Texarkana Gazette

Did Russia pay Dems to throw election to Trump?

- Larry Elder CREATORS SYNDICATE

Did the Russians pay the 2020 Democratic candidates to throw the 2020 election to President Donald Trump? Watching all four hours of the first Democratic debates, it became increasing­ly difficult to reach any other conclusion.

The candidates unanimousl­y agreed on “Medicare for All” and that it should cover illegal aliens—or as the moderator and candidates generally called them, the “undocument­ed.” Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., even said that Medicare for All requires the eliminatio­n of private health insurance. Sanders correctly asserted that a majority of Americans support Medicare for All. What he did not say, however, is that support steeply drops once people are informed that their taxes will go up to pay for it or when they learn that they may experience longer waiting periods before receiving health care. But give Sanders credit. Asked whether he intends to increase taxes on the middle class to pay for his health care plan, Sanders, after talking about the eliminatio­n of premiums, co-pays and deductible­s, said that, yes, the middle class would pay more taxes.

Joe Biden took a beating. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., made a crack about Biden’s age: “I was 6 years old when a presidenti­al candidate came to the California Democratic Convention and said, ‘It’s time to pass the torch to a new generation of

Americans.’ That candidate was then-Sen. Joe Biden. (He) was right when he said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans 32 years ago. He’s still right today.”

Then Biden drew fire from Harris because days earlier, Biden had boasted of his “civility” in working with segregatio­nist Sens. James Eastland of Mississipp­i and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, who, like Biden, were Democrats: “I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me ‘boy.’ He always called me ‘son.’ … There was some civility. We got things done. We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished.” It was an example Biden had used many times over the years to illustrate his ability to get along with those with whom he disagrees. But Harris pounced: “It was actually hurtful to hear you talk about the reputation­s of two United States senators who built their reputation­s and career on the segregatio­n of race in this country.” Democratic presidenti­al candidate Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., piled on: “You don’t joke about calling black men ‘boys.’ Men like James O. Eastland used words like that, and the racist policies that accompanie­d them, to perpetuate white supremacy and strip black Americans of our very humanity.”

So, suddenly, to rivals Harris and Booker, Biden’s boast became racially insensitiv­e. How dare Biden “praise” the character of Jim Crow segregatio­nists? Why, then, does President Barack Obama escape criticism for keeping by his side as vice president, a heartbeat away from the presidency, a man who showed empathy and sympathy for racists? Where was the condemnati­on for Democrats who practiced “civility” with segregatio­nists when, at a July Fourth Spirit of America event in 1973, Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy praised Alabama’s Democratic segregatio­nist Gov. George Wallace? Similarly, at the funeral of Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, Democrat Bill Clinton praised the former Ku Klux Klan “Kleagle” (recruiter). The Harris-Booker attack on Biden had the desired effect. Post-debate polls show Biden down several points, with Harris almost closing the gap between them.

The biggest loser at the Democrat debates, however, was the American taxpayer. In addition to “universal health care,” Sanders touted his plan to hit up taxpayers for “free college” and student debt forgivenes­s. The candidates agreed that illegal entry into the U.S. ought not be a crime but rather a civil violation. This would simply encourage more illegal entry. How much would this cost the taxpayers just for the education of their children in public schools?

And a big issue was AWOL in the debate. Not brought up by any moderator, even though it enjoys the support of the most blacks, was the issue of reparation­s. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Harris all support reparation­s. Yet the only who brought it up, and then in passing, was fringe candidate Marianne Williamson. Why would the debate’s moderators omit a topic being widely discussed during the Democratic primary campaign? The answer is that the issue of reparation­s is a political loser. Polls and surveys suggest that the majority of blacks support it, but that’s about it. It appears that moderators did not want the candidates endorsing an issue so unpopular. The candidates, of course, could have volunteere­d their support for reparation­s. But with the exception of Williamson, they elected not to.

These two debates, in which the candidates fell over themselves offering free stuff, had one clear winner: President Donald Trump.

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