Debates expose Democrat failed policies

 Washington Examiner:

Tuesday night’s debates were an unmitigated disaster for Democrats across the board.

In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer resorted to misrepresenting her COVID record when pressed ever so slightly on the issue of school closures. Over in New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul floundered when confronted about her state’s rising crime rates. And in Pennsylvania, Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke earlier this year, struggled to put together a coherent thought.

Each of these candidates held comfortable leads over their Republican opponents until very recently. But as the races begin to tighten and Election Day closes in, it has become clear that Democrats are not prepared to take on the pressing issues of the day. Worse, many of them can’t even recognize what the pressing issues of the day are.

When Whitmer was asked about education, for example, and what she plans to do about Michigan students’ abysmal academic performance over the past two years, the governor did what most members of her party have done when confronted with the consequences of their pandemic policies: She blamed the virus and acted like she had no choice but to lock her state down.

This in and of itself was an inadequate response, but Whitmer then made an astonishing claim: “Mrs. Dixon says that I kept students out longer than any other state,” she said. “That's just not true….Kids were out [of school] for three months.”

This is a baldfaced lie, as Michigan parents well know. Some districts shut down their classrooms for nearly a year — Ann Arbor’s district began its 2022 school year virtually — and Whitmer never made any attempt to reopen them. She also allowed her health director to order all schools in the state, including colleges and universities, to return to remote learning for three weeks in November 2020.

After the debate, Whitmer argued that she was only referring to school closures she directly ordered and that she had no control over what her own health officials and individual school districts decided. Again, no one is buying this.

And is this how she plans to respond to the academic crisis Michigan students are facing? By shrugging her shoulders and opining about how there’s only so much she can do? Because if so, she has no place in leadership — and Michigan voters now know that.

Likewise, New York’s voters were able to see Hochul for who she really is on Tuesday: an establishment crony who doesn’t care one bit whether you’re worried about being shoved in front of a New York City subway train or stabbed randomly on the streets.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, her Republican opponent, made concerns about crime the focus of his debate performance and pressed Hochul on her support for cashless bail and other progressive policies that allow criminals in the Empire State to walk free. At one point, Hochul responded: "Anyone who commits a crime under our laws, especially with the change we made to bail, has consequences. I don't know why that's so important to you," she said.

Well, unfortunately for Hochul, Zeldin is far from the only one for whom the state’s bail reforms are important. As of March, more than 56% of New York voters said they believe cashless bail has contributed to a spike in crime.

But without a doubt, the most disastrous performance of the night was Fetterman’s, who, for reasons that are out of his control, is unable to communicate clearly. He struggled to comprehend and respond to basic questions, giving contradictory answers that didn’t make any sense.
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Failed policies and incoherent responses to those failures have put the Democrats in a bind that they may not be able to escape from on election night. 

See, also:

Gretchen Whitmer left thrashing after tangling with Tudor Dixon in Michigan debate

And:

 BOOM: Republican Lee Zeldin WRECKS Far-Left Kathy Hochul in Debate, Could Turn New York Red