It is impossible to take the 2020 Democratic primary debates seriously when the moderators themselves treat them like parlor games. These are not serious events and they do not deserve serious attention.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, for example, finished Tuesday’s Democratic debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, with this question:
It is astonishing that Cooper found time during the three-hour debate to ask the 2020 candidates about Ellen but that neither he nor CNN’s Erin Burnett nor New York Times national editor Marc Lacey found time to ask a question about China’s communist regime and its evident domination of corporate America.
The Ellen question wasn’t even topical by the time it was asked. That story happened two weeks ago!
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, on the other hand, reminded the world Monday evening just how beholden the NBA is to its Chinese corporate masters. James was asked specifically about the league siding with communist China against Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who said in a since-deleted tweet, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.”
This is what James had to say when he was asked if Morey should be disciplined for supporting pro-democracy demonstrators:
So many people could have been harmed, not only financially but physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet and we say and what we do even though, yes, we do have freedom of speech. But there can be a lot of negative that comes with that, too.
James’ remarks are not a one-off for the NBA. This is a league-wide capitulation. The NBA, which bills itself as the most progressive and outspoken of the major U.S. sports, is caving as a whole to the censorious demands of a brutal and literally murderous regime. The cowardice extends from the league commissioner all the way down to even apolitical players like the Houston Rockets’ James Harden, who apologized to China, saying “We apologize. You know, we love China. We love playing there. They show us the most important love.” They are all bending a knee in obedience to the communists.
Worse even than the NBA’s public kowtowing to China is that this is apparently relatively standard behavior for an American corporation with business interests in China. It seems like all American businesses with a financial stake in China are rolling over these days, supporting the official communist party line.
Apple removed the Taiwan flag emoji from iOS in Hong Kong. Apple also removed an app that allowed the pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters to track police movement, claiming the program “endanger[ed] law enforcement and residents.” Nike stripped its stores in China of Houston Rockets merchandise after Morey’s tweet. Delta Airlines once apologized for describing Taiwan and Tibet as countries. Marriott International recently fired an American employee for “liking” a pro-Tibet tweet. (China’s seven-decadeslong occupation of Tibet is yet another sore point for the regime, after Taiwan, flagrant human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the violation of treaty obligations in Hong Kong.)
The list goes on. China’s iron grip on American businesses and interests is a grave issue that all would-be presidents should be asked to address, especially with the resurgence of populism in the United States. If you don’t think trade with China will become a major issue with the American electorate the more it discovers just how beholden U.S. companies are to their communist masters, you have got another think coming.
Yet the 2020 Democratic primary candidates were not asked about this issue Tuesday evening. They were asked instead about a two-week-old story involving Ellen’s notion of friendship.
Because these debates are largely unserious affairs, moderated by largely unserious people.
