ANOTHER Democratic debate?
Gheez?
Well?
So far only five people should be on stage….
Early voting in the state has begun already….
We ARE getting down to the nitty gritty….
*Update…Mike Bloomberg will be number 6….
Five Democratic presidential contenders are poised to participate in the next presidential primary debate Wednesday, which marks the final debate before Nevada caucus goers pick their candidates February 22.
To appear on the debate stage at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas, candidates have to meet either a delegate or polling threshold, according to the Democratic National Committee.
For the delegate requirement, candidates must have won at least one delegate from either the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary. For the polling threshold, Democratic contenders must clear 10% in at least four national polls approved by the Democratic National Committee or receive 12% in two single-state polls in South Carolina or Nevada.
The qualifications set by the Democratic National Committee for Wednesday’s debate are a departure from previous debate requirements, which demanded that Democrats meet a donor threshold.
The change paves the way for Michael Bloomberg, who is self-funding his presidential campaign, to debate his Democratic opponents for the first time. The former New York City mayor is on the cusp of qualifying for Wednesday’s debate, since he has received at least 10% in three national polls so far. He has exceeded the 10% threshold in polls conducted by Fox News, Quinnipiac and Monmouth. Bloomberg would need to reach 10% in a separate poll in order to qualify. He is not on the ballot in Nevada or South Carolina, the next two early-voting states.
A spokesperson for the billionaire former New York City mayor has said that if he qualifies, he will debate.
So far, five of the eight Democrats still in the race for the nomination appear to have qualified for Wednesday’s debate:
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Senator Amy Klobuchar
- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
- Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren
Bloomberg, billionaire investor Tom Steyer and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard have until 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday to land on the debate stage…
image…WashingtonPost.Com
Another debate to begin….
Might be some drama….
Ok….
I’ve Seen just a little of this for the first hour…
But this is NOTHING like the others….
This IS a FREEE FOR ALL!…
They ARE throwing AT EACH other….
Bloomberg is taking hits….
Sanders is Taking HITS….
Biden is YELLING….
…from Axios…
What’s happening: The candidates are discussing transparency relating to medical records and tax records. Questions have been raised about both Sanders’ and Bloomberg’s health, both of whom are 78-years-old. Sanders had a heart attack last year and has shared some medical reports, but says he will not release further records. Bloomberg also had heart surgery in 2000.
Bloomberg also says he cannot release his tax returns yet because he makes “a lot of money” and that he “can’t go to turbo tax.” He says they will be released in the upcoming weeks.
Bloomberg is also facing questions over his record of making his employees sign non-disclosure agreements — particularly women who’ve accused the former mayor of inappropriate conduct.
Pressured by Warren on if he’d release those people from the agreements, Bloomberg stated: “None of them accused me of doing anything other than maybe they didn’t like a joke I told.”
The Bloomberg pile on
Sanders is argues that Bloomberg’s version of centrism won’t produce the voter turnout needed to beat Trump. Bloomberg hit back that he doesn’t think there’s “any chance, whatsoever” of Sanders beating Trump, striking at the senator’s Medicare for All plan.
But Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren landed the night’s first blow: “I’d like to talk about who we’re running against. A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse faced lesbians, and no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar added: “I think we need something different than Donald Trump. I don’t think you look at Donald Trump and say, we need somebody richer in the White House.”
Bloomberg countered the attacks with an electability argument, stating that he knows how to take on a conman”like Trump and that he’s the best equipped to beat the president.
And Bloomberg took heat all around for his policy while New York mayor of stop-and-frisk. A statement released mid-debate by the Bloomberg campaign wrote: “Mike Bloomberg has apologized for not fully understanding the full impact the NYPD’s practice of stop and frisk was having on Black and Latino communities.”
On health care
Sanders took heat over his supporters and his health care plan, after his supporters attacked the Culinary Workers Union in Nevada last week for saying they were concerned that Sanders’ plan would take away their negotiated health care plan.
