It is the sixth Democratic debate already? Time flies this time of year, doesn’t it? I still haven’t taken down my decorations from the fifth Democratic debate. Well, like it or not, the top contenders for the Democratic nomination for president got together last night and hashed out…something. You missed it? Don’t worry, we’ve got all the best tweets of the night right here.
It wasn’t so long ago that there were two nights of debate to cram in all twenty candidates. Last night, they were down to seven. A magnificent seven? I wouldn’t go that far.
Impeach!
As they did last time, the debate moderators started with a question the candidates all agree on: impeachment.
Second debate in a row to open with an impeachment question. I think this is not a good use of time. The candidates are all for impeachment, and if they become president, the “should Trump be impeached” question will be moot.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) December 20, 2019
Since Tulsi Gabbard wasn’t allowed in this debate, the answers were all very similar.
What a waste of 10 minutes of America’s time. https://t.co/LwIVVu4tqP
— Brad Polum-defender-of-mint-pods-bo (@brad_polumbo) December 20, 2019
“This is the most corrupt president in living history,” says impartial juror Elizabeth Warren.
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 20, 2019
Bernie yells about Trump’s temperament!
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) December 20, 2019
Asked about how to convince Americans on impeachment, Biden, Sanders and Warren all focus broadly on why they don’t like Trump – without getting into details of the past few weeks. Klobuchar then provides the crispest answer: “This is a global Watergate.”
— Matt Viser (@mviser) December 20, 2019
Absolutely incredible answer from Andrew Yang
“We need to stop being obsessed with imepachment…and focus on the problems that got Donald Trump elected”
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) December 20, 2019
Yang sounds reasonable, which means he won’t qualify for the next debate.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) December 20, 2019
Everyone else on stage: Impeachment isn’t partisan.
Tom Steyer: I started the need to impeach campaign two years ago (long before that phone call with Ukraine).
— Philip Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) December 20, 2019
OK. I hereby move to disqualify Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders & every other Dem Senator who’s publicly advocated Trump’s impeachment for the last 3 years (long before Ukraine). https://t.co/x1UEJOid3c
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 19, 2019
Boring as those responses were, some people took the time to opine about the candidates’ sartorial selections.
I dig Bernie’s plaid tie pic.twitter.com/kPm7khtfBU
— Nando (@nandorvila) December 20, 2019
Tom Steyer’s tie looks like Spaceballs went to Ludicrous Speed. pic.twitter.com/j285VzMjEc
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) December 20, 2019
Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer own a collective total of one tie between them.
— Colin Duffy (@TheRightDuff) December 20, 2019
Gimme The Loot
Next, Elizabeth Warren got to talk some more about her magic wealth tax.
Moderator: Top economists across the nation say your programs will stifle growth
Elizabeth Warren: Every top economist is wrong. Only I am right.
I know where Kamala’s supporters are going now…
— Chrissy Clark (@chrissyclark_) December 20, 2019
For someone running on wonk cred, Warrens descriptions of the economic effects of a wealth tax are an embarrassment.
— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) December 20, 2019
This debate is literally just a “who’s the most socialist of them all” contest.
— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) December 20, 2019
free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff free stuff tax hikes
— Dean Clancy (@DeanClancy) December 20, 2019
USCMA is the new NAFTA
They also talked trade for a while, specifically the trade deal the House passed the same week they impeached the man who negotiated it.
Bernie Sanders says he won’t vote for USMCA “although it makes some modest improvements.”
Amy Klobuchar jumps right in there and says she’ll vote for it, but acknowledges that “there are some issues with it”
Read @elwasson on USMCA’s winners and losers: https://t.co/8NKmtZkCiK
— Anna Edgerton (@annaedge4) December 20, 2019
They tried to explain that the great economy is actually bad.
Moderator: It’s a fact that the economy is booming right now. Things are good.
Democrats: No, it’s all bad!
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 20, 2019
Biden says he is willing to sacrifice good paying blue collar jobs in favor of Green policies
Coming to a Trump ad near you…
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) December 20, 2019
I’m not sure how these doom-gloom descriptions of the economy help Democratic candidates look “in touch” with average Americans. #DemDebate
— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) December 20, 2019
Buttigieg used the occasion to, once more, try to sound like a smaller, whiter Obama.
How many times has Pete Buttigieg said “we’re being offered a false choice” in a debate?
