All The Key Moments From The Third Democratic Presidential Debate

The original article can be found here.
You can watch the debate here.

The Third Democratic Presidential Debate took place on Sept. 12.

 

The third democratic presidential debate is upon us, taking place at Texas Southern University in Houston. I only watched the first hour or so, where the debate was mostly comprised of universal health care discussions — and I have quite a bit of criticism.

As the candidates introduced themselves and began discussing issues, one of their main themes was that they were all on the same team — the democrats. Now, since this is a competition for the presidential election, there is obviously going to be some competition. But following Julián Castro and Joe Biden's petty verbal scuffle, Pete Buttigieg voiced his opinions.

"This is why national debates are becoming unwatchable. This reminds everybody of what they cannot stand about Washington. Scoring points against each other, poking at each other," Buttigieg said.

Castro responded smugly and condescendingly, "Yeah that's called the democratic primary election. That's called an election, you know? This is what we're here for. It's an election."

Same team right? Even though they all have different plans, they're fighting for the same thing: universal health care. Why get into an argument and throw cheap shots at each other? The exchange that Castro had with Biden and then Buttigieg after made him immediately unlikable to me. One of the reasons for the continuing divide in the United States is the continued divide in politicians, even those who are on the same side. If they can't set some kind of example and show some respect for each other without being condescending, how are the American people who support these candidates supposed to react?



Two major themes that the candidates' seemed to support appeared to contradict each other: uniting the nation and hating Donald Trump. I get it. Trump's time in office has been questionable (to put it very lightly), and his past and path to presidency was littered with racist comments and his immaturity shown by his tweets also reflected some poor judgment. But nearly half of the voting population was in support of him.

Take Kamala Harris for example. A couple of her opening statements disregarded the issue at hand, and instead took shots at Trump's presidency and him as a person, which appeared to me as a cheap way to gain applause from the audience. Even Buttigieg said that those who vote for Trump are turning the other cheek to racism. That's a quick and easy way to widen the divide between democrats and republicans.

I don't support or endorse Trump. I think he's very unfit for the presidency and politics in general. But a good portion of the country doesn't think so. And if your motto as a candidate is to unite the nation while simultaneously pissing off half the country by bashing their favorable candidate, it just doesn't seem consistent. Rather than discussing everything Trump has done wrong and talking about how bad of a person he is, focus on the future. This is a progressive generation. If you really want to unite the American citizens, then respect all people. You don't unite a country by saying that the voters of the other party are racist — you focus on what you plan on doing and how you're the best candidate.

Judging from last election's debates, these have the potential to be brutal. I hate seeing these candidates avoid questions altogether to throw in some rehearsed statement that doesn't feel genuine, nor do I like seeing politicians being pitted against each other and hurling insults rather than discussing issues. Buttigieg and a few other candidates seem to recognize this, but there's still a way to go before respect is built between democrats and republicans.