This week I was blessed with the once in a lifetime opportunity to attend the Democratic Presidential Primary Debate in Detroit. 2 nights, 20 candidates vying for the opportunity to create real change in America. I honestly love sitting and listening to 20 individuals fight over who is going to deliver the best health care system, deliver the best solution to the existential crisis that is climate change, deliver effective and humane immigration reform, deliver adequate criminal justice reform the offers reparations for the mistakes of the past, and much more. It was LIT. (Sorry I couldn’t help myself) I remember feeling so energized after the first set of debates, so hopeful for 2020 and the future of America. I was unbelievably excited to experience this in person. This second set of debates had so much more at stake, and you could definitely tell by the energy and aggressiveness on stage.
The first night was the BIG night for me, with the two progressives Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren taking the stage. As a working class American, their plans and ideals speak to me. My family needs Medicare for All. My family needs student debt forgiveness. My family needs one job to be enough (I’ve been working two since I graduated college). My family needs a system that cares about the needs of my family, and not the profits of the big corporations funding their campaign. The biggest thing I have learned from Bernie Sanders, is to #FollowTheMoney and I was happy to hear him call out not only CNN’s republican talking points and their advertisers that night who were running a smear campaign against Medicare for All, but also the fact that many candidates on the stage (Delaney specifically) have taken millions in donations from the health care industry, and their fear for real structural change that derives from the dark money they receive. My top three favorite moments from the first debate were:
- “I do know. I wrote the damn bill,” Sanders shot back when Ohio Representative Tim Ryan told him that “you don’t know that” in regards to the coverage Medicare for All would provide. MIC DROP. I’m sure if you were listening at home, you heard me scream in the audience. Do not question Bernie Sanders, he’s got a lifetime of experience fighting for these issues.
2. “By the way, the healthcare industry will be advertising tonight on this program,” Sanders said after accusing CNN moderator Jake Tapper of using “a Republican talking point” disguised as a question about Medicare for All. “They will be advertising tonight with that talking point.” I think its vital for the American people to understand how much influence the media we consume has. Big pharmaceutical, and health care industries are willing to spend billions of our dollars to influence this election. They don’t want the American people to receive affordable care because it would cut into their profits. In an article by David Dayen on The American Prospect, Dayen writes “The unfiltered 90 seconds of three of these commercials in succession comprised more screen time than anything in the debate about money in politics,” Dayen wrote. “The country cannot afford to have CNN creating the proscenium through which America gets informed.”
3. After Delaney (I’ve been calling him Douchebag Delaney since the debate but that is highly inappropriate I’m sorry) urged the party to not run on “impossible promises”, the queen of plans Elizabeth Warren shot back “I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we can’t do and shouldn’t fight for”. She was an active voice for Democrats being the party of real structural change, and did not back down to any of the moderates claims that the progressive vision of America is impossible. Watching her rub her hands together and raise her eyebrows when it was brought up that Delaney would have to pay up in Warrens plan to tax to ultra-rich was iconic.
Overall, it was clear CNN and the Moderates were determined to tear the progressives apart. Much to their chagrin, Bernie and Elizabeth know their stuff and are not two to be tangled with. Instead of pushing Americans away from these progressive policies, I feel as if they showed the clear biased narrative being pushed by the healthcare industry that is profiting off of the sickness of American people. I was honored to be present this awe-inspring night. Luckily, at the end of the debate some candidates stayed for pictures. While Bernie was unable to do so (my heart is still broken) I did get some pictures with a few of the other candidates!
I left the debate energized for the future, pissed off at CNN, and desperately hungry. My friend and I got in an uber determined to get some IHOP, assuming it was 24 hours (aren’t they all?) only to find out they were closed and so was every other restaurant near us. We panicked and searched quickly for anything nearby, finding an American Coney Island place and asked to be dropped off there. The menu comprised of mostly coney dogs and fries and while we were disappointed with the spread, a surprise made it all worth while. I slipped to the bathroom while my friend was in line and came out and there were two new people now in line behind us. I look back and I’m like OH MY GOD ITS Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of the #SQUAD. I’m almost sure of it but I’m nervous to ask so I keep taking looks back. Finally, it was either ask her if she was the Congresswoman or leave the establishment because I had taken a few too many peeks back. I asked her and she goes ” I am”. She had changed out of the outfit she wore to the debate and was wearing “scrub” clothes so I refrained from asking for a picture. Later on, she was sitting with some younger high school kids (she had mentioned she was watching a friends daughter) who were actively discussing the debate. It was remarkable to hear her talking politics with high school kids on such a real level, reminding the kids to not rely on the debate too much, but to look up the track record of each candidate and see if their actions match the pretty words they spew on stage.
I woke up the next morning at 10:30 a.m. I repeat: I work up the next morning at 10:30 a.m. I have not slept in that late since early, pre-IHOP, college days. It was nothing short of amazing. Once awake and ready for the day, I decided to make the best of my mini-vacation, exploring Detroit on my own leading up to the debate. I ate breakfast at a diner, bringing a book with me to reduce the anxiety of eating alone, and then headed to the Detroit RiverWalk. It was a beautiful day and I spent a good amount of time relaxing by the water and reading. Once I was ready for a change of scenery, I headed to a place I have always wanted to go, Michigan’s largest book store! It was four stories tall, with each floor filled to the brim with books; aka my personal version of heaven. My friend messaged me and said if I could meet her at the IBEW I would have the opportunity to meet some important figures. We stuck around long enough to eat (we were not going to make that mistake again), get my picture with Govenor Gretchen Whitmer and to confirm no candidates were showing up to the event before heading out for night two of the debates!
While I was not as personally invested in night two, I was still excited to be present and to hear some of the candidates I thought had stood out in the previous debates. The greatest part (and sometimes the worst part) about these elections, is that we will see these politicians again, regardless if they win. There was so much young promise on the stage during these two nights, it makes you hopeful for the future. The second night was also very interesting because they were able to talk about some topics in detail that did not get discussed very much in the first debate such as gun violence, police brutality and criminal justice reform. At the end I stuck around and I was able to get a picture with Cory Booker, who in my opinion won the debate that night and Andrew Yang, a political outsider known for breaking down boundaries.
Honestly, one of the most moving moments of the night for me was Lt. Govenor Garlin Gilchrist II introductory speech. He received a standing ovation that did not stop until he reminded us we had a debate to get to. It was a monumental moment in Michigan history and I got to be there for it. It reminded me the vital role local and state politics play in creating true policy change and the importance of paying attention to all elections, not just the Presidential race. When I hear my friends and family complaining about their wages, their health care, their work environment, the lack of affordable housing in their area, their public schools, etc, but then also claim they don’t care about politics, I’m appalled. Apathy is not a choice. If you don’t like how things are going, get educated on the issues and get involved. The working class will continue to suffer if we do not rise up and meet the challenge. We are American’s too, and we deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s time we stop falling into the Republican’s hands, fighting over table scraps. We are the backbone of America, and the issue isn’t the lack of resources, it’s politicians not making the priority of everyday American’s the priority of the government. The question surrounding fixing our failing environment and health care, education, immigration, and criminal justice systems should not be “How will we pay for it?” but rather “Why have we not paid for this already?”. It’s time we start investing in the American people again, and stop spending unfathomable amounts of money on endless wars. Our Government official’s job is to serve, not rule and I believe a few will be reminded of that this November when they’re tossed to the curb.
“The future of our society and our planet is too important for anyone to sit on the sidelines”
Lt. Govenor Garlin Gilchrist II