If you hosted a 2020 presidential debate......

Author: Imabench

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Imabench
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Im having one of those instances where an idea has popped into my head and now my brain is refusing to let me fucking go to sleep unless I explore it to a satisfactory degree, so ima post it here to see if it does the trick and let you all toy with the idea yourselves.

Since the Dem debates for the 2020 election have been a bit of a train wreck (as also seen with the GOP debates in the 2016 election) thanks to an overcrowding of candidates running for president combined with media outlets trying to get memorable soundbites for ratings, I began wondering what it would look like if I was able to make a debate and how it would be designed? Right after that I began wondering what questions would be asked as well, and my mind has been running wild ever since. 

So, here is how I would do things. (The first chunk of this is technical setup, the second half are the questions that I would have asked the candidates.) 

Setup and general rules:

- 8 candidates max.... Thought about going with 7 to really limit things, but 10 is simply too much and absolutely eliminates the chance for all candidates to be able to chime in on a topic.

- On screen timers + stats..... A running timer on screen showing how much speaking time each candidate has gotten, plus a counter of how many questions a candidate has been asked. One of the only clear ways for a debate to be at least somewhat unbiased is if everyone has close to equal amounts of speaking time and questions asked to them. If a candidate really gets into their response on a question, rather then try to cut them off after some artificial amount of time, the next questions later on in the debate can simply be adjusted towards other candidates so that they can make up ground and keep overall speaking time fairly even..... This also lets the candidates really say what they want to say, rather then try to beat the buzzer and spit out whatever pre-rehearsed responses they have

- Other candidates mic's can be muted.... It's happened a couple of times in the last debates where 3 or 4 or 5 candidates all try to talk over each other in order to get screen time, so in order to prevent this from happening, the microphones of candidates who have already spoken a lot in the debate will be cut, allowing candidates with lower speaking time to be able to make a claim or an attack against someone elses response. 

- Both specific questions and simple survey questions will be asked.... I do like some of the 'quick poll' questions asked in previous debates where candidates were asked if they would give up their own private healthcare for universal healthcare, for example, and I would use similar questions in this debate as well. I think its a great way to just get a reading on where candidates stand on certain issues that might not be important enough to really go into full detail over.

Thats all I really have for setup, though im sure im missing some finer details that would really make things operate better.

Here are some of the questions I would ask in the debate. I ordered the first 10 questions based on degree of importance to myself personally.

Questions: 

1 - Whats the most specific policy in your platform to fight against climate change that could be passed by Congress in your term?

2 - Whats your strategy for stabilizing central American countries that are currently causing the border crisis? 

3 - Do you believe the US gives too much aid to Israel, just the right amount, or too little?

4 - Venezuela has also been in complete disarray as a country, what is your strategy for remedying that situation?

5 - Do you believe that the US should tax carbon emissions?

6 - Do you believe that the use of nuclear energy is part of the solution to climate change (my recent affinity for HBO's Chernobyl might have influenced this) 

7 - Do you support the death penalty? (Quick poll question) 

8- If you were to reduce the US military budget, what would you cut and why? 

9 - Who do you regard as the US's most important ally, and how would you strengthen that relationship?

10 - Do you have a policy plan for raising the age to collect Social Security?

11 - Which candidate on the stage would you be most willing to have as your VP? (This one is mostly for fun) 

12 - What proposals in your platform do you have that would help fight The Opioid Crisis that don't just throw money at the problem?

13 - Which of these do you think poses a bigger threat to Americans: Wall Street, Big Pharma, SuperPac money in politics, or the Media? 

14 - What is the top education reform in your platform? 

15 - What is one Obama policy that you disagree with the most? 

