WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Democrats on Tuesday tackled a wide range of issues at the fourth Democratic presidential debate in Ohio. There were also a wide range of issues not discussed at Tuesday’s debate.
Issues such as climate change, affordable housing and immigration were left off the table during Tuesday’s three-hour-long debate.
Following the debate, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro tweeted his frustration that these topics were not addressed. The final question of Tuesday’s debate probed the candidates on if they have an unusual friendship like Ellen DeGeneres’ friendship with George W. Bush.
“Three hours and no questions tonight about climate, housing, or immigration. Climate change is an existential threat. America has a housing crisis. Children are still in cages at our border. But you know, Ellen," Castro said.
According to a CBS/YouGov September pol l, 79 percent said that immigration was at least somewhat important. The poll also found that 70 percent considered climate change at least a somewhat important issue.
What was not left off the table? Impeachment.
All 12 candidates were given the chance to discuss impeachment. With 12 candidates on one stage, the discussion took a significant portion of the first hour of the debate.
With impeachment being a significant point of discussion, can Democrats put enough energy into solving the issues important to Americans? According to Tom Steyer, who participated in his first Democratic debate, said it’s hard to separate removing Trump and issues such as healthcare.
“If we don’t get rid of Mr. Trump, we’re not getting any of those things,” Steyer said after Tuesday's debate. “To me, the biggest question is strategically, how do we get what we want? Beating Mr. Trump is part of it, but only part of it.”
Steyer started a campaign in October 2017 to remove Trump from office.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, cautioned that removing Trump could make it more challenging for Democrats to carry out their policy goals.
“It starts out feeling like a happy thought; this particular brand of chaos and corruption will be over,” Buttigieg said. “But really think about where we'll be: vulnerable, even more torn apart by politics than we are right now. And these big issues from the economy to climate change have not taken a vacation during the impeachment process.”
