(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . If Kamala wants to win the debate, it won’t be by changing the mike rules [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-27 I was watching MSNBC last night where Alicia Menendez was discussing the upcoming debate with Eugene Daniels and Matt Dowd. I was surprised to hear Harris wanted to scrap the rule that the microphones would be muted during the time the other person was speaking. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Kamala Harris has the opportunity to do something amazing, something truly wonderful. She can make Donald Trump run, just like he ran from Biden and Harris on January 20, 2021. She can blast him right off the stage. Imagine what a triumph that would be. Imagine Trump throwing a fit and walking out the exit live on stage while the whole nation is watching. A fantasy? Wishful thinking? Absolutely not! Biden could have done it in the last debate. Harris could do it in the next one. That is, If they keep the new rule. As I wrote previously, Joe Biden got bad advice. The new rule gave Biden a huge advantage. He could have taken Trump out if he had chosen to use it, but he played by the old rules, the ones he’s lived by his entire life. The old rules say that you should take your proper turn. You say your piece and the other guy says his piece and then the listeners decide. Those traditional rules are the ones Donald Trump has learned how to abuse so effectively. Trump has never believed in fair play, equal time, taking turns, letting the other guy talk, or any of that good guy stuff. He has one basic rule. It has guided him throughout his 78-year lifetime: Don’t let the other guy talk. You do all the talking and force everybody else to listen. You’ve seen Trump put this into practice every time he makes a speech, holds a press conference, or does an interview. He interrupts people, talks over them, yells at them, brushes off their questions or complaints’ and rambles away about whatever is on his mind at that particular moment. He makes no effort to tell the truth. He’ll pull whatever “facts” or “statistics” he needs out of his trumphole. Then he keeps repeating them like they came from God’s lips and not from out of the space between his own cheeks. All that comes from following the old rules. But in the last debate we had something new. For the first time Trump had to come face to face with his opponent on equal terms. He had no audience full of loyal sheep and paid shills to chant his name. He couldn't interrupt or shout down or talk over everybody else. He still got to lie and bully and brag as disgustingly as before, but this time he had to do it in turn. Then he had to give Biden his turn. He wasn't given a choice. When his time was up THEY TURNED OFF HIS MIKE. After saying anything whatsoever he wanted about Biden, Trump was then forced to shut up and listen to whatever Biden had to say back about him. Think about that. This is something Trump has never had to deal with in his entire political career. What a golden opportunity, a gift from heaven above. Biden's mistake was not taking advantage of that. I can think of hundreds of things he could have said. How about these: You swore to everyone who believed in you that you would fight like hell, never give up, never surrender. Then when January 20 came, you gave up, you surrendered. You ran like hell. You put me where I am right now, the President of the United States, the leader of the nation. You put yourself where you are right now, an ex-President begging the country you deserted to ”Please let me back.” You call yourself the greatest leader in the world and me the worst. Yet when the day came, you ran from me. What does that say about you, MAGA man. What message were you sending to the people who voted for you, marched for you, gave money to you, went to prison for you, even died for you. Did you think running away from Joe Biden was what they voted for, marched for, gave money for, went to prison for, and died for. The answer is no. They wanted you to stand up for them. Instead, you ran away. That’s not what they wanted. That’s what I wanted. After all the work, money, and sacrifices tens of million of people gave for you chose not to give them what they wanted. Instead, you gave me what I wanted. You turned the entire nation over to me. You‘re the criminal, Donald Trump. Every crime you accused me of was one you’ve committed yourself. You’re the one who was killing this country. You’re the one who created a disaster. I’m the one who saved the country, the country you nearly destroyed. Are you getting the idea, Kamala? Just change it from Donald Trump ran from Joe Biden to Donald Trump ran from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Every time Donald Trump says anything bad about you, Joe, or your administration, when your turn comes you would ask him: “Why didn’t you stop us? You gave us this job. All you had to do is stand up to us like you promised and none of that would have happened. But you never did that. You ran for your life and turned the White House over to us. That makes you more to blame than us. You need to apologize to everyone who believed you, Donald Trump. Apologize for letting all these bad things happen, apologize for running after you had promised to stand, apologize for being a coward when you needed to be brave. You’re to blame for everything wrong with this country. And now you want to rule it again? You had the most important job in the world. You failed miserably. You failed spectacularly. You don’t deserve another chance. Trump loves to dish it out, but he absolutely cannot take it. When he hammers you with lies, you hammer him back with the truth. Every time he repeats his lies you repeat your truth. Donald Trump cannot handle the truth. He will run away. He will run away live on the stage right in front of the entire nation. If Trump disgraces himself like that, it could be the tipping point we’ve been waiting for. It could be a wake-up call for everyone who still believes in this pitiful excuse for a man. It could start him on a downward spiral that he can never pull himself out of. If anyone can do it, Kamala can. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/27/2266125/-If-Kamala-wants-to-win-the-debate-it-won-t-be-by-changing-the-mike-rules?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/