It wasn’t surprising that Wednesday night’s Democratic debate moderators from MSNBC and The Washington Post largely avoided substantive questions about America’s robust economy, including record low unemployment levels and record stock market highs. Even though the economy is among the top policy issues for 2020 voters, moderators preferred to focus on an impeachment sideshow.
 
Moderators did ask about farmers negatively affected by Chinese tariffs, yet they ignored important facts, including high approval of farmers for the job President Trump is doing. Meanwhile, Democrats refuse to help farmers by stymying a vote on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal. The USMCA trade deal would increase America’s agricultural exports by $2.2 billion, according to independent analysis by the US International Trade Commission.
 
Thanks to the 2017 tax reform law passed by Republicans, the effective tax rate for farmers was expected to fall from 17.2% to 13.9%, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The Trump administration is also working to roll back the Obama administration’s overreaching Waters of the United States rule, which required permits for discharging waste in waters designated as federally protected–and which farmers and ranchers strongly opposed.
 
Americans deserve debate moderators who focus on substance like this rather than partisan jockeying.