Sanders defended his Medicare for All plan, stating: “Let me be very clear for my good friends in the Culinary Workers Union, a great union. I will never sign a bill that will reduce the health care benefits they have. We will only expand it for them, for every union in America, and for the working class of this country.”
And the candidates circled back to one of their most repeated arguments: Medicare for All versus expanding on Obamacare.
Buttigieg argued in favor of his plan, which would allow people to keep their private insurance: “This idea that the union members don’t know what’s good for them is the exact kind of conned sense and arrogance that makes people skeptical of the policies we’ve been putting forward.”
And former Vice President Joe Biden tapped into his Obama administration clout, stating: “I notice what everybody’s talking about is the plan that I first introduced. That is to go and add to Obamacare, provide a public option, a medicare-like-option…
Source…
…from Politico…
Elizabeth Warren welcomed Mayor Bloomberg to the stage and whacked him rhetorically in a way so far unseen in the Democratic primary to date.
“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians, and no I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg,” Warren said to kick off the debate.
“Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, and of supporting racist policies like redlining and stop and frisk,” she contifnued. “Look, I’ll support whoever the Democratic nominee is, but understand this: Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another.”
Amy Klobuchar followed up, saying the Bloomberg campaign arrogantly said three moderate Democrats should just step out of the way to help him win the nomination and defeat President Trump.
“I think we need something different than Donald Trump,” she said. “I don’t think you look at Donald Trump and say, we need somebody richer in the White House.”
After noting that an NBC poll showed he leads Trump by the widest margins of anyone in the Democratic field, Joe Biden then piled on.
“The mayor says that he has a great record. The fact of the matter is, he has not managed his city very, very well when he was there. He didn’t get a lot done,” Biden said. “He has stop and frisk, throwing close to 5 million young black men up against a wall.”
Dems criticize Sanders for online behavior of his supporters
A question to Warren about whether behavior of some Sanders supporters would hurt unity in the general election sparked a pile-on to the self-described democratic socialist.
“I’ve said many times before, we are all responsible for our supporters and we need to step up,” Warren said. “That’s what leadership is all about.”
After Nevada’s powerful Culinary Union criticized Sanders’ “Medicare for All” proposal, leaders reportedly received threatening e-mails and voicemails. It ultimately did not endorse a candidate for the Nevada Caucus. The Sanders campaign denounced the harassing messages. The Vermont senator’s campaign has faced criticism for the behavior of online supporters dubbed by critics as “Bernie Bros.” It has repeatedly rebuffed these critiques, noting Sanders’ broad support among women and minorities.
Sanders responded to Warren, saying of the millions of Twitter followers “99.9 percent of them are decent human beings, are working people, are people who believe in justice, compassion and love. And if there are a few people who make ugly remarks, who attack trade union leaders, I disown those people.” He then pivoted to harassment he said some of his campaign’s female and African American staffers had received.
Buttigieg jumped in soon after, prefacing that he did not believe Sanders was directing the online activity, but then saying “ I think you have to accept some responsibility and ask yourself what it is about your campaign in particular that seems to be motivating this behavior more than others.”
Serious as a heart attack
Sanders backed away from his pledge to provide full transparency after he had a heart attack earlier this year. When asked about it, Sanders made sure to pivot to how Bloomberg had a medical procedure as well.
“I think the one area maybe that Mayor Bloomberg and I shared, you have two stents as well,” Sanders said.
Bloomberg chimed in: “25 years ago.”
“Well, we both have two stents, it’s a procedure that is done about a million times a year,” Sanders said, pointing out that numerous physicians have attested to his health. “Hey, follow me around the campaign, three, four, five events a day, see how you’re doing compared to me.”
Buttigieg chimed in and said it wasn’t enough.
“First of all, let me say we’re all delighted that you are in fighting shape,” Buttigieg said and then transitioned over to how Sanders has not provided enough details about his healthcare plan’s costs.
