I concur completely with what Chalupa said. The Democratic debate did not focus on Putin and was distracted by other issues. An epic fail

Here is Chalupa's analysis. I* will add something else. What was done by the moderators normalized Vladimir Putin's attack upon America.

Quote from Alexandra Chalupa

My Facebook analysis of tonight’s debate:

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NBC News host Brian Williams joked after tonight’s debate, “why didn’t they name the theme ‘American carnage.’” There’s nothing amusing about that statement but if we want to talk about “carnage” a term the corrupt, Putin installed and backed Trump used in his inauguration speech when describing America, maybe Williams needs to look at the complicit role he and others in the media with powerful platforms play in normalizing the crisis our nation faces.

Tonight’s debate was another example. NBC debate moderators failed to ask questions of Democratic presidential candidates that pertained to the five-alarm fire of a threat of fascism our nation currently faces with the international crime syndicate that’s currently running the most powerful positions of U.S. government.

There were no questions about the fact we have an impeached President who abuses power and obstructs serious investigations, including threatening and bribing Senators during his trial to prevent them from holding him accountable or even calling for witnesses and evidence. There were no real foreign policy questions despite that one of the individuals on the stage will hopefully be responsible for restoring America’s credibility and position in the world that Trump continues to destroy. There was no question about what these candidates plan to do to protect democracy or if they’re concerned that the US Senate has recently killed more election security legislation that will leave the 2020 election even more vulnerable to hostile foreign influence or more tampering, or that the retaliatory guy in the White House has consistency invited in foreign election help since 2016. There were no questions about supporting federal law enforcement at a time when the FBI continues to be smeared and attacked by the occupant of the White House nor that a story NBC broke earlier today shed light on the serious threat of rising white supremacists networks and 2nd Amendment extremists who are calling for and mobilizing toward a new Civil War and showing up fully armed at state capitols. There were no questions about today’s breaking story that Julian Assange’s legal team said in a UK courtroom yesterday that Trump offered him a pardon should he be extradited to the U.S. if he covered up the fact that Russian intelligence provided him stolen Democratic National Committee emails, therefore covering up for Putin’s crimes against the U.S. to help elect him, and doing so with the help of a Putin loyal Republican Member of Congress. There were no questions how these candidates will better support the U.S. intelligence community which has undergone almost four years of attack by the White House occupant who today appointed one of his most loyal cohorts as Director of National Intelligence, and who not only is a VIP Trump Organization card carrying member but was a back channel to Putin’s associate Dmitri Firtash who Rudy Giuliani was conspiring with against Vice President Biden. There wasn’t a single question about the fact that both Donald Trump and the head of the DOJ Bill Barr are operating above the law and threatening the rule of law, including the U.S. Constitution and weaponizing the DOJ to threaten Trump’s political opponents, despite thousands of former prosecutors, of both party affiliations, and tens of thousands of activists calling for Bill Barr to resign over the last few days. There weren’t questions about Trump’s recent presidential pardon spree of corrupt criminals, and tomorrow’s sentencing of Roger Stone who Trump has already hinted he plans to pardon or how Bill Barr involved himself in the case at Trump’s direction. There were no questions related to Ukraine or the recent Summit in Munich, or the fact that Syria is in dire shape and people continue to be brutally killed since Trump pulled out US troops and handed it over to Putin and Erdogan. There were no questions on how the candidates plan to fix the trillion dollar debt Trump has created or how he’s lied about his job growth numbers and taken credit for the foundation of economic success he inherited from Obama and is now on the verge of destroying. These are just some examples of the many questions they failed to ask at tonight’s debate.

The United States is under the threat of fascism and is struggling to contain the crisis, and rather than shining light on these fatally serious issues that endanger our national security, democracy, and sovereignty, the NBC moderators acted as if it was business as usual and that we’re operating in a normal election cycle, and instead zeroed in on and asked questions that not only dismissed the above, but were delivered in a manner that fueled divide. Trump’s name was barely mentioned, which also falls on the candidates. 

Yes, jobs, health care, and the planet are incredibly important. But not a single one of those issues will be addressed under these circumstances and this great of a crisis without dealing with the bigger issue first. Step one is to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem. If we’re in a plane, 35,000 miles up, and there’s an emergency on board with the gas masks required, we need to put them on as a first step until the problem is contained, before we can arrive at our destination and continue on in the direction we want to travel. This debate was the same situation only instead of the gas masks being provided passengers were being asked for their drink orders. How are viewers who tuned in tonight able to truly appreciate the danger if it’s normalized by silence? 

If we’re going to survive this crisis we need to realize how serious it is an act accordingly. Those who failed to do so (i.e., Chuck Todd) are complicit and part of the problem. Nothing is normal. Pretending it is then makes it worse, which puts Americans in greater jeopardy. There needs to be a balance and not complete silence when it comes to some of the greatest challenges these candidates and our country face. 

The greatest “carnage” at tonight’s debate was its moderators who failed Americans, and the NBC host and paid pundits post-debate who played along while everything burns. Nothing is normal.

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Alexandra Chalupa 202.341.9788

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