If I was on a debate stage against a republican running for congress, senate, governor, state house, sec of state, or any other office, I think I could win the debate. Hands down. Win. How? By working on the issues, driving the ball and having a few zingers at the ready.
There are a lot of angles from which to come up with a zinger. When you find one, record the zinger and add it to the list.
One of the most powerful angles that Dems have and that I have not seen exploited much turns on the fact that lots of Republican leaders, including Trump, are not reliable, and unfit for office. People who lie a lot are unfit for office, also those who repeat lies. People who are afraid are unfit, including those who are afraid of their party's leader. Political poltroons must be called out for the cowards they are, and doing so must be continually turned to the advantage of our party. Ask your opponent which of Trump's lies they have stood up to, and which they plan to stand up to. Have a list in mind, let them choose, "which of these 5 lies do you denounce?" If they do not answer, answer for them, they accept all 5 lies. "You accept lies, you stand for lies, you and your party stand for nothing but the lies of Donald Trump, unless it is covering up the crimes of Donald Trump" -- I dare a dem to say that kind of thing on a debate stage.
The GOP harbors a lot of arrogant, self-important ideas and people. But the left never calls them arrogant. They call us know-it-all, but we never call out their grotesque pretenses to knowledge. They call us gun-grabbers, we don't seem to be calling them rights-snatchers. They are religious extremists, but we never say so. They are church-going bigots, but we don't mention it. They insist that libs are moralistic but they are narrow mindedly moralistic and high handed about almost everything starting with abortion rights, and women's role in society. They are prudes too, but we never say so. They are nosy neighbors trying to run their neighbors' lives with the power of government. They want police in the bedroom. They want police in the bathroom. They want women's periods tracked. They want silencers for guns to be freely available, so the next mass shooter will have one. They want to arrest women who leave their home state seeking abortion services. They want rapists to have a say in raising any child their crimes generate. That is the brave new world these societal contrarians are pushing at us.
And they are not conservative, because they do not want to conserve the status quo. They want drastic and sudden change. That makes them sound like radicals, not conservatives. They are extremists who distrust moderation, that is, the status quo. Calling them conservative is a misnomer.
Of course all zingers are effective only if they are delivered in the right moment and with the right emphasis. When a KY candidate said of McConnell that if his doctor told him he had a kidney stone, he would refuse to pass it. she might have had the right timing, but a poor emphasis wrecked her delivery.
All of the zingers below require one to imagine a moment arising that could make it or something like it a valuable element of a debate performance.
ZINGERS
Whether I win or lose I will never stop fighting against the GOP. You and your party will not be hijacking my religion and using it to take my rights away, nor my daughter's rights, nor any one else's. We will never stop fighting you and we will win in the long run, and the party of using religion to reverse women's progress, the party of making women dependent on men again, will lose. You will lose big time and forever and ever.
We will not allow your party to hijack religion to take people's rights away.
I have known a lot of Christians in my day, and I strongly prefer the kind of Christian who does not lie all the time, sir.
I have known a lot of Christians in my day, and I strongly prefer the kind of Christian who does not repeat Trump's lies, ma'am.
There are all kinds of Christians, there are nice ones and mean ones. and you and Trump are mean ones. And your party is run by mean ones too. The Christians who attacked our capitol are mean ones too. And so are Nazis and KKK folks, those are mean Christians too. Your party attracts mean, repressive Christians, and shuns the nice ones.
Every lie Trump tells, you tell. And that makes you unfit for office.
Lying is disrespectful. You disrespect every voter in America when you lie like that.
People who will not or cannot distinguish a rumor from a fact are unfit for office.
A party that cannot or will not distinguish fact from rumor is unfit to lead.
A party whose platform consists of fealty to Donald is unfit to lead.
People who repeat lies and rumors are unfit for office, and all you do is repeat Trump's lies, and therefore you are unfit for office, sir.
Christians are not supposed to gossip and spread rumors, but that is all you and your party run on any more. You stand for a bunch of unfounded statements and mere rumors about elections, vaccines, history, climate, library books, gay people, evolution and just about everything else.
Conspiracy theories are rumors and passing along rumors is a sin. Check you bible, sir. It's called gossip.
My opponent is a nice guy, but I wouldn't follow him to a men's room. People who credit or spread rumors should not be listened to or trusted. We cannot let them lead.
Donald Trump is a pathological liar, and people who believe him are unfit to lead.
Your fealty to Trump has one of two causes. Either you actually believe Trump's lies, or you do not believe his lies and don't care about the fact that Trump lies. In either case, you are unfit for office, sir.
All of your conspiracy theories are rumors, and Christians are not supposed to spread rumors, so you should stop, if you care about your mortal soul, you should stop with the conspiracy theories and rumors about the 2020 election. I beg you, Jesus begs you, just stop!
Which lie will you tell next? The one about the 2020 election? The vaccines? Climate change? The border wall that was never built? Evolution? The emotional lives of children who read library books? The emotional reactions of whites who learn about the history of racism in America? The stories about litter boxes in high schools? Which path of lies and unfounded rumors will you run down next, you republican weasel?
FOX News relies on gossip and rumors, which are things Christians are supposed to avoid.
