VP Debate

Didn't watch. Here are a few synopses:



Perhaps that's because Lester Holt took so much flak for allowing Trump and Clinton to go at it.

Or perhaps because they know nobody really cares what vice presidential candidates in this campaign have to say.  Let's just get this over with and move on to the real bouts with Clinton and Trump.

In one of the stranger moments of this strange vice presidential debate, Mike Pence and Tim Kaine puffed up their chests and grappled with one another over who can be more antagonistic to Russia and who can scare Vladimir Putin more. Though it was a close call, Pence won this Tough Guy competition by advocating the use of military force against Putin’s ally, Syria’s Bashar Assad, and even calling for the targeting of Russian military assets in Syria.

  Glenn Greenwald

Perhaps it's important to note that even though Trump talks like he's against making war with Russia, he's said that Pence will be in charge of domestic and foreign policy. I think that's because he doesn't know anything about either and only wants to be president to soak up more publicity and put the Trump brand on the whole country - nay, the world. He wants to be king, not president. I'm pretty sure he could be talked into anything as long as it didn't interfere with his narcissistic aims.

Both Donald Trump and Governor Mike Pence have clear records in support of privatizing Social Security — in fact, Pence criticized George W. Bush’s failed privatization plan for not going far enough! But rather than being honest with the American people, Mike Pence sought to mislead them tonight. He did that because poll after poll shows that the American people support expanding, not cutting, Social Security. In one recent survey, 68% of voters, including 53% of Republicans, opposed Social Security privatization.”

  Jon Schwarz

I wonder if Trump's blue collar supporters understand this.

“I know, Senator Kaine, you hold pro-life views personally, but the very idea that a child that is almost born into the world could still have their life taken from them is just anathema to me,” Pence said.

Kaine replied: “We support Roe versus Wade. We support the constitutional right — of American women to consult their own conscience, their own support of partner at their own minister, but make their own decision about pregnancy. That is something we trust American women to do.”

  Naomi LaChance

Moderator Elaine Quijano implied that Social Security faces a coming crisis, pointing to the future of the Social Security Trust Fund as if it were synonymous with the Social Security program overall.

[...]

. The program will still be taking in enough money to pay most of its payments. And there’s a simple fix that would allow it to make 100 percent of payments for the foreseeable future.

Currently, the payroll tax only taxes income up to $118,500. Whether you earn that income or $10 million a year, only the first $118,500 is taxed. If we simply lifted the tax cap and taxed all income equally, there would be no issue making payments for decades.

  Zaid Jilani

Not to mention, they could stop taking money out of it for other things.



It sounds like the VP debate discussed more domestic issues than the presidential one.

One of the odder moments in tonight’s debate came when Tim Kaine spoke eloquently about his faith and his personal opposition to the death penalty — then boasted that he was able to separate his faith and his duty as Virginia’s governor by carrying out executions anyway.

  Zaid Jilani

There's a man of convictions. This is the second instance I see where the candidates have had to discuss their religion. When did this become a prerequisite for the presidency? It's strictly forbidden by the Constitution. Did it happen when John Kennedy - a Catholic - ran for office, or was it there before him? How long has this been going on? It needs to stop.





Helpful, Don.  Thanks.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.