The debate was NOTHING like the first….
This one was biting…
The leader in the polls WAS attacked….
Kamala Harris tried to hang segregation on Joe Biden’s back….
Joe Biden again does NOT apologise for his actions… ….
There was also more barbs thrown at Donald Trump….
Healthcare came up in different ways…..Bernie Sanders came under attack…
Joe Biden defended his time as Vice President and Immigration policy…
Here’s some read backs….
In the most dramatic moment of Thursday’s debate, Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden directly clashed over the former vice president’s record on race as Ms. Harris laced into his recent remarks about working with segregationists in the Senate, as well as his active opposition to busing in the 1970s.
“I’m going to now direct this at Vice President Biden,” Ms. Harris said. “I do not believe you are a racist. And I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground.
But, she continued, “It is personal and it was actually very hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputation and career on the segregation of race in this country.”
That was a reference to remarks Mr. Biden made at a fund-raiser last week in which he spoke fondly about what he described as a more civil time in the Senate, a time when he had working relationships even with segregationist Southern senators. Mr. Biden has since said he made those references to show that he was willing to work even with those whose views he finds abhorrent, but the remarks nevertheless rocked his campaign and angered many in his party.
…
The second night of the debate was the chance for candidates Sen. Michael F. Bennet (Colo.), former vice president Joe Biden, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.), former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.), author Marianne Williamson and businessman Andrew Yang to debate one another and address the country.
See the latest on the debate from the Fact Checker here. Come back for highlights as the candidates speak.
Harris calls out Biden on race: The sharpest exchange of the debate centered on race, when Harris, the only black candidate on the stage, called out Biden for his comments at a recent fundraiser where he bragged about his relationship with segregationist senators early in his career.
“It was hurtful,” Harris said, saying she didn’t think the former vice president was racist. Then she criticized him in personal terms for his opposition to busing, saying that as a little girl in California she was part of only the second class that was integrated due to a policy of transporting black students to mostly white schools.
“On this subject, it can not be an intellectual debate among Democrats,” Harris said.
Biden seemed prepared for the attack and struck back at Harris, saying that early in his career he became a public defender. “I didn’t become a prosecutor,” Biden said, a knock on Harris, whose past as the top prosecutor in California has stirred suspicion from some black voters.
Biden tried to argue that he opposed busing on only the federal level and didn’t want Washington to dictate policy to local governments.
But Harris called him out on that argument, saying that racist state-level policies have held back African Americans for years and that it’s the role of the federal government to intervene.
Biden ticked off legislation that he’s pushed to support African Americans, but then seemed to run out of steam. “Anyway, my time is up,” he said….
…
For the first half of Thursday’s presidential debate, Joe Biden looked as if he would somehow be able to stand at center stage yet not be the center of the bullseye of other candidates’ attacks.
California Sen. Kamala Harris changed that, taking Biden to task for his opposition to busing and his working relationships decades ago as a U.S. senator.
The testy exchange, during which both raised their voices, highlighted a racial as well as a generational divide between the two candidates and solidified Harris as the buzziest candidate onstage. Earlier, she was the voice of reason when she quieted squabbling colleagues.
“Guys, you know what? America does not want to witness a food fight,” Harris said. “They wanna know how we’re gonna put food on their table.”
The debate hall erupted in applause.
The debate began with the top two candidates flexing their rhetorical muscle.
When asked about his comments that the wealthy would not be treated too differently under a Biden administration, the former vice president went right after his favorite target: President Trump.
“Donald Trump thinks Wall Street built America. Ordinary middle-class Americans built America,” Biden said. “My dad used to have an expression. He said, ‘Joe, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s being able to look your kid in the eye and saying that everything is going to be okay.”
Sanders was asked about whether his proposals would result in higher taxes for the middle class and, after first explaining the need for Medicare For All and subsidized college debt relief, he said taxes would go up but healthcare costs would go down…..
…
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) spiked in Google searches in the second half of the debate shortly after her contentious back-and-forth with former Vice President Joe Biden over his record on civil rights.
Searches for Harris’s name surged by 500 percent after the one-hour mark, according to Google Trends. Searches for former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) both increased by 300 percent during the second half.
