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Debate Night

By Cameron Gonzales 
Cameron Gonzales

Tonight kicks off the first night of the Democratic debates, marking the beginning of what will surely be an interesting 17 months of over 20 candidates fighting to be chosen as the next President of the United States. The Democratic nominee will likely be facing Trump, as he has yet to be challenged in the race to the White House. So why should these debates matter to you?

First off, you should watch these because your voice and your vote matters. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. The government is meant to work for us, and we should always keep that in mind, especially during election season. These are our representatives, and they should represent us. Anyone who you cast your primary or election vote for should be the person that will be the best person to represent you. These debates should be looked at as a sort of mass interview for the nation, and at the end we get to decide whether to hire them or not.

My number one top for watching the debates is this: think about the issues that matter to you. Not just national issues and not just your parties platform, but real every day issues that impact you. Think about what makes your life hard, and what would make your life easier. Maybe you are a teacher, and you think there are fixes needed in the education system that aren’t always talked about. Maybe you’re a veteran that thinks mental illness treatment should be higher quality and more readily available for veterans. Everyone has their own expertise just by interacting with our systems every day, everyone knows about how certain issues affect them, and everyone should believe they have the power to address those issues by picking the person that best represents them. Watch out to see which candidate best represents you by writing down what is most important to you before the debates and really listening to their solutions for issues you hadn’t thought of beforehand.

The second tip, think for yourself and allow for others in your house to do so as well. There are two important parts to this tip. First, the pre-show talk shows can negatively influence you. Your opinions and your issues are unique to you, and you should choose your leaders not because of what you are told is best but who you believe is best. This is still politics, and divisive rumors alongside disgruntled campaigners may be committed to playing the game instead of informing the masses. I suggest skipping the pre-shows, and taking some time after the debates to mentally pin what statements/plans/candidates most stood out to you and why. The second part of this is about involving everyone in the house. Bring your children to watch! Ask them beforehand what issues matter to them. Maybe its climate change, or maybe its space exploration. Whatever it may be, it’s always a good idea to not only show your children from a young age that they have the power to make a difference, but it also informs you about what issues the next generation is perceiving it will have to face.

The debates will be aired on Telemundo, NBC and MSNBC at 7 PM. You can also stream the debates for free on the NBC and MSNBC websites. Since the field is so large, this will be the first of two debates. Each night will have 10 different candidates. The second debate will be taking place at the same time, tomorrow.

If you like a candidate and want to know more about them after the debates, or if you want to do some research beforehand, below is the lineup of night one and night two with a link to every presidential campaign page.

 

Night One

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Congressman Beto O’Rourke

Senator Cory Booker

Senator Amy Klobuchar

Washington Governor Jay Inslee

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro

Representative Tulsi Gabbard

Mayor Bill de Blasio

Representative Tim Ryan

Former Representative John Delaney

Night  Two

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Representative Bernie Sanders

Senator Kamala Harris

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Senator Michael Bennet

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper

Representative Eric Swalwell

Andrew Yang

Marianne Williamson

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