(Blogger MzCEO and Actress Lynn Whitfield)
On the eve of the second Presidential Debate for 2012, I had to take the time to mention the Vice-President Debate viewing party I attended last Thursday at Katra Lounge in New York City.
The event was hosted by The Root, Young Professionals United for Change, New York Association of Black Journalists [NYABJ], and the Tara McDowell Group. CNN commentator Roland Martin, political correspondent Keli Goff and actress Lynn Whitfield were also in attendance.
As expected the 2012 Vice President Debate moderated by Martha Raddatz covered the usual topics like the economy, the War in Afghanistan and abortion. Later in this post, you’ll read some of the crowd’s reaction.
For me the best part throughout the debate was the boyish smirk that appeared on Vice President Joe Biden’s face as Congressman Paul Ryan responded to a question. Eventually Vice President Biden began laughing and blurting out words like “malarkey” or “that’s some stuff” when Congressman Ryan’s was talking.
In my opinion the most telling part of the debate was Congressman Ryan’s lack of understanding for why 22,000 American troops were taken out of Afghanistan last month. He believes that that decision exposed the remaining troops to more harm. However, Vice President Biden responded by saying that American troops trained the Afghans so that they could protect their own country.
If a candidate for Vice President of the United States of America does not understand the necessity of the continuous withdrawal of our troops in Afghanistan after 10 years and more than 2,000 dead soldiers, he does not deserve to be in office. Besides restoring the American economy by creating new jobs in emerging industries, the safety of America and our troops is the next top priority.
Another important issue to me as a Christian woman is abortion. I was disappointed that Raddatz waited until the last fifteen minutes of the debate to ask each candidate about religion and abortion. I agreed with Vice President Biden’s stance on abortion.
He said “With regard to abortion, I accept my church's position on abortion... Life begins at conception. That's the church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews and — I just refuse to impose that on others, unlike my friend here, the congressman.”
Truth be told, Amanda C. of Harlem who declined to give me her full name or take a picture since she works for a news organization in NYC hit the nail on the head when she told me that this very sensitive issue goes beyond moral values.
“We’re 51 percent of the population. We’re adults. We’re perfectly capable of making our decisions… Men make healthcare decisions with their doctors all the time without government interference. I think women should be granted the same thing. I think they know and their doctors know what’s best for them... For me, conservatives are always touting personal liberty. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. What’s more invasive than you telling me what I can do with my vagina. That’s not OK.”
Here are some responses from young Black professionals that watched the debate in Katra when I asked: What was the most important topic that was discussed tonight during the debates?
Brian Benjamin/Founder of Young Professionals United for Change:
“Joe Biden was very clear that we’re going to get out in 2014. There’s a lot of money tied to this. When Republicans say they’re going to cut taxes for the wealthy by five trillion. And they’re going to increase the defense budget by 2 trillion dollars. How are we going to pay for that?
In order to pay for that we’re going to have to decimate Medicare and social security.. So we’re really going to have to make some serious decisions that are going to impact our seniors just to pay for this tax cut and keep fighting these wars overseas. So we could pound our chest and feel tough. We need to do the right thing for our country and get out of Afghanistan.”
Tamara, a Grad student living in Brooklyn:
I was really fascinated by the question about religion and abortion. I guess I saw where Paul Ryan is coming from but I agree with Joe Biden… it’s a personal decision. In terms of Paul Ryan’s response, how do you determine rape? Sometimes the Judicial System can be biased. So again you’re putting that decision into someone else’s hands. I’m not for that.
Brian Taylor/ Owner of Harlem Doggy Day Spa:
“Joe Biden talked a lot about middle class. I could still say I’m a poor person but I’m not middle class. The types of taxes I pay for myself and my business are really too high. It rarely comes back to my pocket. I need to sit down and really figure out if I’m gonna spend less with President Obama or Mitt Romney.
At the end of the day. I want to pay less [taxes} and I want to keep the one employee that I have. Joe Biden is looking to cut taxes across the board. You know Ryan is looking to cut taxes for three percent of [small business owners]. My business makes less than $250,000 a year. So I don’t fall into that three percent.”