Harris and author Marianne Williamson saw the largest spikes in Google searches for their names over the second hour, at various points seeing their names surge in popularity over other top-searched candidates.
Biden and Harris’s sharp exchange was one of the most memorable moments of the night. Harris went after Biden’s record on civil rights.
Harris brought up the former vice president’s past comments touting his work with two segregationist senators, calling it “hurtful.”
“On this subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats, we have to take it seriously, we have to act swiftly,” Harris said. She then pressed Biden over his former opposition to busing, saying that she personally benefited from busing as a black woman.
Biden hit back, saying, “I did not praise racists. It is not true, number one. Number two, if you want to have this campaign litigated on who supports civil rights and whether I did or not, I’m happy to do that. I was a public defender. I didn’t become a prosecutor.” Harris has faced some criticism over her history as a prosecutor in California….
Note…
The media had Julian Castro as last nights winner….
The media will have Kamala Harris as tonights winner…
We’ll see if the polls reflect the media’s view….
The media doesn’t vote…
People do…
…
Remember ?
Kamala Harris is trying to peal away Black voters FROM Joe Biden by pinning him to his past actions….Biden is STILL supported by most Black voters and organisations….
This debate is very entertaining. It’s even crazier than last night!
Biden is doing pretty well so far.
james and I are the co-Chairs of the NeverBernie caucus. Does anyone actually think he would beat Trump?
Pete speaks well but did he forget to shave right before the debate? Some people have to do that. He looks downright Nixonian.
Kudos to Michael Bennet for sorta taking it to Bernie on single payer. Of course, Bennet just lost any votes he might have already had.
Elizabeth Warren pulls off Elizabeth Warren a lot better than Kamala does.
It looks like Biden and everybody else but Bennet just sided with Castro in saying that it is not illegal to cross the border.
I may need to actually watch a Trump speech to remind myself of how horrible he is, after watching these people debate.
How is a genuine political moderate going to take all this?
Biden vs. Harris
Just brutal. It’s what everyone will be talking about after. I suppose it matters most what Democrats think.
(I think she scored major points against him but her body language came across really bad. She was pissed beyond belief at him and he wasn’t happy with her either. I wouldn’t think a ticket between them looks likely)
Him attacking her for becoming a prosecutor though took Trumpian chutzpah!
Harris is actually in 4th place…
She is way behind Biden IN CALIFORNIA….
While she is attacking Biden for his race actions?
There are those in California who do NOT like that she has put a LOT of Blacks in jail in her state….
Polls can change very quickly.
Being bested by Harris is far worse for Biden than being bested by Sanders.
Sanders was basically an afterthought tonight which is great news for Warren.
Yeah, we will see if Biden fights back by saying that Kamala Harris locked up too many black people as a prosecutor. Do you actually think he will go that route?
You’re right on the Biden vs Harris thing….
Biden incorrectly claims Democrats re-took the Senate when he was Vice President thanks to his campaigning.
No actually Joe, your party lost control of the Senate during those years and have not gotten it back.
Mayor Pete definitely shaved a bit during one of the commercial breaks… or they found better makeup.
While I don’t necessarily see it this way, the online consensus on the right (both pro and anti-Trump) is that Kamala Harris is owning the stage.
People are being tougher on Biden that I would have expected to.
Every time the word “climate change” gets uttered, a part of Zreebs dies inside.
Apparently, Frank Luntz is everyone’s Overlord.
Left-wing Twitter hates Biden. Savaging him ruthlessly right now. It’s as if he were a Trump himself.
I suppose though that there are many Democrat primary voters who are not on Twitter and who will stick with Joe.
I agree that the left is out gunning for Biden….
But?
The voters are saying Biden is the leader right now…
Bernie Sanders is working the media from the Green room and repeats that he would call Donald Trump a ‘racist’ to his face…
I am having visions of a Warren/Harris ticket. Remember where you heard it first.
There will be NO Warren/Harris ticket….
neither will carry the majority of primary voters….
You don’t need a majority of primary voters. You just need a certain number of delegates.
Debate Week 1 was a big win for two female Senators. Especially one of the ones tonight.
Biden is now pointing finger guns at the moderators.
