Thread by @IAmNickReynolds

Debate Night 2.0! Watching the Democratic Senate Debate live on @WyomingPBS. Will tweet live here.

Stream:

Onstage tonight are @MBenDavid2020, @ForWyo, @WendtforWyoming, and Ken Casner, who ran as a Democrat for Governor in 2018.

Rex Wilde, who has run for a number of offices over the years, is also onstage. He most recently ran for governor in 2018.

James Kirk Debrine is also onstage. The state Democratic Party has already called on him to drop out, but he refused to do so. trib.com/news/state-and…

First question: In the wake of COVID, what are your concerns and plans for healthcare coverage?

Wendt: Testing needs to be expanded, masks need to be worn, and the state needs a jobs plan.

Ludwig: Focused on single payer healthcare.

"We spend some of the most money on healthcare and have some of the worst outcomes," she said. Argues most profits go to insurance companies, and this could help small biz -- they won't lose employees to companies w/ better benefits.

Casner says we were too slow to respond to crisis.

Wilde: "Why don't we have the same healthcare as our senators? Because it's a privilege, not a right." Advocating for socialized medicine.

Debrine: "Nobody should make a profit off of human misery and suffering." Supports M4A.

Ben David: Supports single payer system, but Wyoming has unique issues, and lack affordable healthcare in many communities. We need a program specific to those rural states.

Wendt clarifies support for Medicare for those who want it.

We haven't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1970. How do you change that?

Ludwig says a progressive has a better shot in Wyoming than a moderate, noting Sanders beat Clinton here in 2016 (note: Biden beat Sanders here this year.) Says they focus on grassroots, not big ads.

Casner: "I've been on this quest for 20 years, and have never taken a donation from anybody." Says we lack a voice as a people and representation in Congress, and wants to represent the people.

Adds, "We need to get back to the basic roots. I've been here for 70 years, and we're seeing the disappearance of the American workforce in Wyoming, and it's got to come back."

Wilde also never taken a donation, but says that a Democrat can "absolutely" win in Wyoming.

Ben David: Says she's had to work across the aisle for her job, and is taking a similar approach this round. "We're not running on a certain platform -- we're running on a Wyoming platform."

Says that people are coming around to that ethic.

Wendt said a Wyoming Democrat takes an approach not in alignment with the national party, but with an independent approach not tied to either party.

"If you want to move the needle on these core issues that are unmovable, send a Wyoming Democrat."

On a COVID vaccine, Rex Wilde: "Hell no, I ain't taking no vaccine." Said we need better leadership. "No vaccine for the Wildeman."

Casner supports science, but says we need to wear masks, follow rules.

Debrine: It's not safe yet.

Ben David: Would take it, even in a trial run.

Wendt: "Of course I'd take a vaccine." Uncertain if herd immunity will come in, but it needs to be widely available to the public and free of charge.

Ludwig: Also getting vaccine, even with a condition that doesn't allow for some immunizations. But it needs to be accesible.

Casner with a shot at Barrasso: note he's a doctor, but has been weak on his response to the virus.

On campaign finance, Wilde calls for term limits, and argues Cynthia Lummis and Liz Cheney have bought their seats. Notes a Lummis ad claiming we brought back biz.

"What is she, Mary Poppins?"

"For her to claim responsibility for bringing back these businesses is hypocritical."

Debrine talking about his opposition to term limits, says if we had those, then we would have a bunch of "bad guys" instead of people like Bernie Sanders.

Ben David wants auto voter registration, avoid gerrymandering, expand vote by mail.

Wendt: Expand voter rights, voter reg., vote by mail. Also in support of term limits, including for the Supreme Court. Also calling for public financing.

"The best ideas win, it's not about the money. Getting money out of politics is the best way to reform our system today."

Ludwig on the same line, but wants national ranked choice voting, saying it would allow people to vote their choice and have "more interesting elections."

Also calls for restored voting rights for the incarcerated.

A q about confederate monuments... Wyoming has none, yet there is some longshot legislation circulating in Congress on this topic.

Not sure what Debrine's answer was. Ben David said the statues should be in museums to teach our "horrific" history of slavery.

Wendt: Said we should learn the lessons of history, but not commemorate the memory of slavery. Like Ben David, notes these statues were erected after the Civil War, and were meant as an intimidation tactic.

Ludwig: "I don't actually think people learn history from monuments." Said we need to learn history from our schools -- not from conquerers.

"These monuments cause pain. Being excluded from history causes pain." Said we need an authentic telling of our history.

Casner says that people -- like the Native Americans -- need the opportunity to tell their own stories.

Wilde: "When you forget about history, there's a chance to replace it. Those statues can stay so people can see them. They may not agree, but they know our history."

Also with a questionable comment about how he's never heard a comment from a black athlete or a politician about the White people from the north who "died for their freedom."

