Since Pam and I don’t have a TV, we decided to go out to a Democratic Debate Watch Party. I found one at the Barley and Vine but when we drove by, we found the place deserted. Instead we drove over to Thornton Park to watch at the Falcon Bar and Gallery (819 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801). Planned Parenthood was hosting the watch party which meant a slice of free pizza if we surrendered all our personal information. Heck, I have given away more than that for a slice of pizza.
A small baby Trump balloon was floating above the bar so I immediately started sketching. We had a solid 45 minutes to kill before the debate really got under way. A friendly wide eyed pug kept sniffing around and standing on his hind legs hoping to get some of our pizza. Once the debate started the place got really packed.
Half of the Democratic party contenders would face off during the debate. With 10 candidates behind the podiums I honestly only recognized Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar. Amy had worked the news stations as the Warren report went public and I respected her views. In the bar there was one guy that clapped for every candidate and their opinions. Beto O’Rourke responded to one of the initial questions in Spanish and the bar loved that the captions paused since there was no interpreter.
When candidates were asked, “What is the greatest threat to American security?” The loud clapper in the bar shouted out, “Donald Trump!” Folks laughed and then moments later a candidate gave the same response. It was exciting to watch the debate with a crowd. The enthusiastic hope that something new might follow the controversies and wasted energy of politics these past two years was contagious. Beto O’Rourke said Congress should immediately begin impeachment
proceedings against President Donald Trump in response to special
counsel Robert Mueller’s findings. If congress doesn’t impeach then he would press charges after Trump leaves office. Bill De Blasio said that Russia is the biggest threat to America “because they are trying to undermine our Democracy and they have been doing a pretty damn good job.”
Amy Klobuchar took a strong stance against Trump saying, “This president is literally every single day 10 minutes away from going to war, one tweet away from going to war. I don’t think we should conduct foreign policy in our bathrobes at 5 in the morning.” The two baby Trump balloons floated face up to the bar ceiling looking very much like the drowned father and daughter photo that has been all over the news.