16 - Which country do you think the US should pursue closer ties with (Bonus points to any candidate that picks Brazil) 


What would you guys come up with if you were able to put together a debate? (If you're a conservative and want to design one as if it were for the 2016 election cycle, go for it) 
Mharman
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And for God's sake, don't chose Don Lemon as your moderator!
Imabench
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@Mharman
YES
Dr.Franklin
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too reliant on foreign relations and climate change
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@Dr.Franklin
What would you guys come up with if you were able to put together a debate? (If you're a conservative and want to design one as if it were for the 2016 election cycle, go for it) 

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@Snoopy
The rest were fine
Alec
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@Imabench
Question 7 is a minor issue that only affects murderers, who are pretty rare.  Taxes and Abortion are bigger issues.
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@Alec
I did actually have those as questions but had to cut them off because there is a character limit of 5000 for posts. I think I initially had like 22 or 23 questions but I had to shave them down in order to make the damn thread  
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@Imabench
You could paste a second post with the rest immediately after. That wouldn't count as spam in anyone's book.
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I’d really like every candidate to be interviewed about their policy positions and why they believe them by a smart journalist who can cut through the rhetoric. To avoid nonsense like Beto O’Rourke’s lack of answer to the 70% marginal tax rate question in the first debate.  

And press them until they give a straight yes/no answer. 
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@Tejretics
That would make it too obvious that Warren is the correct choice. They need a level playing field.
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@RationalMadman
Warren is just grandmaster demon Hillary's second form. I'm still waiting to see her third and final form already. 
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@dylancatlow
I supported Hillary, no disagreement here.
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@RationalMadman
Like it's not obvious at all that the DNC elites have had the primary rigged for Warren since day 1.
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@Greyparrot
I really hope so. I fear it will be Biden.
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@RationalMadman
I thought you were smart lol, how can you not know at least by now that Warren is the rigged pick? I had that shit called months before the 1st debate.
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@Greyparrot
I think it's possible she'll win, she's my true hope to win. If I am wrong about it being Biden and instead it's her, I will be so happy to be wrong.
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@RationalMadman
It looks like she has a pretty good chance when you consolidate the votes, and Joe Biden is going to take a pounding.

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@RationalMadman
Listen...the DNC is NOT going to back Biden with the superdelegates. Obama won't endorse him. Every debate the DNC has sponsored has purposefully rigged it so that the DNC suicidal attack dog Harris is always positioned to endlessly attack Biden on his lack of intersectionality. At the same time the DNC makes sure Warren is always shielded from attacks and surrounded by softball runners in the zero percent category.

If you haven't figured it out by now it's the DNC that picks the candidates, not the people.
ILikePie5
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@Greyparrot
Like it's not obvious at all that the DNC elites have had the primary rigged for Warren since day 1.

If Pocahontas is nominated, it’ll be the easiest win for Trump. That why I’m registering as a Democrat here in Texas just so I can vote Warren
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@ILikePie5
There's little chance the USA is going to elect a token female after the disaster with token Obama, especially in this economic climate.
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@Greyparrot
There's little chance the USA is going to elect a token female after the disaster with token Obama, especially in this economic climate.

They’re all garbage especially Pedo Joe
TheRealNihilist
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4 questions.

4 candidates.

The most popular candidates in terms of pollings.

1) What are you going to do for Americans?

2) What is the worst issue happening right now and what are you going to do about it?

3) What separates you from others?

4) What do you think of X (mass shooting or something else) relevant issue?

There can be other questions like very controversial position of candidate takes.

I think the timing should be 30 minutes. I think that is enough.

Something like 5 minutes per question and controversial questions dropped to 2.5 minutes. 

It could longer but I think it would be boring. No mid roll ads. Adverts at the start and the end of the debates. Get that sponsor out of the viewing experience. The debates can be a big opportunity to get people to watch your content. If you are making people who don't regularly watch your stuff go through a mid roll ad don't expect to target the new audience that is generated from this event. 
Christen
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1 - Whats the most specific policy in your platform to fight against climate change that could be passed by Congress in your term?
Pretty sure climate change was formulated to make United States manufacturing less competitive/non-competitive.