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Year's final presidential debate: Where the Democrats stand on democracy reform

Year's final presidential debate: Where the Democrats stand on democracy reform

Camera crew at the fourth debate in Ohio held in October.

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Our Staff
By Our StaffDec 19, 2019
Our Staff
The Fulcrum staff.
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The previous Democratic debate, four weeks ago in Atlanta, produced the first widely televised glimpses of where the candidates stand on proposed fixes to voter suppression, money's sway over politics and other problems plaguing democracy. At the sixth and final debate of the year, those concerned about the system's troubled state hope their issues will get at least as much air time.

Thursday's debate stage at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles will be considerably less crowded than before, though. Higher polling and fundraising thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee meant only seven candidates earned a spot. PBS and Politico are hosting the two-hour debate starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

The table below shows where the seven stand on 17 of the most prominent proposals for improving the way democracy works — in areas of campaign finance, access to the ballot box, voting rights, election security, political ethics and revamping our governing systems.

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For a more detailed explanation of the positions of the White House hopefuls, see this comprehensive story from July.

There's no counting on the moderators to ask about any of these ideas, but if they do this chart offers a quick guide on what to look for from the candidates: former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, billionaire Tom Steyer, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

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Our earlier package covers not only the top-tier candidates debating Thursday but also most of the rest of the remaining field.

The six remaining candidates who have made the debate stage before, but not this time around, are Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and author Marianne Williamson.

Two new entrants, billionaire Michael Bloomberg and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, are not included in the chart because they have yet to qualify for a debate.

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Podcast: How do police feel about gun control?

Podcast: How do police feel about gun control?

Jesus "Eddie" Campa, former Chief Deputy of the El Paso County Sheriff's Department and former Chief of Police for Marshall Texas, discusses the recent school shooting in Uvalde and how loose restrictions on gun ownership complicate the lives of law enforcement on this episode of YDHTY.

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Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

There's something natural and organic about perceiving that the people in power are out to advance their own interests. It's in part because it’s often true. Governments actually do keep secrets from the public. Politicians engage in scandals. There often is corruption at high levels. So, we don't want citizens in a democracy to be too trusting of their politicians. It's healthy to be skeptical of the state and its real abuses and tendencies towards secrecy. The danger is when this distrust gets redirected, not toward the state, but targets innocent people who are not actually responsible for people's problems.

On this episode of "Democracy Paradox" Scott Radnitz explains why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies.

Your Take: The Price of Freedom

Your Take: The Price of Freedom

Our question about the price of freedom received a light response. We asked:

What price have you, your friends or your family paid for the freedom we enjoy? And what price would you willingly pay?

It was a question born out of the horror of images from Ukraine. We hope that the news about the Jan. 6 commission and Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination was so riveting that this question was overlooked. We considered another possibility that the images were so traumatic, that our readers didn’t want to consider the question for themselves. We saw the price Ukrainians paid.

One response came from a veteran who noted that being willing to pay the ultimate price for one’s country and surviving was a gift that was repaid over and over throughout his life. “I know exactly what it is like to accept that you are a dead man,” he said. What most closely mirrored my own experience was a respondent who noted her lack of payment in blood, sweat or tears, yet chose to volunteer in helping others exercise their freedom.

Personally, my price includes service to our nation, too. The price I paid was the loss of my former life, which included a husband, a home and a seemingly secure job to enter the political fray with a message of partisan healing and hope for the future. This work isn’t risking my life, but it’s the price I’ve paid.

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Given the earnest question we asked, and the meager responses, I am also left wondering if we think at all about the price of freedom? Or have we all become so entitled to our freedom that we fail to defend freedom for others? Or was the question poorly timed?

I read another respondent’s words as an indicator of his pacifism. And another veteran who simply stated his years of service. And that was it. Four responses to a question that lives in my heart every day. We look forward to hearing Your Take on other topics. Feel free to share questions to which you’d like to respond.

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No, autocracies don't make economies great

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No, autocracies don't make economies great

Tom G. Palmer has been involved in the advance of democratic free-market policies and reforms around the globe for more than three decades. He is executive vice president for international programs at Atlas Network and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

One argument frequently advanced for abandoning the messy business of democratic deliberation is that all those checks and balances, hearings and debates, judicial review and individual rights get in the way of development. What’s needed is action, not more empty debate or selfish individualism!

In the words of European autocrat Viktor Orbán, “No policy-specific debates are needed now, the alternatives in front of us are obvious…[W]e need to understand that for rebuilding the economy it is not theories that are needed but rather thirty robust lads who start working to implement what we all know needs to be done.” See! Just thirty robust lads and one far-sighted overseer and you’re on the way to a great economy!

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