LRN62 - Debates
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Welcome back!
Since the last post was quite long, I’m going to attempt to be more succinct in this post. So many things are happening in the United States and the world, that it is hard to keep up with everything. That’s why I prefer LRN to be more of a ‘look back and deconstruct’ rather than ‘in-the-moment commentary’ type of resource. Back in the day, when I was actively updating Twitter, I used to live tweet many a political event or broadcast, but those days are long gone. Not just because I’ve moved away from the cesspool (always was, always will be) that is ‘X’, but also because that type of writing is exhausting. It can also be annoying for followers.
Having said that, I realize that if you are still here after my hiatus, you are probably cool with however this newsletter continues forward. I just really enjoy over-explaining my path.
What I want to say, truly, is that I’m grateful you are still here with me. And I would love to hear from you on what you think about everything that is going on in the United States and the world. I’ve yet to start a note thread here, but I’m not sure I want to get that deep into substack.
In the meantime, please feel free to comment and let me know what you think. How are things going in your town? What is up with you? I would love to hear from those of you who read this newsletter, to better get to know my audience and what you might like to see going forward. A simple chit-chat is nice too. We could all use some interaction, even if it is online.
Debate Night in America
By now I would assume that you have heard about the first debate between Vice President (VP) Harris and Former President (FP) Trump. During the debate, VP Harris was well-prepared and spot-on with all of her responses and rebuttals. I mean, did we think she would be any less than overprepared? She is a former Prosecutor, State Attorney General of California, and current Vice President of the United States. She has an extensive amount of experience in making her case and she overachieved on September 10th. There is talk of a second debate, on October 23rd, which VP Harris has already accepted, but it remains to be seen if FP Trump will again face this formidable challenger.
If he does accept, he might want to think about preparing for the debate this time around and maybe study what strategy VP Harris used. She employed what is known as the “Four Step Refutation” process of debate. Anyone who was paying attention while watching the debate could pick up on the cadence that VP Harris was using and the fact that she was, indeed, employing a formal debate strategy. I’ve done a bit of research into this strategy, to share.
First, let me post the full transcript from the debate here. By reading through it, you can see how well-crafted VP Harris’ responses were and how FP Trump responded with a much more disheveled rhetorical structure. He was, obviously, ill-prepared to debate at all, let alone against a world-class litigator.
READ: Harris-Trump Presidential Debate Transcript (source: abcnews.go.com)
VP Harris did not always answer with each of the following four steps, but she certainly maintained this structure throughout the debate, when possible:
Signal: Restate the claim your opponent has stated or, when asked the question directly, state what your opponent believes or will do, drawn from facts.
State: Make a counter-claim and describe what you would do to improve or fix the issue at hand.
Support: Reference evidence for your claim.
Summarize: Explain the importance of your argument.
One bit of flair that she exhibited, multiple times, was to replace the 4th step, Summarize, with a comment or quip about the Former President that would set him back on his heels. This resulted, many times, in Trump chasing that ‘carrot’ rather than answering the question at hand. At times, he even continued to chase the previous comment well into future questions, rather than giving a cohesive answer.
It was very apparent that FP Trump had not done his homework. I feel for the people on his staff that had to prep him for the debate and I imagine that room was tense at best. Who knows if FP Trump even allows anyone to prep him for these debates? I assume he sees it as an opportunity to return to what he considers his ‘glory days of the Apprentice’, where he can simply yell at people and get away with it. Unfortunately for him, this isn’t a reality show, this is real life. Presidential Debates are formal affairs where rules and decorum are prized. No matter how intense an election cycle might be, the debate stage is the one place where the candidates should come prepared to speak on their policies and show why they would be the better fit for the office, rather than spreading fear and disinformation on a national stage.
Shouldn’t the fact that FP Trump doesn’t even understand debate strategy or how to make a cohesive argument disqualify him from running in the first place? Or have we dumbed our country down so much that a failed businessman who cannot discuss any of his potential policies, fails up to the White House, again? Seriously.
I am hopeful that this debate, and any future meetings of these two candidates, will convince voters that we cannot afford another 4 years of Trump the numbskull. We cannot elect a D-list reality star to run this country again. We made a huge mistake, as a nation, in 2016, electing Trump in the first place and the United States cannot withstand another 4 years of his nonsense. The only way FORWARD is with Kamala Harris. She is, after all, for the people.
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Project 2025
I’m sure you have heard a lot about Project 2025 by now. They talked about it during the DNC convention and it was brought up at the debate. The basic gist is that the Heritage Foundation wrote an 887-page document that is billed as the 2025 Presidential Transition Plan. The full document can be found here: Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise (project2025.org)
Most people won’t be diving into that long document, so to better understand exactly how this plan can go into effect, if a Republican is elected, the following video is very helpful. Keep in mind that this isn’t ONLY a Trump thing. The Heritage Foundation has been working on these plans for 50+ years and they will continue pushing forward into the future. We must be hyper-vigilant against this fascism in our midst.
source: media matters for america