Debrine starts saying something about his 1/8th Cherokee heritage, but is cut off by bell.

Lightning round!

Mitch McConnell... everybody dislikes. Says he is a block to progress, while Ludwig says he has failed to include his colleagues in the process.

"He's a joke," Wilde said.

Nationalists?

Wendt: "Big problem, short-sighted, counterproductive."
Ludwig: Says she considers herself a localist and global citizen, said that's counter to both.
Casner: "My national pastime is right here." Said we need to be in the middle, work together.

Wilde: "We all need to get along here in America," he said. "We just need to pull together."
Debrine: Says he's a humanist and a Christian.
Ben David: Said we need to work globally, and the pandemic shows that. Said the climate crisis is coming, and we need to respond to that.

Immigration:

Ludwig: Get children out of cages, open the borders, create a path to citizenship.
Casner: Says to enforce the laws we have.
Wilde: Said we have a lot of people in America now. "Why don't we take care of our people at home?"

Wendt says it's core to our identity, and we need a greater path to citizenship.

Repealing the filibuster?

I'll save you some reading: Everybody wants to get rid of it except Wendt, who is not a fan, but likes it as a means to enforce bipartisanship.

Ludwig is also conflicted: won't die on that hill, but is a tool for the minority to have a voice.

After questions on D.C. statehood (well-liked), the endangered species act (well-like), and committees they would like to serve on (Ben David and Wendt both want spots on Barrasso's committees and Casner wants the Interior Committee, which does not exist) we're onto Nuclear.

Wendt wants to take a look at it, saying the low emissions is worth it alone. But we need to look at what the green new deal means for Wyoming, from manufacturing to the potential for climate capture.

Suggested a Carbon Capture National Lab in Campbell County, noting one already established in Idaho Falls.

Ludwig says we should look into microgrids of renewable energy, both for national security and allowing communities to determine what type of energy they would like.

Casner: Said nuclear was done in Wyoming and caused cancer. (Short answer: yes.) trib.com/business/energ…

Ben David says renewables as well as some pursuits of nuclear could be a boon for the state. (Did I hear micro reactors? @MBenDavid2020 I didn't catch that.)

How to get people to work?

Ludwig supporting the GND, and says climate action is the move we need to make for the econ and have many components which need people to work.

Casner: Not all up to feds, invest in little people.

Debrine: Put people first.

Ben David: Make sure people and small businesses have what they need to keep roofs over their head. Praises CARES Act, but notes $ is running out, and the protections for those people are running out. Supports the Dem-led HEROES Act, and to bolster country for future pandemics.

Wendt: We need to create a lot of jobs. Green energy can be a start. But we also need to reexamine our economy, from student debt to the cost of healthcare.

"The market was created to serve us, but now we live to serve the market. It shouldn't be that way."

Ludwig supports small business loans at low rates as well as increased worker ownership, saying that it increases investments in one's own situation.

How to solve the "war on science?"

Casner: We need to see the ugly truths about things like COVID.
Wilde: Said CDC has had problems with the president interfering. Believes in science, but "I'm not gonna take a vaccine."
DeBrine: Believes in vaccines and science. And the bible.

Ben David says we need to fund education and train our young people to lead with the facts, understand impacts of decisions, and respect the scientific method, where knowledge is constantly evolving. (see: masks.)

"Instead of thinking science isn't providing all the information right away, we need to understand how these facts are done."

Wendt says science doesn't care about your feelings, basically, that we need to listen to science.

Ludwig says the media plays a part, and that other countries have higher standards. We need media literacy, and we need to remove special interest and religious groups from drafting school curricula.

Also said we need emotional literacy, because empathy allows us to hear science. "You need both science and empathy," she said.

Final question: Legal weed for national debate?

Wilde: "It's mother nature. It needs to be legal. That's all their is to it."
DeBrine: I think (?) he supports it. (Was on the platform, but meandered off.)
Ben David: "It definitely deserves debate on the national level."

Wendt: "It's happening nationwide and the consequences don't seem to be there."
Ludwig: "100 percent, we should be legalizing both." (Recreational and medicinal.) Says it's key to opioid crisis, and said she doesn't like seeing Wyoming money going to Colorado.

Casner: Didn't answer the question really, but went on a tangent about legalized hemp. Also for medicinal use.
Wilde: "Don't hide it, light it."

In closing statements, Ludwig with a unique take on local determination. Said we need to lessen regulation and allow our tax dollars to go to communities -- not to foreign wars, big oil companies, or pharma.

Wendt said he's into the best ideas, not just following one party.

Ben David: Said she questioned science of ideas onstage. Planting trees, alone, she said, will not solve the climate crisis, nor will expanding the use of hemp.

"We need to be electing scientists, let them speak for us, and follow the facts."