Sunday School 1/8/23: Extra Credit

In your Sunday School, I promised a punditry recap for your Extra Credit. In the interest of our collective sanity, I'm only going to cover one classroom - This Week with George Stephanopoulos. 

The panel included regulars Donna Brazile and Chis Christie; Susan Page (USA Today); and author Maggie Haberman.

A. McCarthy's bid for Speaker.

Christie said Kevin McCarthy's victory, in a town where "winning is better than losing," he showed his toughness; he held onto 200 votes over the long slog, but now, he has to govern.

...the challenge is going to be, how do you lead a group like that to getting to 218 on a number of issues that you care about and a number of issues you want to play defense on? And that's going to be interesting to watch over the next two years.

Page noted that Nancy Pelosi won with fewer than 218 votes, too, but she did it behind closed doors - and without the concessions. 

I think the new speaker's problem is, he didn't resolve the divide in the Republican Party, he empowered the insurgents so that Scott Perry... is almost as powerful as Kevin McCarthy in this next Congress.

Brazil, noting Perry referenced Frederick Douglass, had a Douglass line, too: 'it's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.' And, she maintains, McCarthy's caucus is broken.

It's broken because it has a split personality. The Freedom Caucus, unlike the Progressive Caucus that Nancy Pelosi could bring to the table, the Freedom Caucus held out because they want committee slots, they want to run the Rules Committee, which is a very powerful committee, they want to make sure that they're on... the Budget Committee. They are going to create havoc, not just for Kevin McCarthy, but for the United States of America.

Haberman was asked about her friend Donald Trump helping McCarthy across the finish line. She's not sure he had "a lot" of influence, but he definitely had some. She said Trump made his early "public push" for McCarthy not because wanted to, but "because he gave some mealy-mouth comment to an NBC reporter," but it didn't do much to shift the dial. In the end, though,  

he did make calls to people like Matt Gaetz and he did have some influence there. That's a problem for Kevin McCarthy... it’s not just Scott Perry and the House Freedom Caucus, it’s this Matt Gaetz group. And Matt Gaetz he kept his folks together. And he is now in a pretty strong position with McCarthy.

B. Can they govern?

On the looming battle over the debt limit, Christie thinks negotiation will be necessary, no matter what President Biden thinks.  

He lost the House. He's got to negotiate. And so, to say that the Republicans would be the obstructionists, well, now you have divided government and you have to -- both sides are going to have to give. Chuck Schumer is going to have to give. Joe Biden is going to have to give. And Kevin McCarthy’s going to have to give ultimately. So, if we have a fiscal disaster because of some of these things, it's going to be us judging who's been willing to negotiate and who hasn't. 

I think Biden said is he's not willing to negotiate on Social Security and Medicare, which is not the same as "refusing to negotiate" on anything; we'll have to see what happens. 

Brazile thinks it may be hard to get a majority of the House to come together on critical legislation. 

I do believe that Kevin McCarthy is going to have a very difficult job maintaining the unity of the Republican caucus – I don’t even know why I can put “unity” and “Republican” in the same breath. I mean Hakeem Jeffries is going to have a unified caucus. I don't believe that Kevin McCarthy will be able to get the votes he need on the debt ceiling, on the functioning of government, which is to keep it funded, and on any major crisis that might come before us. 

Page addressed the question of whether House & Senate Rs will be aligned. She said they don't often align "in either party," which I think we've seen to be true. She also said there might be a better question to ask than whether McCarthy can keep his caucus together. 

Could there be a coalition of the more moderate Republicans and the more moderate Democrats to get things through in the House? That's not something we saw happen in the speaker's fight. I think that is possible that we could see it...

Stephanopoulos seemed doubtful, since it didn't happen during the Speaker voting, but I think that was a different situation. That was the Rs having a family feud; it wasn't anything as universally important as financing the government.

C. What about 2024?

Trump's in, of course, and Haberman thinks Biden's in, too: "I think anybody who is questioning that Biden is actually running right now is kidding themselves." She says Trump "definitely still has influence; he's definitely still important, but he's not president anymore, and he's not what he was." That was made clear when representatives didn't want to take his call last week.

She said she's "certainly never seen anything like this," where some declares their candidacy and "then basically does nothing."

