Former Clinton Pollster Mark Penn: Democrat Debate ‘All-Out Panderfest’

A former Clinton pollster slammed the second night of Democrat debates this month as a “panderfest,” and a “slugfest” as opposed to an “eloquent dialogue.”

In an editorial for The Hill, former Clinton operative Mark Penn scoffed at the long list of freebies and give aways that the ten Democrats on the stage promised during Wednesday’s Democrat debate.

Penn noted that the candidates claimed that as president they would give everyone $1,000 a month, free healthcare, freedom from prosecution on crimes, an end to global warming, and any manner of wild freebies.

Penn also could not understand the double standards on Baltimore and the Democrats’ dark view of America.

“While these same candidates earlier this week expressed outrage at President Donald Trump for tweeting that Baltimore was a rat-infested mess, they all seemed to portray our entire country as in far worse shape than that Maryland oasis,” Penn wrote.

America, it seems, is not the land of full employment, rising wages, and decreased poverty. It’s not a country in which 90 percent have health insurance, almost everyone has a smartphone, and 64 percent own their home. It’s at heart a racist, misogynistic country dominated by fat cats and big corporations sucking the life out of us all. According to these candidates, it’s a dark, dark place and, unless we usher them into office and save it through these programs and policies that start at a mere $30 trillion, America will continue to be a lost country.

Penn went on to slam the candidates for calling for Trump’s impeachment even as not one of them presented any legitimate cause for such an action. He also pointed out the left’s two years of screaming “Russia collusion” was mysteriously absent. “Russia collusion as a theory has been abandoned,” Penn said.

Penn next noted the debate was a constant stream of personal attacks saying, “When not pandering to gender, racial or ethnic groups with offers of cash, the candidates attacked each other.”

The former Clinonista gave former Vice President Joe Biden points for defending himself but worried he was still unsteady enough that debates with fewer participants may pose a problem for him. Penn also gave Sen. Elizabeth Warren high marks for doing “the best job of combining policy with a strong sense of activism.”

But Penn felt not one of the candidates had a handle on trade:

The candidates’ views on trade were largely incomprehensible. Democrats used to be the party of protectionism, working to stop the theft of jobs by low-wage workers in places like China. Yet, they all opposed the Trump tariffs while pledging to have labor and environmentalists at the table for future trade deals, whatever that means.

Penn went on to criticize the Democrats for not having a bright vision for America’s future. “There simply was no view of how to advance America’s role in a world driven by the twin forces of technology and globalization while separated by religion, ethnicity, and nationality,” he wrote.

The pollster was also not very pleased with the “comic-strip view” of the debate format. He slammed the questions as little but “softballs” that “allowed the candidates to repeat their favorite stump-speech lines.”

“I think you can tell that there was little I liked about this debate and the direction the major candidates for the Democratic nomination are taking to make it through the early rounds of ‘Survivor,'” Penn admitted as he wrapped up his review of Wednesday’s event.

Penn concluded his article saying that Tuesday’s debates were much better than Wednesday’s.

But the Wednesday night debate was quite different, as the candidates reeled off prepared lines geared towards putting identity- and class-politics at the heart of the revival of the party and their advancement to the next round. This approach was discarded in the ’90s, only to return bigger than ever today, as each candidate sought to outdo the other with outlandish promises and oppo-research attacks.

At least as far as Mark Penn is concerned, CNN has a lot of work to do if it wants to present a good presidential debate.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.