— Anna Edgerton (@annaedge4) December 20, 2019
Going Green
After a break for commercials from evil corporations, the candidates discussed the environment. Coal baron Tom Steyer was glad to jump in as the candidates tried to out-green each other.
nobody:
tom steyer: pic.twitter.com/HZqTQPpdI7
— Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair 🦥 (@senatorshoshana) December 20, 2019
Warren, when asked about nuclear power, serves up a stump speech about corruption.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 20, 2019
I can’t be the only one who tunes Warren out after the first 5 of her 29 identically-cadenced sentences.
— Ms. Alice (@AliceFromQueens) December 20, 2019
The sheer conspiratorially of this my god. Bernie says climate scientists are downplaying the problem. Warren says the abstract corruption explains why her policies aren’t popular. O… k!
— Nicholas Clairmont (@NickClairmont1) December 20, 2019
If you had “next generation thorium reactors” on your debate bingo card, you just got alcohol poisoning.
— Peter Suderman (@petersuderman) December 20, 2019
Agree with Yang on nuclear but he still sucks.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) December 20, 2019
Intersectional intermission
There was the obligatory question about race, now made more poignant by the absence of any black of Hispanic candidates from the stage.
“It’s both an honor and a disappointment to be the lone candidate of color” on the debate stage, Andrew Yang says. He adds that he thinks Cory Booker will be back for future debates.
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) December 20, 2019
oh my god karen you can’t just ask people why they’re not white
— christmas cheer liz bruenig (@ebruenig) December 20, 2019
Bernie, as always, refused to answer whatever the moderators asked of him.
The audience seems to have had it with Bernie’s premise rejecting.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) December 20, 2019
Going Abroad
He did answer a question about Israel, though.
Bernie: “Israel has the right to exist.” Really amazing a Democrat candidate has to make that clear in 2019, but as we know a good many Democrats don’t think so. #DemDebate
— Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) December 20, 2019
This Israel discussion is not directed at pro-Israel voters.
— Melissa Braunstein (@slowhoneybee) December 20, 2019
Biden also refused to answer a question he didn’t like.
Excuse me, Mr. Biden, a two-state solution is not an answer to why Guantanamo Bay is still open.
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) December 20, 2019
Democrats live in a world where Palestinian terrorism doesn’t exist, and Jews building homes are the biggest threat to world peace.
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) December 20, 2019
There was talk of China. Tom Steyer tried to use some of the young folks’ lingo.
Billionaire Tom Steyer says we must deal with China as a “frenemy” because we are forever linked by globalization
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) December 20, 2019
Buttigieg doing alright on China/Hong Kong right now. Not that it matters one way or the other as no Democrat will be voting based on the issue. #DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/bC8Wkj5XIM
— David M. Swindle (@DaveSwindle) December 20, 2019
Biden: 60 per cent of American sea power would be roughly 6 Carrier groups of 11.
One, that’s idiotic. Two, China will have 6 Carriers by 2030.
— Mr Maitra (@MrMaitra) December 20, 2019
Warren talked some more about her cell phone pictures.
“I’m proud of taking 100,000 selfies!” -Elizabeth Warren
Ok boomer.
— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) December 20, 2019
Warren still doesn’t know what a selfie is
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) December 20, 2019
When Candidates Stop Being Polite and Start Getting Real
The policy clashes are what we should care about, but everyone knows these debates are bloodsport. The first real rhetorical fists flew in the debate’s second hour between Klobuchar and Buttigieg. Amy dropped the Minnesota nice and asked what the hell Pinocchio was even doing on stage with the real people?
Buttigieg: “You want to talk about building a coalition, try winning with 80% of the vote as a gay dude in Mike Pence’s Indiana.”
Klobuchar: “You didn’t win in Indiana. You tried and you lost by 20 points.” #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/r6HvMY52bj
— lexi 🍋🇺🇸 (@LexiForSenate) December 20, 2019
Klobuchar digging into Buttigieg like a comb going through salad
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) December 20, 2019
For Klobuchar, this is like the moment in Rocky II when he stopped fighting southpaw.
— Kyle Sammin (@KyleSammin) December 20, 2019
From there, everyone piled on Buttigieg, the candidate polling at 8%. Warren was first, decrying the fact that Buttigieg raised money from rich people in some weird setting she pretended not to understand.
WINE CAVES FULL OF CRYSTALS pic.twitter.com/VH2AoFrkGR
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) December 20, 2019
Warren bringing the heat now on Pete Buttigieg’s wine cave fundraiser. Now we’re starting to get into it. “Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States.”
