Thursday, October 08, 2020

부통령 후보, Pence 와 Harris간 정책대결 토론회, 정치꾼들은 선동가 기질이 다분한 집단으로 이해됐다.

 우선, 어젯밤 토론회의 질서는 첫번째 대통령후보들 토론회때보다, 많이 차분했었고, 중간에 끼어드는 Meddling도 눈에 띄게 줄어 들었었다. 요즘 미국의 언론들이 왼쪽으로 기울어져 있다는것을, Moderator, Susan에게서도 느낄수 있었다. 그점이 내가 느끼기에는 좀 아쉬웠었다.  한국의 언론은 이시간 현재 어젯밤 정책 토론회에 대한 뉴스가 전연 보도되지 않고 있다. 다만 문재인 패거리들이 국정감사에서 불리한 증인채택을 막기위히 혈안인점만 보고하고 있다.

백신이 금년말쯤 개발되여 접종하게 되면, 접종할것인가?라는 사회자의 질문에 민주당후보 Harris는방역 본부장 Faucci가 백신접종을 얘기하면, '첫번째로 접종할 생각이다"라고 방역본부장을 신임하는 발언을 하면서도, 트럼프가 접종을 권장하면, "나는 접종을 거부할것이다"라고 했는데, 나는 이순간, 방역본부장이 백신개발이 완료되여 접종을 시작하기위해, 맨먼저 대통령께 보고하고, 대통령의 행정명령을 따라 접종을 발표한후, 세부접종절차를 질병본부장이 하는것이 정상인데....이러한 절차는 자유민주주의 국가에서는 지극히 정상적인 절차인데, 왜 접종을 거부한다고 하는가? 트럼프가 싫다고 접종거부한다하고, 트럼프가 승인해서 접종을 실무선에서 발표하고 접종하는것과 서로 다른 Vaccine을 사용한다는 억지 논리를, 선동적으로 주장하는데는 정말로 천재적으로 선동하는 왼쪽 사람들.... 문제가 참 많다.

경제분야에 대한 토론에서는, 포인트가 어느쪽이 미국인들에게 진실을 얘기하는가?였었다. 

'펜스"가 지적하기를 '해리스'정부가 집권하면 첫날부터 세금을 올릴것이라고 하자, 해리스는 '그런일을 없을 것이다'라고 고개를 흔들면서 방어했었다. 그러면서 이어가기를, 바이든은  미국경제의 건강상태를 노동자 가족들의 경제적 건강상태에 기초하여 측정할것이다. 이와 대조적으로 트럼프는  미국경제의 건강상태를 잘사는 사람들 기준으로 하고,  그는 상위 1% 부자들에게 이득이 되는 납세법을 통과한 이유인데, 그결과로 미국은 3조달러의 빚을 져서 미국인들이 다 갚아야 하는것이다 라고 응수했다. 우리가 집권하면 그런 납세법은 바로 철퇴시킬것이다 라고.

트럼프의 납세법은 근본적으로 미국의 중산층들이 실질적으로 혜택을 입느냐 마느냐에 중점을 두고 갑론을박 한것으로 보였다.  Pence의 설명이 끝나자, 해리스는 지난주에 있었던 대통령후보간의 토론회가 아수라장이 된것을 지칭하여 Biden이 발언중 여러번 트럼프의 끼어들기 작전으로 멈칫하게 된것을 상기시키면서, 트럼프가 했던데로 "그것은 진실을 말하는게 아니였다"라고 응수했었다. 

"우리는 지난주에 토론회에서 많이 봤다. 그러나 오늘은 팩트와 진실에 중점을 두고 토론해야한다.  그점에 대해서는 Biden이 매우 솔직하다. 그는 연간수입이 $400,000이하의 사람들에게는 세금을 올리지 않을 것이다"라고 설명도했었다.  이에 Pence는 "지난주 토론회에서 바이든은 두번씩이나 트럼프 텍스법을 철퇴시키겠다. 실질적으로 그납세법은 미국 중산층에게 년간 수천달러씩의 세금절세를 시키는 법이다"라고 응수했다. 이에 해리스는 "그것은 완전 거짖말이다"라고 받아쳤다.  펜스는 되받기를 "그러면 바이든은 트럼프텍스법을 일부만 수정하겠다는거냐?"라고 물기도 했었지만....

어젯밤 토론회는 2020년 대선가의 정치적 상태를 극대화 시킨 상징적인 내용을 주고받는 토론회였었다.  양측은 정책의 관점에서 볼때 서로다른점은 보여주지 못했고, 팩트자체가완전히 다른 것들을 열거하는데 그쳤었다.  

사회자 Page가 양후보를 향해 주제를 바꾸어 기후변화에 대한 얘기를 하도록 노력했으나, 두후보는 펜스가 주장했던 "바이든은 세금을 올릴것이라고 강조하는데에 대한 추가설명만 계속했었던점도 지적됐었다. 