Biden is clinging to name checking Barack Obama the way that Tony Dreesen remembers that he once opened for Frank Sinatra.
Rachel Maddow asks Biden about voting for the Iraq War.
I thought she was about to ask him why he opposed the raid to get bin Laden.
CNN/MSNBC pundits give the win to Kamala, “no question.”
All pundits are also saying how much better this debate was than last night and saying things vaguely similar to last night being a “clown show” in comparison. Go figure.
So, after meeting all 20 of these folks, if it’s 4 am, would I swipe right (or left in this case?) for Delaney or Bennet?
Nah, I’ll pass.
Bill Maher had a bit last week that I talked about on here a year ago.
Oprah would be far and away the strongest Democrat candidate against Trump. I believe that now more than ever.
I believe there is a possibility that Keith might be supporting Kamala Harris (whom he once claimed never publicly claimed to be African-American and would never imagine anyone looking at her in that way), so it will be interesting if Keith finds himself attacking Joe Biden for his anti-busing position from the 1970s, since that discussion seemed to be the biggest takeaway from this debate. (I cannot imagine why Biden would defend that on this stage tonight, but that’s another point.)
We have often been told that what some said or did regarding racial matters in the 1970s and 1980s were totally irrelevant. Senator Harris clearly thinks otherwise.
Sorry to have to filibuster here, but sadly, nobody else has been around to live blog the debate.
I am waiting to hear from james. I am not sure if we will get him somewhat depressed or in complete “Biden won huge!” mode. I am guessing it will be the latter.
MSNBC is giving Kamala Harris the Full Obama treatment.
It’s astonishing. Her fundraising is going to be off the hook.
He, he, he….
OFCOURSE MSNBC is giving Harris the spotlight!….
Biden is the leader….
They want a horse race…
MSNBC tends to lean left….
Biden is in the middle …
Biden is a white guy….
Harris is mixed Black/East Indian….
I will say this again….
Harris is desperate to peal some of the Biden’s Black’s support which she DOES NOT have in California and even in South Carolina….
Again?
While the media is foaming at the mouth at Biden under attack for his back in the day action on ‘state’s rights’….
The other candidates want to talk about ANYTHING else…
Do you truly think that Harris did not take any votes away from Biden tonight?
Maybe you actually do. Tomorrow, we will hear perhaps what the others think. We know jack was watching something else though (supposedly.)
Maybe…
We’ll have to wait for a week or two….
Some Democrats are NOT gonna be happy with her attacks on Biden , which is fair….
Biden NEEDS to go thru the mill….
It WILL make him stronger…
Trump will be 10 times tougher….
Just what kind of mill is it?
All Democrats are saying is that Harris taking down Biden is proof that she can take down Trump too.
Some Democrats will not be happy with her attacks on Biden.
Well, maybe not the children of James Eastland and Richard Talmadge, but who knows.
Just think it about. Biden literally defended an anti-busing position by claiming “local rights” after Kamala went the whole, “when I was a little black girl” on him. It’s nearly unthinkable he did that instead of just saying, “Well, times have changed and so have I.”
Blacks and even most the media people do NOT hold Biden’s actions against him done in the past….
The media talking heads are carrying harris’s DEMAND for a apology…
NOBODY thinks Joe Biden IS a racist….
Not even Kamala Harris , who said that tonight…
The media have already calmed down and left the Biden/Harris thing to actual talk about other things….
Chris Matthews will be waking in a not calmed down condition.
Kamala’s power move tomorrow morning….
Anita Hill endorsement. Side by side. They will be trying to make this happen.
Anita Hill has said she WOULD vote FOR Joe Biden for President CG…..
Well, she said in a general election, not primary. The primary comes first of course and she said she isn’t voting for him in that.
But yes, she did say she would vote for Biden over Trump in a general, unlike your situation with Bernie and Trump.
So, does the “states’ rights” defense on busing work for Biden or does he apologize and renounce it tomorrow? Will John Lewis defend him on this.
Dear lord, I couldn’t have even predicted Biden would fall into an anti-busing trap. This was a new way of being “thrown under the bus.”
Chris Matthews just asked Kamala Harris with surprise in his voice, how she was able to grow up to not hate white people.
