tried to get a deal for these Americans. Not once did he bring Republicans and Democrats together in the Oval Office, on the phone, or by Zoom, to get a relief package that would help working people and small businesses in this country. Not once in the months since the House passed a relief package in May has he stepped up to lead."

"Today, I spoke to the country about the need to pull people together, regardless of their political background, to unite our country and to get things done for the American people.”

“That’s the job. To deliver for the people of this country. That’s what I did when I went to Congress and got the votes for the Recovery Act and led its implementation to pull our nation back from the brink in 2009 and kick off the longest uninterrupted streak of job growth in our history. That’s what I will do as president. And it’s what Donald Trump has again made clear he has no intention of doing ever.”

 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also commented on the Trump decision, stating:

"Clearly, the White House is in complete disarray…Today, once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP Members of Congress. Walking away from Coronavirus talks demonstrates that President Trump is unwilling to crush the virus, as is required by the Heroes Act. He shows his contempt for science, his disdain for our heroes — in health care, first responders, sanitation, transportation, food workers, teachers, teachers, teachers, and others — and he refuses to put money in workers’ pockets unless his name is printed on the check.”

Arizona District Two House Representative Ann Kirkpatrick tweeted:

https://twitter.com/RepKirkpatrick/status/1313577899786563584

Arizona District One House Representative Tom O’Halleran issued a statement, writing:

“President Trump’s refusal to come to the negotiating table on a new COVID-19 relief package is a conscious choice to ignore the severity of the crisis our country is facing. Inaction leaves hundreds of thousands of Americans who are sick, unemployed, food insecure, and struggling in every disparate way completely adrift in this global public health crisis. Our schools need resources to serve students safely, our businesses need investments, our tribal communities need improved infrastructure, and our health care system needs the funding to establish national testing, tracing, and treatment operations. There is no time left to prepare for resurges of this virus before the fall; it is fall. I am urging the president to reverse this decision, restart negotiations, and work with us to provide hardworking American families with the relief they need.”

Donald Trump and the Republicans have proven on multiple occasions that the people never come first for them.

They would rather see the masses suffer instead of enacting legislation that will offer them a lifeline.

On November 3, 2020, show them that they will never come in first again.

 

Watch the Sad and Haunting Lincoln Project Ad "Hospital"

 In one of the saddest and haunting ads of the 2020 election cycle, The Lincoln Project has released "Hospital."

With a person lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to a ventilator, the ad, without a narrator graphically describes how a COVID 19 patient, with the ventilator machine beeping in the background, spends their last days and hours without the company and comfort of a loved one being by their side, saying pleasing thoughts, or holding their hand.

The ad calls a person dying from the Coronavirus "the loneliest death imaginable."

The spot concludes with:

"For too many, this is how it ends today. Over 200,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID. We could have stopped it. His lying is killing us. We have to stop it. Vote him out."

Election Day is in 28 Days.

Save the Country.

Save the People.

 

The Lincoln Project Presents "Our Fight"

 In their latest ad "Our Fight," the Lincoln Project calls the American People to battle at the ballot box this November to vote out the Extremist Group Enabler and KKK Endorsed Candidate Donald Trump.

After reminding the viewers that American Presidents until Trump, had denounced fringe groups like American Fascists, the KKK, and the John Birch Society, the narrator recounts that:

"Today, for the first time in our history, an American President embraces extremists and incites them to violence."

The ad then plays the KKK endorsed candidate's comments at the debate for the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by."

The narrator continues:

"Donald Trump is refusing to accept the results of our Democratic elections and calls for violent extremists to "stand by." It's dangerous, Anti American and a threat to Democracy unlike any in our history."

The ad concludes with the narrator calling the American People, like their grandparents who fought in World War Two, to do "our duty" and battle by turning out and voting this November, saying:

"Trump or America? Fight for America. Vote."

Election Day is in 30 days.

SNL parody of Tuesday's Debate