Try to ignore the name of the political party they are part of. But just look at how they function as a group.
They call this a forum, not a debate. But whatever you call it, I’ve never seen candidates for the same job working together so harmoniously at such a high political level.
They don’t talk over each other. For the most part, they support each other. They are not even given time limits, but seem to sense when they have said enough.
It is reminiscent of the empathy circle we did in June of 2022 for California Congressional District 11 which used the “empathy circle” format. Link to that post is: https://bathtubbulletin.com/california-congressional-district-11-empathy-circle-with-shahid-buttar-bianca-von-krieg-mike-zonta-and-timothy-regan/
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the participants in a political debate were complementing each other rather than tearing each other part? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the winner of a political debate was the one who was considered to be the most supportive and cooperative rather than the one who was perceived to be the most dominant?
I think this Democratic “Not a Debate” Debate is a breakthrough in how political debates are done, and should be a template for how all political debates are done in the future.
–Mike Zonta, OccupySF.net co-editor