Sanders was happy to fight on more solid ground concerning healthcare, and pointed out that “Yale epidemiologists in ‘Lancet’ — one of the leading publications in the world — what they said, my friends, is Medicare for all will save $450 billion a year.”
Buttigieg blasts Bloomberg, Sanders
Pete Buttigieg ripped into Bloomberg and Sanders, noting that after Super Tuesday “the two most polarizing figures on this stage” could be the only two candidates left competing for the nomination.
“Most Americans don’t see where they fit if they’ve gotta choose between a socialist who thinks that capitalism is the root of all evil and a billionaire who thinks that money oughta be the root of all power,” the former South Bend, Ind., mayor said.
He urged the party to “wake up” and nominate someone like him.
“Let’s put forward somebody who actually lives and who works in a middle-class neighborhood in an industrial Midwestern city. Let’s put forward somebody who’s actually a Democrat,” Buttigieg said, jabbing the independent Sanders and Bloomberg, a former Republican and independent. “We shouldn’t have to choose between one candidate who wants to burn this party down and another candidate who wants to buy this party out. We can do better.”
Warren takes aim at, well, everyone
ponents on health care
Elizabeth Warren didn’t come to make friends at the debate and, in one paragraph, swiped at Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Sanders over healthcare….
Source….
This is a certified shitshow for you guys.
The desperation of 5 of them is palpable and Bloomberg is just waiting for this to be over. I sort of dig his arrogant contempt of all the others. It’s hard for me to know how Democrat activist types will view this. I can envision someone like Zreebs declaring he was totally out of his mind for ever considering Bloomberg now. I just hope enough Democrats are strategic enough to at least be willing to consider the person who would pose the biggest challenge to Trump, for all the reasons that Bloomberg might.
Buttigieg completely unnerved Klobuchar over her forgetting the name of the Mexican President. She reacted in a very bad way.
If a Boy Scout like Mayor Pete could make her respond like that in a debate, I shutter to think what might happen if Trump goes at her.
Damn it is a firestorm…I think this is helping Biden so far his best performance…
True THAT….
It will depend on IF the media actually REPORTS what u just said….
Biden actually looks pissed….
Bloomberg looks a bit lost…
Bernie IS taking hits…
The crowd IS VOCAL….
Bdog…
…GEOFFREY SKELLEY 10:00 PM
Biden hasn’t been a central figure in this debate — congrats Bloomberg — but I would say he’s been pretty strong with every answer he’s given. He’s been sharp in making the case for his ability to beat Trump, his plan to build on Obamacare (and attacking Bloomberg for criticizing it), hitting Bloomberg on transparency, and most recently talking about his relationships in and knowledge of Latin America. I’d say he’s been about as good as he’s been in any debate this cycle, and maybe this is the much-needed top-shelf performance at a crucial moment for his campaign….
538
Warren and Buttigieg HAVE been Strong in this debate also …
A LOT of the stuff thrown down here is pure Bull Shit that would NOT get anywhere in Congress…
Warren looks desperate and took all sorts of cheap shots at Bloomberg.
If you said your wife thought Harris was “mean” (and apparently a lot of people did as well), they might think the same about Warren. She clearly has the most ground to make up to stay in this race.
THIS IS Biden’s best debate…
Can he get some traction from it…
Bloomberg calls out Sanders after Sanders complained about tax cuts,,,,Bloomberg asked who passed the legislation?
Sanders is walking into a trap….
He is knocking the very idea of capitalism….
People making money….
Billionaire shouldn’t exist….Bernie….
Bloomberg…I worked very hard for my money…
Pete…Don’t demand companies turn over a pertange of their compoany to workers…
Klobuchar wants to go back against Trump…
Sanders doubled back against American wealth gaining….