— Blake News (@blakehounshell) December 20, 2019
Pete wasn’t having it.
Pete Buttigieg comes back hard, pointing out that Warren is one of the rich people she’s bashing. Well played
— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) December 20, 2019
.@PeteButtigieg punches back against Warren’s holier than thou nonsense.
“Your net worth is 100 times mine.”
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) December 20, 2019
“According to Forbes, I’m the only one on this stage who’s not a millionaire or a billionaire” 😶@PeteButtigieg to @ewarren #DemDebate
— Elizabeth Nolan Brown (@ENBrown) December 20, 2019
Warren fought hard to push the selfie thing, which made no sense, only to lose the exchange with Buttigieg over her signature populist issue. Not a great night.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) December 20, 2019
Ooooh. This finally gets interesting. Mayor Pete scores Warren on the money question and her “purity” tests. #DemDebate
— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) December 20, 2019
Sen. Warren: “I don’t sell my time.”
Mayor Buttigieg: “As of when?”
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) December 20, 2019
whew buttigieg burned her toast on both sides
— christmas cheer liz bruenig (@ebruenig) December 20, 2019
(Warren did the same kind of big money fundraisers in her Senate campaign two years ago, and rolled the money over into her presidential campaign.)
Very fair counter from Pete Buttigieg that Warren transferred millions raised from big dollar fundraisers from Senate account to her Presidential account https://t.co/hmo0qZdkek
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) December 20, 2019
Pete v. Liz pic.twitter.com/394mAprhK2
— Richard M. Hoover (@miniwheats235) December 20, 2019
Nothing I love more than hearing millionaires complain about billionaires.
— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) December 20, 2019
Meanwhile, the actual front-runner, Joe Biden, was enjoying the show.
Biden has to be loving these heated side fights between Buttigieg-Warren and Klobuchar-Buttigieg
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) December 20, 2019
This thing was really dragging on. Shouldn’t fewer candidates mean a quicker debate?
Two hours, folks. Come on. pic.twitter.com/jdvfbOHsuC
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 20, 2019
Closing thoughts
There were more foreign policy questions, and the biggest variations were in which non-standard pronunciations were more fashionable.
“Mayor Buttigieg, do you say ‘afgonnie-stahn’ or ‘afgan-is-tan’? Do you say ‘whaht-ih-malla’? ‘nee-kah-rah-wah’? SIGNAL, DAMMIT!”
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) December 20, 2019
In the early debates, the first half-hour was typically devoted to healthcare, but this time, they saved it for the end.
MODERATOR: Congress probably wouldn’t let you pass Medicare for All. What would you do instead?
BERNIE SANDERS: Well, I’d pass Medicare for All.
— Peter Suderman (@petersuderman) December 20, 2019
The two old fellas were up past their bedtimes, and it got a little punchy.
“PUT YOUR HAND DOWN, BERNIE”-> Joe Biden is all of us for a second.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) December 20, 2019
Biden and Bernie RN: pic.twitter.com/P8L5HOtGIV
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) December 20, 2019
Biden: “Put your hand down for a second, Bernie, ok?”
Bernie: “Just waving at you Joe!” #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/Ypx0maLhlW
— Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) December 20, 2019
I like crotchety Joe Biden. It’s real.
— Noah Pollak (@NoahPollak) December 20, 2019
Santa Claus is a Democrat
They closed with possibly the dumbest question of the campaign cycle: who onstage would you want to apologize to or give a gift to?
No one liked that.
*SCREAMS INTERNALLY*
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 20, 2019
These dumb debate ending questions are the worst
— Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) December 20, 2019
“That’s a clown question, Judy.”
— David Freddoso (@freddoso) December 20, 2019
This is the worst debate question that has ever been asked. Ever.
— (Stephanie) Slade (@sladesr) December 20, 2019
They asked Yang first, and even though his campaign is based on getting free stuff, he wiffed.
Okay, the “what gift would you give” round was almost worth it for the guy who *literally wants to give everyone $1000 per month* freezing on it
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) December 20, 2019
The other candidates turned it into their stump speeches like pros, but it was a weird note on which to end. After some closing statement clichés, the night came to an end.
It had its ups and downs, but at the end, only one thing was clear:
CATS is more entertaining than this debate and also has a shorter run-time.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) December 20, 2019