...he is still commanding a decent chunk of the Republican primary electorate. So, you can't say that he's done. But he is certainly not being handed anything. And as we saw over the past week, he just doesn't have the same fear factor with his party that he had once upon a time. I don't know if it's going anywhere or not.

And, she said we won't really know until we find out if any of the investigations will yield charges. 

Christie doesn't think any of this impacts people who might be considering running. He expects a "slow-moving race," and that Trump's early announcement gave everyone else time to wait and see what happens. He also doesn't expect a crowded field.

I don't think it's going to be more than seven or eight people, max. And so all that's going to take time to develop. I wouldn't expect a field to fully develop until the end of June. Because the RNC has said the first debates are going to be in July, in Milwaukee. And I don't think anybody is going to feel any compulsion to get in... 

He thinks folks will wait it out, and he said "to go in early, huge political strategic mistake." 

Feel free to chime in: who are your picks to challenge Trump and Biden? Will folks like Elise Stefanik - and Kevin McCarthy - continue to support Trump if any of the 'witch hunts' result in charges? Is Kamala Harris automatically the front-runner if Biden decides not to run?  

See you around campus.

The VP Debate: Questions and Answers

Another post started with a confession - shame on me.

I did not watch the entire debate. I lasted about half an hour, and then I switched over to watch North Woods Law, a show about conservation officers in New Hampshire and how they deal with people, and animals, on a daily basis. 

Their work entails listening to what people say, and what they don't say; setting aside their own beliefs and impressions to cut to the chase and take care of an issue; and acting with empathy and compassion towards people (and animals) when they are not at their best. 

As I listened to as much of the debate as I did, I tried to act like a North Woods officer, and really listen to the questions that were being asked, and the answers that were given. When the lies and honestly, the "let me get my talking points in here before time runs out, or even after time runs out, because that's what I'm here for, really" stuff, I gave up and promised myself and others that I'd watch it today and that I would read the transcript. 

I kept my promise, I did.

Below is my take on the actual questions, sometimes hidden in a lot of moderator talk, and the portion of any response that directly addressed the question that was asked. 

HQ is a question asked of Senator Kamala Harris; PQ is a question asked of VP Mike Pence. If the answer provided was not directly responsive to the question, you'll see a blank space where the answer should be. 

Here is the debate, in a nutshell.

HQ. What would a Biden administration do in January and February that a Trump administration wouldn’t do? Would you impose new lockdowns for businesses and schools and hotspots, a federal mandate to wear masks?

A. And our plan is about what we need to do around a national strategy for contact tracing, for testing, for administration of the vaccine, and making sure that it will be free for all.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. Why is the US death toll, as a percentage of our population, higher than that of almost every other wealthy country?

A.

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PQ. How can you expect Americans to follow the administration’s safety guidelines to protect themselves from COVID when you at the White House have not been doing so?

A. The difference here is President Trump and I trust the American people to make choices in the best interest of their health

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HQ. If the Trump administration approves a vaccine before or after the election, should Americans take it, and would you take it?

A. 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.

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PQ. Vice President Pence, have you had a conversation or reached an agreement with President Trump about safeguards or procedures when it comes to the issue of presidential disability? And if not, do you think you should?

A.

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HQ.  have you had a conversation or reached an agreement with Vice President Biden about safeguards or procedures when it comes to the issue of presidential disability? And if not, and if you win the election next month, do you think you should? 

A.

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PQ. Neither President Trump, nor Vice President Biden has released a sort of detailed health information that had become the modern norm until the 2016 election. And in recent days, President Trump’s doctors have given misleading answers, or refused to answer basic questions about his health. And my question to each of you in turn is, is this information voters deserve to know?

A. And the transparency that they practiced all along the way will continue. The American people have a right to know about the health and well-being of their president, and we’ll continue to do that. 

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HQ. Do voters have a right to know more detailed health information about presidential candidates and especially about presidents, especially when they’re facing some kind of challenge?

A. Absolutely. And that’s why Joe Biden has been so incredibly transparent. And certainly, by contrast that the President has not, both in terms of health records…I’m glad you asked about transparency because it has to be across the board. Joe has been incredibly transparent over many, many years. The one thing we all know about Joe, he puts it all out there. He is honest, he is forthright…

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HQ. And you would pay for that new spending by raising four trillion dollars in taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. Some economists warn that could curb entrepreneurial ventures that fuel growth and create jobs. Would raising taxes put the recovery at risk? 