Bloomberg goes DIRECTLY against Sanders knocking socialist getting rid of the idea to make money by private people…
Warnen reels off a list of things that could be done with 2% wealth tax….
Sanders gets a direct question about socialism….
He goes on to defend it…
Bloomberg says a Sanders have 3 homes….
Bloomberg says he’s raised taxes on rich as NYC mayor….
Biden on socialist….
Increased taxes on the rich….
Sanders IS going at Bloomberg and rich people and capitalism HARD…
Pete brings up the fact that Sanders Healthcare okay will INCREASE MIDDLE CLASS Americans…
Warren goes out of her way to call herself a capitalist….
Warren just went directly after Klobuchar and Biden…
This time is NOTHING about the other debates…
This IS a political knife fight.…
POLL BOT10:34 PM
As Poll Bot mentioned in the last debate, according to a January NBC News/WSJ poll, only 19 percent of registered voters had positive feelings towards “socialism,” while 53 percent had negative feelings. In comparison, 52 percent of registered voters had positive feelings toward “capitalism,” while 18 percent had negative feelings….
538
I’ll be back for the summary afterwards…
just like you sometimes do!
This is helping nobody tonight but Trump. I think Bloomberg is fine with that. He is just waiting for it to be over and know it will he his hardest night ever.
These candidates are going to continue to cannibalize itself and Bloomberg will have the money to Scorch the Earth against whomever survives (probably Sanders) once the full panic sets in.
Oh Yea….
They ARE beating each up…
But THAT is just gonna HAVE TO play out….
While Bernie was talking about his plans to “burn down the house”, my hallway filled up with smoke and the fire alarms went off, so I went to watch the end of the debate elsewhere.
I don’t know how anyone who supports any of these candidates can come away from watching this feeling good.
Bloomberg should have been far better prepared for questions he knew he was going to get. He is far from a great politician, but at the end of the day, he is the only one who is going to have the money to destroy Bernie Sanders over electability fears once the panic sets in.
Or another alternative is maybe that Mayor Pete is just pretty good at politics and people will decide to take a gamble on him. He may beat Trump, he may not, but stopping Sanders would not be easy.
If Bloomberg emerges at the end, many might call it a hostile takeover. Who will the Bernie Bros hate more, Bloomberg or Trump?
I really don’t know what else to say.
My one prediction will be that Zreebs will tell us he has totally ruled out voting for Bloomberg and is now leaning heavily towards Sanders (which is a very odd shift, but to each his own…)
We will see if I turn out to be right.
Thanks CG…..
I’ll do a afteractiin post in the morning….
There was a LOT of jousting ….
I DID give a early assessment in the comments in the this post…
The media is in the bag for Bernie…
But i heard the guy pushing things I’m not happy with
Though not perfect…
I was happy to see Joe get forceful…
as usual Klobuchar gave sharp answers but will not be the nominee
Neither will Buttigieg who gave good reply’s
Catch this in the morning….
Chris Matthews is now pushing Elizabeth Warren as the new “moderate alternative” to Sanders.
if it has gotten to that point…
I’m moving Oprah up to 8 percent in my nomination odds.
I liked when Mayor Pete said he would have his Pediatrician release his full medical records.
Biden, Sanders and Klobuchar seemed to be the most credible nominees against Trump in November, but I’m not quite sure which.
Warren is just too strident; she only sang one note on Wednesday night.
The two former mayors just didn’t seem able to hit their marks. While they could win over some voters in the centre, I just don’t see them lighting the fire necessary to pull occasional voters out to the polls, and occasional participants to volunteer on their campaigns.
By the way, Bloomberg is now saturating, or carpet-bombing TV in Providence, Rhode Island, which won’t vote until late April, but whose broadcasters reach a large chunk of SE Massachusetts (which will vote on SuperTuesday), such as Fall River and New Bedford.
Last week and weekend, I think I saw commercials for all the other candidates save Biden (and maybe Warren); I haven’t seen any ads from them recently.