August 2019 | Rolling Stone | 45
whispers, “Where’s he from
again?” Like tornado chasers
or recreational trial watchers,
some Iowans attend political
speeches as an offbeat hobby.
Presidential politics is another
thing to do on a Friday night,
instead of maybe a ballgame.
If you leave the donor-
repelling environmentalist
politics out of it, Inslee is the
kind of candidate the press
would have loved 20 years
ago. He’s tall and silver-haired,
and looks vaguely like a Fif-
ties film star, a cross maybe
of Van Johnson and Richard
Widmark. There’s a trace of
left-coast surfer dude in his
voice that’s endearing; he
orates in question form, as
in, “We need to reinvigorate
the union movement? So the people who gave
us the weekend? Can give us a raise? After 25
years... ?” (Applause.)
Up close he emits an odor of baseline decen-
cy, not a common political quality. He’s doing
fine with his climate-crisis message, even if he’s
overdoing the simple country-guy persona can-
didates often trot out in farm states.
“I like to be in an agricultural state because
this is kind of where I came from,” he says. He
mentions he’s the only candidate to have bailed
hay. “I take that back,” he says quickly. “[Mon-
tana governor] Steve Bullock might have. But I
do it a lot faster than Steve... .”
The crowd is chuckling when an elderly man
in a pale-blue T-shirt stands up. “Yeah, I’ve got
a question on climate,” he snaps. He has bent
posture, egret-white hair, and dime-size liver
spots covering sun-baked forearms. He faces In-
slee in an accusatory posture.
“You’ve espoused some generalities I agree
with,” he says, and proceeds to lay a three-
stage question on the governor. “Name the fiveBERN NATION
Not just
Sanders but
also his ideas
are on the
primary ballot
this election
season,
as many
candidates
are embracing
policy
proposals
he popularized
in 2016, like
Medicare
for All.or six biofuels — if that’s what you call them —
that will solve the energy crisis. Number two,
tell me how far along they are in development.
Number three, tell me what percentage of the
energy market they occupy today.”
There are smiles from onlookers. Iowans like
and deserve their rep as a tough crowd. Inslee
handles it well, though, giving overviews of the
prospects for wind, solar, and biofuels.
“I watched the debates, every minute of
them,” the older man explains after the event.
“Nobody gave any specifics. They never do, not
even in the [general] election. Because of that,
the average person doesn’t know. I don’t think
anyone’s against renewable energy, wind and
solar. But we don’t have specifics.”
He seems to like Inslee, though, who’s poll-
ing under one percent nationally but has a pow-
erful argument for continuing: the inability of
any of the leading Democrats to seize the par-
ty’s imagination.
“Only 24 people know who they’re voting for
next year, and they’re all running,” Inslee says.Inslee is the kind of candidate who does well
enough in the intimate format of Iowa, but the
first national debates didn’t do him any favors.
His signature issue, the climate crisis, wasn’t
mentioned for more than 80 minutes, and when
he was asked about it, the question was, “Does
your plan save Miami?” (As if “We’re planning
on sacrificing Miami” were a possible response.)
Moreover, he committed what campaign re-
porters call an “unforced error.” He said he was
the only candidate onstage “who has passed a
law protecting a woman’s right of reproductive
health and health insurance.”
This led to Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar in-
terrupting with a peal of soon-to-be-viral laugh-
ter. “I just want to say there’s three women up
here that have fought pretty hard for a woman’s
right to choose,” she said, referring to herself,
Warren, and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
One can’t fault Klobuchar for seizing the
opening, but much of what has passed for the
Democratic Party debate to date has involved
what campaign commentators call “moments,”
like this.
There was Klobuchar dunking on Inslee,
Harris thrashing Biden over his past stance on
school busing, former Housing Secretary Ju-
lián Castro walloping O’Rourke for not doing
his “homework” on section 1325 of the immi-
gration code, and O’Rourke providing an anti-
moment of his own in an agonizing marathon
effort at speaking Spanish in his introductory
debate segment.
The gambit inspired hundreds of vi-
cious Twitter memes. Someone forgot to tell
O’Rourke and fellow en-Español adventurist
Cory Booker that the debates were already
translated into Spanish on NBC’s broadcast
partner, Telemundo. Stephen Colbert called
it an “Español-off ” and joked that the remarks
“really got through, really penetrated.” Trevor
Noah of The Daily Show and Jimmy Fallon of The
Tonight Show also hammered the effort, lead-
ing to an approving recap of late-night comedy
by Breitbart, never a good sign for Democrats.JOB HUNT
Apollo Global
Management lends
Kushner Cos. $184
million after Apollo’s
Josh Harris visits
Kushner several
times to discuss
a White House job
for himself.
EASY TARGET
The Washington Post reports at least four
countries have privately discussed manip-
ulating Kushner because of his “complex”
business arrangements, i.e., his family
begging foreign investors for money.MBS BROMANCE
Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin
Salman reportedly
claims to have
Kushner “in his
pocket.”MARCHALL ACCESS
Trump reportedly
orders Kushner be
given top-secret
clearance, against
advice of advisers
concerned about
his business inter-
ests and potential
foreign influence.DOUBLE DEAL?
Brookfield Asset
Management bails
out Kushner Cos.
by taking out a
lease on 666 Fifth
Avenue. The same
month, Brookfield
buys Westinghouse
Electric Co....GOING NUCLEAR
It’s reported the
White House has
been trying to ar-
range a deal selling
nuclear reactors to
Saudi Arabia. The
proposed purveyor
of the reactors?
Westinghouse.RUSSIA AGAIN
FBI begins inves-
tigating Deutsche
Bank for not
reporting Kushner
Cos. transactions
with Russia that
were flagged
by anti-money-
laundering experts.NOV. FEB. 2018 MAY AUG. FEB. 2019 JUNETOP: MATTHEW PUTNEY/AP IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK. BOTTOM, FROM LEFT: MARY ALTAFFER/AP IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK; ALEX BRANDON/AP IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK; SHEALAH CRAIGHEAD/THE WHITE HOUSE; ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK; AP IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK; ARUN GIRIJA/ENEC; TIM ROOKE/SHUTTERSTOCK