Harris isn’t gonna look so good tomorrow when the media calms down and there are counter attacks against her…
The media orgasm over Kamala Harris’s debate performance has only just begun. Brace yourself for it. Accept it.
Give me a break CG….
Harris did her launch and they where going crazy….
It did NOT last….
Let’s see if she can get some footing again?
Nobody watched her launch when it aired on CSPAN 2.
Millions of people watched the debate tonight.
I really feel for you in this. You are going to spin yourself into a horrible emotional situation.
No….
I’m just keeping it real….
Let’s see if the polling stays with Biden or the media?
The media directs polling as much as anything. People are very susceptible, especially on the left.
Biden has been leading with about 25 percent of the vote nationally. That is hardly a strong position to be in. But I will grant you that the next batch of polls will continue to show Biden ahead of Yang and Williamson.
Will you vote for Harris if she is the nominee? Simple question.
Will you vote for Warren if she is the nominee? Another simple one.
Harris will NOT be the nominee….
Nor will Warren….
I stand by this view ….
So?
Your question means nothing to me….
Right Now?
Harris is 4th place …
Warren is in 3rd place….
Ask me the question after March 3rd….
As McAulliffe just pointed out….
Within 30 days?
Several of the people on the stage will have dropped out…
But the rest of the people sitting on the stage point out that Harris will now get more attention and she has negatives ….
Things can change very quickly in crowded fields of Democrats.
I would point to the recent election in Chicago where Lori Lightfoot, an African-American female former prosecutor, who was not as widely known and was polling at about 4 percent literally two weeks before the first round in about 8th place, then went on to win the most votes in the first round and then every single ward and nearly every precinct in the City in the runoff.
Bill Daley (whom I was hoping for as the least worst option) would be the comparison to Biden in that race (whom I might also consider the least worst realistic option)
Now, as for Kamala Harris, she absolutely should get push back because much of what she said substantively was extreme left-wing nuttiness, such as her saying she would get rid of all private health insurance.
Perhaps james agrees with me on that and thinks that she and Warren are just too left-wing to vote for even against Trump.
It’s a simple question that you should be able to answer today.
The fact that you won’t answer today seems to indicate that right now, the answer is “no.”
Again…
No answer on the two….
Ask me next Spring….
You KNOW who I support right now….
I’m out for the night….
Good talking to ya CG!
Hope you have good dreams!
Cop out.
I was always open about which GOP primary candidates I supported but always said that I would vote for any of the other ones if they were nominated with the specific exceptions of
Pat Buchanan
Ron Paul
Donald Trump
This should not be a hard question for you.
Harris is talking to CNN afterwards….
She is NOT talking about Biden and race, but just about America AND race….
I’m watching CNN at the moment as well. She just finished going after Biden on the segregation/busing issue again. Now, she is on to other things.
Nonetheless, the clip of their exchange will be replayed constantly, on television, YouTube, Twitter, etc.
For me, I just continue to realize that there is a reason that Biden has twice crashed as a Presidential candidate.
Harris may or may not crash too but she doesn’t have that track record of failure at this point.
She’s still on and now Anderson Cooper is pushing her on Biden again. She’s loving every moment of it.
I thought the winners were Harris, Sanders and Bittigieg in that order.
I agree that Kamala and Mayor Pete did well, they were stand outs.
In Boston getting ready to head back to the West Coast.
Got the opportunity to watch the “debate” with members of Governor Baker’s staff. From our conversation last night I can confidently predict they will all be voting for the Democratic Candidate next year as long as Trump is the GOP nominee.
True Americans.
One immediate correction that I noticed for a one sided conversation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-am-who-i-am-kamala-harris-daughter-of-indian-and-jamaican-immigrants-defines-herself-simply-as-american/2019/02/02/0b278536-24b7-11e9-ad53-824486280311_story.html
Our Republican friend sure has been beating up on women lately.
Have a safe flight back West Keith.
Good to hear about Gov. Baker’s staff. Funny how people in the employ of a Republican governor can see how important it is to vote for the real opposition to the Trumpublican Party.
Then again, they are serious citizens. Not the peanut gallery.
Grown Lawmakers hiding out from the troopers!
I wonder if Harris knows the history of the guy on the $20 Bill?