"해리스 당신은 개인적 의견만 개진했을뿐, 당신자신의 팩트에 대해서는 피해갔다."라고 사회자를 향해 여러번 불편한 심기를 표현 했었다. 

어젯밤 토론회를 본후의 소감은, 정치꾼들은 행동보다는 언어로 대중을 선동질 잘해야 승리할수 있다는 생각을 다시하게 됐다.  한국에서도 유명한 선동꾼이 법정에서 사형선고까지 받았지만, 선동술을 부려 당시 전두환 대통령의 마음을 움직여 사면되고 복권 되면서 후에 대통령까지 했지만.....결국 백담사까지 유배보내는 배은망덕한 짖을 했던 기억을 잊지 못한다. 

이번 미국대선역시, 선동술이 뛰어난 정치꾼집단이 백악관 입성하게 될것 같다. 그러나 미국은 Foundation이 튼튼하기 때문에 한국처럼 뿌리채 흔들리는 불행한 국민들의 삶은 없을 것이라는 점이다.  우리는 미국대선에 항상 주시를 해야한다고 생각한다. 




In a debate that was both contentious but also cooled down by several degrees compared to last week's presidential debate, Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris squared off Wednesday night on topics ranging from the pandemic to health care to the USMCA.

Pence and Harris, D-Calif., one of whom no matter what will be the vice president to the oldest president of the United States ever elected by January, met in what will be their only face-to-face public appearance of the election. Along with their convention speeches, the Wednesday debate will likely be their highest-profile moments of the general election.

Here are the top five moments of the vice-presidential debate.

1. Coronavirus dustup

Harris opened the debate with aggressive broadsides against the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, taking her attack on its coronavirus response directly to the head of the coronavirus task force.

"The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country," Harris said.

"On Jan. 28 the vice president and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic," she continued. "And they knew what was happening and they didn't tell you... They knew and they covered it up. The president said it was a hoax."

Harris added: "This administration has forfeited their right to reelection based on this."

Pence responded by arguing that Joe Biden opposed some of the Trump administration's earliest actions on the coronavirus.

"I want the American people to know that from the very first day President Donald Trump has put the health of America first," Pence said before mentioning the ban on travel from China that Trump imposed. "Joe Biden opposed that decision, he said it was xenophobic and hysterical."

And in response to Harris' allegations that the Trump administration doesn't have a plan for the pandemic and Biden does, Pence said that Biden's plans are very similar to testing, tracing and other efforts the Trump administration has worked on.

"When I look at their plan," Pence said, "it looks a little bit like plagiarism, which is something Joe Biden knows a little bit about."

VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: PENCE RAISES BIDEN PLAGIARISM SCANDAL IN DEFENDING CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

Harris shot back that whatever Pence said Trump are doing, it "clearly hasn't worked," citing "210,000 dead bodies."

2. "I'm not taking it"

Moderator Susan Page asked Harris whether she would take a vaccine that is approved by the Trump administration before the year is out. Harris and other Democrats have been accused recently of casting doubt on the effectiveness and reliability of a potential coronavirus vaccine, and polls show that faith in a vaccine may be dwindling.

Harris made clear that if a vaccine is vocally supported by medical professionals like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, she would be "first in the line to take it."

But, Harris said, "If Donald Trump tells us we should take it, I'm not taking it."

Pence responded with incredulity.

"The fact that you continue to undermine public confidence in a vaccine .. is unconscionable," Pence said. "I ask you, stop playing politics with peoples' lives."

3. Debate over the truth

VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: PENCE BLASTS BIDEN AS 'CHEERLEADER FOR COMMUNIST CHINA’

A discussion about economic policy turned to a debate over who is telling the truth to the American people.

As Pence was accusing Harris of telling the American people that she would immediately raise their taxes upon assuming office, Harris smiled and said "That's not what I said" while shaking her said.

What Harris said was that Biden "believes you measure the health and strength of America's economy based on the health and the strength of the American worker and the American family. On the other hand, you have Donald Trump, who measures the strength of the economy based on how rich people are doing. Which is why he passed a tax bill benefiting the top 1% and the biggest corporations of America, leading to a two trillion dollar deficit that the American people are going to have to pay for. On day one, Joe Biden will repeal that tax bill. He'll get rid of it."

Their fundamental difference, apparently, was whether the Trump tax cuts actually helped middle-class Americans.

After Pence finished his point, Harris alluded to last week when the presidential debate became an unmanageable mess of interruptions from Trump while Biden was on several occasions just repeating "that's not true" as Trump talked.

"We saw enough of it in last week's debate, but I think this is supposed to be a debate based on fact and truth, and the truth and the fact is Joe Biden has been very clear. He will not raise taxes on anybody who makes less than $400,000 a year," Harris said.

