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Ben Shapiro offers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez $10,000 to debate her democratic socialist beliefs

SonOfDaedalus said:
It would be an easy debate for her to win. All she has to do is ask Ben Shapiro to define socialism and explain why the U.S. is or is not socialist. Debate over. His head will explode.

I've never met a conservative who understood what socialism is. But that's not the end of it. Let's say that my textbook definition is too restrictive. I've never met a socialist who can give me a meaningful definition of socialism such that we can identify which countries are or are not socialist.

She should take the offer and destroy him because all he'll say is "socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried." But he won't be able to define socialism in any sense that doesn't make every developed country in the world socialist.
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LOL, you have obviously not watched more than a soundbite of him. He would run intellectual circles around her at the speed of light. She should stick to tending bar and stiffing the servers on tip $.
 
Beaudreaux said:
Damned good question.

I know one thing for sure, I'd actually spring for pay-per-view to see that happen.
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Just watch the Ted Cruz/Bernie Sanders debate but when Ted speaks play it at 2x speed. Would ultimately be the same 1 sided thrashing with Bernie going back to "healthcare should be a right" and the 1% comments everytime he got flustered.

Edit: to be fair though CNN picked a bad topic for him. They had him on to defend the ACA which obviously he likes it about as much as Cruz but from the opposite position believing it doesn't go far enough.
 
brothern said:
If I was Ocasio-Cortez, I'd debate this idiot Shapiro tomorrow and send the $10K on the next check over to Democratic Senate reelection fund.
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Out of curiosity, what sort of academic credentials do you have? Because if the two of you were to debate, my money is on the guy that graduated summa cum laude from UCLA at the age of 20, and then cum laude at Harvard Law.
 
Nap said:
Out of curiosity, what sort of academic credentials do you have? Because if the two of you were to debate, my money is on the guy that graduated summa cum laude from UCLA at the age of 20, and then cum laude at Harvard Law.
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Any other bet would be a fools errand. As a liberal, I commend your forthrightness.
 
Hedgology said:
When asked, she hasn't actually defined Socialism, either.



Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried. That isn't really debatable...
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You're right, it's not debatable because you haven't defined the word. So your sentence has no meaning.

Was the USSR socialist? They had Socialist as part of their title but the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has democratic in its title. Is North Korea democratic?

I can just as easily say that capitalism has failed everywhere it's been tried. It all depends on how you define capitalism.

You made a claim:

Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried. Define your terms and explain where it's been tried.
 
maxparrish said:
So Ben Shapiro arrives at conclusions that offend you, including the idea that Israel was founded as, first and foremost, a Jewish state. And you don't like that he calls Jews who support anti-Israeli politicians as JINO's. Fair enough, but that does not make him a racist.
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Umm, do you agree with Ben Shapiro, maxparrish, that Israel should force the mass relocation and exile Palestinians from Gaza, Golan Heights, and Israel?

Because last time I checked, the "deportation or forcible transfer of population" is defined by multiple international bodies and treaties as a crime against humanity.

Slingshot Bob said:
But he is anti Trump, how can that be?
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See above.
 
brothern said:
Umm, do you agree with Ben Shapiro, maxparrish, that Israel should force the mass relocation and exile Palestinians from Gaza, Golan Heights, and Israel?

Because last time I checked, the "deportation or forcible transfer of population" is defined by multiple international bodies and treaties as a crime against humanity.



See above.
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Ben Shapiro doesn't even agree with that article, he wrote that 15 years ago as a teenager and has since renounced that article.
 
brothern said:
Umm, do you agree with Ben Shapiro, maxparrish, that Israel should force the mass relocation and exile Palestinians from Gaza, Golan Heights, and Israel?

Because last time I checked, the "deportation or forcible transfer of population" is defined by multiple international bodies and treaties as a crime against humanitySee above.
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I agree with Mr. Shapiro that Israel should do what is necessary to ensure its survival as a Jewish Homeland. To the degree that requires the relocation of populations dedicated to their destruction by violent means (as amply demonstrated and freely admitted over several decades) I have no objection.

Whether or not that requires population transfers of the magnitude implied is another matter - frankly, I don't believe anything more than some border adjustments on the west bank is necessary. On the other hand, there is a point at which one may have to reconcile the impossibility of peaceful coexistence and decide which side one is on. In that event, in a war of extermination or mass transfer I am on Israel's side.

