The call for new blood from the 38-year-old came right after Nadler stumbled badly through his own opening statement.
"It’s 2022. It’s time to turn the page on 1992," Patel, 38, said in a swipe at Nadler, 75, and Maloney, 76, during his introductory statement in the debate co-sponsored by NY1 and WNYC.
Nadler’s delivery was halting during his initial presentation and he misspoke and often seemed unable to come up with the right words.
And then Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, uttered a real whopper, proclaiming, "I’ve impeached Bush twice."
He was referring to his oversight of the politically divisive
...politicians call things
divisivewhen when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never
divisive,they're
principled...
impeachments of former President Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
, whom he confused with either the 41st or 43rd president.
Nadler’s bumbling seemed to prove Patel’s point.
"Nineteen-nineties Democrats have lost about every major battle to Mitch McConnell
...Senate minority leader from Kentucky. A politician's politician, Mitch is smarter than he's given credit for, not as smart as he thinks he is. He is married to former education secretary Elaine Chao, whose father has extensive shipping interests, including a company in China, which makes sense since he's Chinese. He is sometimes maligned as Cocaine Mitchbecause a few million bucks' worth of the drug was once found on one of his father-in-law's ships in Colombia, which is kind of a tenuous assertion, to say the least...
and the Republicans," said Patel, referring to the Senate Republican leader from Kentucky.
Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked
Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng,he pointed out, his voice tense,
we all die!...
Nadler sat during the entire 90-minute session while Maloney and Patel stood at their lecterns.
Nadler had many other verbal stumbles throughout the debate and at one point when the moderators offered him a chance to respond since his name had been brought up by an opponent, he seemed stunned and had nothing to say.
At one point, WNYC moderator Brigid Bergin asked Nadler about the importance of seniority and how he and Maloney differed on policies, two related but different questions.
Nadler answered that seniority is important if used effectively, but forgot about the Maloney comparison.
"The second one, the second question, what was the second one?" Nadler asked.
Maloney made waves for a different reason during the debate: She predicted that President Joe Biden
...... 46th president of the U.S. Sleazy Dem machine politician, paterfamilias of the Biden Crime Family, the guy who bungled Afghanistan......
, 79, would not run for re-election.
"I don’t believe he’s running for re-election," Maloney said.
Nadler, meanwhile, would not commit to supporting Biden’s re-election and would only answer, "It’s too early to say," when asked.