Pence shot back: "Joe Biden said twice in the debate last week that he's going to repeal the Trump tax cuts. That was tax cuts that gave the average working family to a thousand dollars in a tax break every single year."

Harris responded, "That is absolutely not true."

VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: KAMALA HARRIS CLAIMS SHE WON'T TAKE VACCINE IF TRUMP RECOMMENDS

"Is he only going to repeal part of the Trump tax cuts?" Pence asked.

The exchange was emblematic of the polarized state of politics in 2020, with each side approaching the issue not just from completely different perspectives, but from a completely different set of facts. As Page tried to get the candidates to move on to talking about the climate, Pence and Harris continued to shoot barbs at each other over Pence's claim that Biden would raise taxes as well as his claim that Biden would ban fracking.

"You're entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to your own facts," Pence repeated multiple times throughout the remainder of the debate. He could be heard scoffing at one point as Harris reiterated that Biden would not ban fracking.

4. Foreign policy gets personal

Pence and Harris talked about foreign policy in what eventually became personal terms, with Harris assaulting Trump for apparent immorality hurting the United States on the world stage.

"What we have seen with Donald Trump is that he has betrayed our friends and... embraced dictators around the world," Harris said. "He doesn't understand what it means to be honest."

WHAT A NEW FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL SAYS ABOUT THE BIDEN-TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Pence said Trump kept his word when he moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and emphasized that Trump has overseen significant successes in the fight against ISIS.

Pence then attacked Biden over the death of Kayla Mueller, who was abducted by ISIS along with her boyfriend in 2013 after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria. Mueller's parents blame the Obama administration for failing to save her life and were Pence's guests at the debate Wednesday.

"The reality is that when Joe Biden was vice president, we had an opportunity to save Kayla Mueller," Pence said. "The military came into the Oval Office, presented a plan. They said they knew where Kayla was... But when Joe Biden was vice president, they hesitated for a month. And when armed forces finally went in, it was clear she had been moved two days earlier."

"I'm so sorry," Harris said to Mueller's parents before going on to attack Trump for his reported comments about military members.

"This is about a pattern of Donald Trump's where he has referred to our men who are serving in our military as suckers and losers," Harris said. "Donald Trump, who went to Arlington Cemetery and stood above the graves of our fallen heroes and said, 'What's in it for them?' Because, of course, you know, he only thinks about what's in it for him."

"President Donald Trump not only respects but reveres all of those who serve in our armed forces," Pence said. "And any suggestion otherwise is ridiculous."

Pence demanded more time to respond to Harris' accusations, but Page wouldn't let him continue, citing the fact that the campaigns had agreed to certain rules. Pence continued to talk about the military issue after being asked a question about abortion.

VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: KAMALA HARRIS DUCKS PENCE'S COURT-PACKING QUESTION

5. Court-packing questions

Pence and Harris went back and forth over the vacant Supreme Court seat during the debate, with Pence extolling the administration's nominee for the seat, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and Harris emphasizing that there has never been a Supreme Court nominee confirmed this close to a presidential election.

At one point, Pence asked Harris point-blank whether she and Biden would pack the Supreme Court if they win the presidential election.

"Are you and Joe Biden, if somehow you win this election, going to pack the Supreme Court to get your way?" he said.

"I'm so glad we went through a little history lesson," Harris responded before changing the topic back to the timing of the Supreme Court vacancy.

Harris yet again did not give an answer about whether a Biden administration would pack the Supreme Court. She and Biden have been asked that question numerous times and have not yet provided an answer.

Pence told the camera that Harris and Biden would.

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Bonus moment: "I'm the only one on this stage"

As the debate was coming to a close, Harris took the time to remind viewers of her past as a prosecutor after Pence made a point about law enforcement.

"I'm the only one on this stage who has personally prosecuted everything from child sexual assault to homicide," Harris said. "I'm the only one on the stage who has prosecuted, the big banks for taking advantage of America's homeowners. I'm the only one on this stage who prosecuted for-profit colleges for taking advantage of our veterans."

It was the first moment in which Harris explicitly referenced her past as a prosecutor, including as the former attorney general of California, which has been controversial in some liberal circles.

Double Bonus: Fly steals the show

A fly landed on Pence's head. And stayed there. For minutes. It was a silly part of what was a much more substantive and productive debate than the first presidential faceoff. But it spurred online parodies from the left -- Joe Biden immediately started fundraising off the fly and created the URL "flywillvote.com" to help voters register -- and the right -- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., lamented that the "deep state planted a bug on @VP. The illegal spying is really out of control."

Fox News' Catilin McFall contributed to this report. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vice-presidential-debate-pence-harris-top-five-moments

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/08/politics/harris-pence-vp-debate-takeaways/index.html

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