A.

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PQ. Should Americans be braced for an economic comeback that is going to take not months, but a year or more?

A.

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PQ. Do you believe as the scientific community has concluded, that man-made climate change has made wildfires bigger, hotter, and more deadly and have made hurricanes wetter, slower and more damaging?

A. And with regard to hurricanes, the National Oceanic Administration tells us that actually as difficult as they are, there are no more hurricanes today than there were 100 years ago.

*****     *****     ***** 

HQ. What exactly would be the stance of a Biden-Harris administration toward the Green New Deal?

A. I will repeat and the American people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking…And part of those jobs that will be created by Joe Biden are going to be about clean energy and renewable energy…And so Joe believes, again, in science…Joe is about saying we’re going to invest that in renewable energy, which is going to be about the creation of millions of jobs. We will achieve net zero emissions by 2050, carbon neutral by 2035…We will also reenter the Climate Agreement with pride.

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PQ. Vice President Pence, do you believe that climate change poses an existential threat?

A. As I said, Susan, the climate is changing.

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PQ. How would you describe our fundamental relationship with China? Competitors? Adversaries? Enemies?

A.

QH. How would you describe our fundamental relationship with China? Are we competitors? Adversaries? Enemies?

A.

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HQ. What is your definition of the role of American leadership in 2020? 

A. Just think about it as relationships. So we know this in our personal and professional relationships, you got to keep your word to your friends. Got to be loyal to your friends. People who’ve stood with, you got to stand with them. You got to know who your adversaries are and keep them in check… it’s about relationships. 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…

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PQ. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, what would you want Indiana to do? Would you want your home state to ban all abortions?

A.

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HQ. If Roe V Wade is overturned, what would you want California to do? Would you want your home state to enact no restrictions on access to abortion? 

A.

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PQ. Tell us specifically, how would your administration protect Americans with preexisting conditions to have access to affordable insurance if the Affordable Care Act is struck down? 

A.

****     *****     ***** 

HQ. In the case of Breonna Taylor was justice done? 

A. I don’t believe so…And her life was taken unjustifiably and tragically and violently.

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PQ. In the case of Breonna Taylor, was justice done?

A. I trust our justice system, a grand jury that reviews the evidence.

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HQ. If your ticket wins and president Trump refuses to accept a peaceful transfer of power, what steps would you and vice president Biden then take? What would happen next?  

A.

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PQ. If vice president Biden is declared the winner and president Trump refuses to accept a peaceful transfer of power, what would be your role and responsibility as vice president? What would you personally do?

A.

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PQ. If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along? 

A. I want to tell you that we’re going to work every day to have government as good as our people, and the American people each and every day. Love a good debate. We love a good argument. But we always come together and are always there for one another in times of need. And we’ve especially learned that through the difficulties of this year.

*****     *****     *****

HQ. If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along?

A. Joe has a longstanding reputation of working across the aisle, and working in a bipartisan way. And that’s what he’s going to do as president… I do believe the future is bright. And it will be because of your leadership, and it will be because we fight for each person’s voice through their vote.

And blissfully, that was the end of it. 

Now, you may think that all the other stuff that was said during the 90 minutes or so of the debate was necessary, or helpful, but to me, it wasn't. It was just talking points, it was trying to get the soundbite in, it was looking for a zinger... and even those fell pretty flat.

You can see that, if we scheduled the debates for 30 minutes, there'd be more than enough time for the actual questions and answers. And if the Commission on Presidential Debates wants to allow an hour of random chatter after the actual question part, that's up to them. 

I've been watching debates since 1968, when I followed the election with my Dad, a history teacher, who was trying to get his high school juniors and seniors engaged in our process for choosing a president. That was also the first year I 'voted,' going into the booth with him, pulling the curtain back, and pushing the lever for his choices. With that foundation, I've been engaged in this stuff ever since, but my distaste for the debate process has increased as my interest in actually sitting through them while they are happening has waned.

How about you? Did you think anyone answered questions that were actually asked? Did I miss anything that was responsive to the specific question posed by Susan Page? What did you think of the debate as a whole?