BTW, as is obvious, those internationalist who think ethic cleansing is always morally wrong are, in fact, morally wrong.
 
Greenbeard said:
Based on a quick search, it looks like every thread on here about this woman has been started by a rightwinger. The candidates she backs in Dem primaries don't seem to be the choices of the Dem electorates.

The intense obsession of the right with this woman, who doesn't actually hold a seat in Congress yet and who won <16K votes in a low turnout primary, is bizarre.
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I don't know that either Republicans or Democrats are "obsessed with this woman." But she has been in the news and continues to make news. Dems need a fresh face, and she is one.

Don't make out like she's some sort of victim here.
 
Can't see the upside to her debating him, she'd get clobbered. Her debating him on socialism would be like Trump vs Bill Clinton on policy specifics.
 
brothern said:
Apologies. I forget sometimes that there are still people who actually believe in Christianity.

... but I get it. The endless coverage on Fox News, National Review and Breitbart articles about a dynamic young, woman of color. The tens if not hundreds of DP threads already created on Ocasio-Cortez. Someone who at the age of 28 has toppled a Democratic leader - A baby boomer! :shock:

I can certainly emphasize with the older generation that those are all very big, scary things that challenge everything they thought the USA to be.
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I cannot imagine why you would think I'd find Ocasio-Cortez scary or feel threatened by her. As I've repeatedly said, the Dems need fresh blood. She's smart and pretty, so why not?

But she's not quite ready for prime time and needs to be busy educating herself. She's no threat to anybody when she makes uninformed, dumb comments. She'll learn...in the meantime, she has entered the public arena, and analyzing or criticizing what she says is fair.
 
SonOfDaedalus said:
You're right, it's not debatable because you haven't defined the word. So your sentence has no meaning.

Was the USSR socialist? They had Socialist as part of their title but the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has democratic in its title. Is North Korea democratic?

I can just as easily say that capitalism has failed everywhere it's been tried. It all depends on how you define capitalism.

You made a claim:

Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried. Define your terms and explain where it's been tried.
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Socialism is an economic system where the means of production are owned and regulated by the community or state. That is really the simpliest and only definition. Any place that comes to mind with a planned economy has failed; it wouldn't be difficult to come up with some countries.
 
Slingshot Bob said:
LOL, you have obviously not watched more than a soundbite of him. He would run intellectual circles around her at the speed of light. She should stick to tending bar and stiffing the servers on tip $.
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I listened to him a few times on conservative radio. He is often rather rational. My point is that he won't be able to give a meaningful definition of socialism.

The word is virtually meaningless unless you're very specific. And once you are very specific very few people fit the definition.

Unless Miss Alexandria wants to abolish private ownership she isn't a socialist in any meaningful sense. Wanting to expand the social safety net doesn't make you a socialist.
 
Bucky said:
She is the leader of the Democrats, tom perez said so.
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Tom Perez is the antithesis of Ocasio wing of the Dem party.
 
Slingshot Bob said:
It is kinda cruel, like kicking a puppy. But hey, she put herself in the position to be on the national stage, she is fair game.
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I get that she claimed that Republicans are too afraid to debate her, but that doesn't mean that all debates are worth your time, let alone worth having.

Personally, I don't see much value coming from any debate with AOC; most members of Congress are not policy wonks. AOC knowledge compared to the average member of congress is probably no better or no worst. She's just terrible at coming up with answers on the fly is all.
 
Nap said:
Lol, I'm sure he would. Personally, I would rather see him debate someone like Sam Seder or David Pakman, I think those would be much more interesting.
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I'm open to all three. But only Bernie is serving in office. Ben only wants to debate AoC because he (A) thinks he can gain political capital and (B ) he believes he can take her down a few pegs.
 
Republicans are afraid of Ocasio because she is a YOUNG, HISPANIC WOMAN... 3 demographics that usually don't care about politics, especially during primaries and Mid-Term elections.

Yet during a primary, yes I know it was a Dem primary, but still, this YOUNG, HISPANIC WOMAN EASILY defeated a powerful # 4 ranked Democrat in the House..

So even though these are Democrats it shows that Women, minorities and young people might show up in November. 3 Demographics that the GOP does NOT want voting in November. That is why the Republicans seem even more shocked and scared that Ocasio won than the Dems are.
 
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