Your party keeps losing, is that because Jesus hates you for your lies? Or what? Why is Jesus letting your party lose like this?
All you do is lie. All your party does is lie. When will it stop?
Your party lies about other people in order to create fear and hatred.
You seem obsessed with other people's health care decisions.
Other people's abortions are none of your business, sir.
You nosy neighbor types are obsessed with what others do in their bedrooms.
The GOP is obsessed with what people are doing in their bedrooms.
The GOP is obsessed with what your kids think about sex.
Stop obsessing about gay kids.
Stop obsessing about other people's abortions.
Stop obsessing about what other people's kids are reading.
Stop obsessing about other people's bedrooms.
You and your version of religion are twins, you are both obsessive control freaks.
Your party lives in the past, you all are still afraid of gays.
I think you are afraid of gay kids and their parents.
You and your party constantly try to punish your enemies and keep voters from the polls.
Your party is trying to force a narrow version of religion on everyone. Voters who believe in real religious freedom must vote against all republicans.
You snatch people's rights away, you MAGA folks are freedom snatchers, not freedom makers.
Your party is afraid of science, sex and women -- the best things on earth, you cowards can't hate 'em enough.
Your party hates the US federal government, but all the constitution does is create that government. To hate the federal government is to hate the constitution.
You and your party misunderstand the Declaration of Independence. It is not a part of the laws of the land. It does not grant you the right to overthrow the government. That is a crime. A party that cannot or will not distinguish between a newspaper article and a body of law is unfit to lead.
Your version of Christianity is the ugliest thing on this earth. It's all about hating gays, women, foreigners and poor people. It justifies lying to gain power. It is authoritarian and contrary to the American spirit of freedom, equality and self-determination. No I do not like the version of religion that republicans want to force on us all.
I strongly prefer a version of Christianity that denounces Nazis and I strongly oppose the kind of Christian who panders to them. That is a major difference between me and you, sir, a major difference. You pander to them, I fight them.
I fear you worship the worst Jesus imaginable, a cowardly, mean bigot like yourself.
The GOP does not fight crime, it perpetuates crime. It does not fight gun violence, it perpetuates gun violence. The republican party is responsible for mass shootings because they let the assault weapons ban expire. They shield gun manufacturers from law suits. They oppose closing loopholes that allow felons to get guns. They are working feverishly to get silencers legalized so that future mass shooters will have silencers, and higher kill rates.
Mass shooters with silencers, that is the future the GOP wants to see.
The crime rate in red states is out of control. Oklahoma has a higher murder rate than NYC. You cannot trust the party of giving guns to crooks, you cannot trust the party of legalizing silencers, you cannot trust the party that stifles and kills all gun safety legislation. They are corrupt, they are paid for by the NRA. They will never do a thing to improve the situation, and they will do everything they can to make it worse.
Too many of your so-called conservative activists now are small minded people who hate everyone and laugh at mass shootings.
Your party attracts people who laugh at mass shootings.
There is something seriously wrong with the party you represent, and I do not think you have the spine to fix it, nor the spine to stand alone against it. In fact, if you do that, your party will destroy you, and you know it. Therefore, I believe that you stand here representing the worst of parties, with the worst of intentions, the intention to serve the party rather than the people.
You will help legalize silencers for mass shooters, you will not have the spine to vote no on that. You are the problem, not the solution.
You will cover up for Trump and his crimes.
You will deny climate change and do everything you can to increase rather than decrease emissions.
You are the problem, you are a republican, therefore, you are the problem.
Anti-LGBTQ marches, anti-LGBTQ? Imagine if you replace LGBTQ with black or Asian or Hispanic or Jewish. Imagine that. You and your party accept that. I can't.
You are too scared to say what you believe because you might lose a vote. People who are afraid to lose a vote are unfit to lead. You are no leader.
People who are afraid of Donald Trump are unfit to lead and unfit for office. You deserve no votes, sir.
My opponent does not know his position on that issue because Donald Trump has not told him what it is.
My opponent has no position on this issue on his website because Donald Trump has not told him what it is.
You and your party constantly denigrate the US government. All evaluations are comparative. What national government is better? Canada? England? France? Russia? Who? What national government do you admire more than the US government? Which one should ours be more like?
The greatest experiment in self-government ever instituted by men, and all you righties can do is hate it. Why? Why must you and your party denigrate science, sex, women, and the US Government? Because whatever is great you hate. Whatever is good you demean. Whatever the majority prefers you revile. Whatever has dignity you denigrate. Meanwhile, the worst institution in America, the GO stinky P, that you love. And the worst groups in America, insurrectionists, antisemites, racists, misogynists, gay bashers, online trolls, vaccine haters, those are the folks you court and protect.
Church going bigots are not better bigots, they are just bigots.
It's the preachers who are out of control, not the teachers.
Bad preachers are far more common than bad teachers.
Pedophiles are far more likely to work the churches than the night clubs. Everyone knows that except the people at church, which is exactly why the pedos are working the churches!
The government of Texas is corrupt. It has been in the hands of a single party for far too long, it is ingrown, inbred and insane now, and the voters need to change the situation.
