1st DEM Debate Thread: June 26 & 27, Miami, MSNBC & NBC & Telemundo (9-11pm)

[Rookie Yinzer]

Poor Beto. He'll be the sole target in Warren's line of fire.

What do you mean? Warren has no reason to punch down to Beto. There's literally no reason for her to  be negative to anyone on that stage.

[Saint Milei]

This is really unbalanced. 4 of the 5 leading candidates are in the second debate lol. The second debate also has more recognizable names. Gilibrand has no chance at the nomination but she's still recognizable and managed to make the second. I feel bad for Tulsi Booker and Warren

[Tintrlvr]

First night:
Cory Booker   
Bill de Blasio   
Julián Castro   
John Delaney   
Tulsi Gabbard   
Jay Inslee   
Amy Klobuchar   
Beto O’Rourke   
Tim Ryan   
Elizabeth Warren

Second Night:
Michael Bennet
Joe Biden
Pete Buttigieg
Kristen Gillibrand
Kamala Harris
John Hickenlooper
Bernie Sanders
Eric Swalwell
Marianne Williamson
Andrew Yang

The DNC hates Booker, O'Rourke, Klobuchar and Warren, apparently. Nobody will remember the first night unless someone does something real insane.

Poor Beto. He'll be the sole target in Warren's line of fire.

What do you mean? Warren has no reason to punch down to Beto. There's literally no reason for her to  be negative to anyone on that stage.

Attacking Tim Ryan and Tulsi Gabbard would probably help her.

[Reluctant Republican]

Yes, this strikes me as a tough situation for Warren. I fully believe she can dominate the first debate, get a ton of positive press, and then be washed away by the second night. Especially since the media tends to like declaring someone a winner in these debates, so coverage the next morning will be about whoever is deemed at doing best in the last debate. And if there's any snipping by Biden or Sanders I'm sure that will be what all the coverage is focused on.

Of course Fiorina was able to to a certain extent use the kiddie debates to catapult her into the main event, and if nothing else Warren strikes me as a better candidate than her, so not all hope is lost. But it's probably not the lineup she was hoping for. Conversely, had Biden gotten that lineup I'd imagine he'd be thrilled.

[Ilhan Apologist]

Poor Beto. He'll be the sole target in Warren's line of fire.

What do you mean? Warren has no reason to punch down to Beto. There's literally no reason for her to  be negative to anyone on that stage.

I feel like her debate style is primarily offensive

[henster]

Honestly I don't even get the complaints of the GOP kiddie table debates, I thought they were fine and fair. It allowed some lower tier candidates like Fiorina to prove themselves and rise to the next level. I think it'd be better if the DNC just did a kiddie debate but have it first then a few days later hold a debate with frontrunners.

[°Leprechaun]

Of the top ten candidates, according to Wikipedia polling averages, there are five in each
debate (note: number after each is how they are ranked based on polls)

However, as you also already know, four of the top five are in the second debate and undoubtedly the top five may have the most to win or lose as far as how they will rank in future polls and contributions.

1st
Warren 3
O'Rourke 6
Booker 7
Klobuchar 8
Castro 9

2nd
Biden 1
Sanders 2
Buttigieg 4
Harris 5
Yang 10

btw I think the candidate that will be attacked the most is Trump, not Biden.

[Pheurton Skeurto]

Pete got an absolute gift by being put on stage with Biden and Bernie. If there was ever a question of him not having a national profile, he's going to get one after the debate.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Yeah, I don't see why this is bad for Warren. She is undoubtedly the one in the strongest position against the other nine. There is no way she won't be the most talked about candidate of that night's debate. Granted, perhaps the relative lack of other more notable (top ten) candidates may cause viewership to be smaller than the other night. Or maybe not, since it looks like it will be the first night. Regardless, it's going to be her night for sure.

[walleye26]

What do you guys make of Yang’s place in the 2nd night? This strikes me as really good for him.

[henster]

What do you guys make of Yang’s place in the 2nd night? This strikes me as really good for him.

Not really sure what he has to add to the debate other than UBI, he seems like a single issue candidate. I could see him being someone who ends up speaking for 2 or 3 mins the entire debate.

[Rookie Yinzer]

What do you guys make of Yang’s place in the 2nd night? This strikes me as really good for him.

For him and Williamson as the weird, WTF candidates, getting on the same night as Bernie and Biden is gold. The lower-tier who are a tad more serious should prefer being on the night where the biggest competition is Warren, who is dynamic, but won't suck all the energy out of the room like Biden and Bernie will.

[morgieb]

What do you guys make of Yang’s place in the 2nd night? This strikes me as really good for him.

I actually think he'd do better on the first night. The fact that he's a niche candidate rather than a joke probably makes things different but I'd much rather to go up against the Delaney's of the world rather than the Biden's.

[Tender Branson]

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Will Williamson play the role of Gravel 12 years ago and attack Biden's foreign policy?

[Alben Barkley]

Will Williamson play the role of Gravel 12 years ago and attack Biden's foreign policy?

I honestly think that we as a party can afford to lose literally everyone who takes anything Williamson and/or Gravel says seriously without being harmed whatsoever.

[Alben Barkley]

Poor Beto. He'll be the sole target in Warren's line of fire.

What do you mean? Warren has no reason to punch down to Beto. There's literally no reason for her to  be negative to anyone on that stage.

I feel like her debate style is primarily offensive

From what I've seen, her main "style" if there is one in particular is to simply hammer her policies relentlessly. There is no reason to heavily attack Beto in particular in any case; he'd be a strong choice for her running mate should she get the nomination. She has to this point successfully built a brand for herself that's all about being the policy wonk candidate with a "plan," and there is no reason nor advantage to veer from that to attack candidates in lesser polling positions, which could easily backfire for her in a multitude of ways. Given the draw she got, her best hope for this debate is to simply rise above all the also-rans as the most serious candidate in the pack. Which shouldn't be too hard to do, actually. All she has to do is go over her best policies and hope she gets a few good sound-bites ouf ot it. She probably will barely even have to address the other candidates, and she should honestly count herself lucky she didn't get the uglier night 2 with Biden/Bernie/everyone else to contend with. A Bernie vs. Warren debate is something fascinating I hoped to see, but would have been risky and tough for her. If Tulsi Gabbard and Beto O'Rourke are the toughest competition she's got instead... that SHOULD make it easy for her to rise above the fray, and if she can't even manage that, well, it will tell us a lot about how she would do against Trump.

[Woody]

Wait, WTF?? Why is Warren in the same debate stage with these nobodies, are these guys brain damaged or something?

[Alben Barkley]

Wait, WTF?? Why is Warren in the same debate stage with these nobodies, are these guys brain damaged or something?

I can't believe I'm (kind of) agreeing with you but... I do think it is BS Warren is the odd woman out considering the results of this "random" assignment are essentially the same as a kiddie table division would have been anyway. (They really should have just gone ahead and done it!)

That said, I think if she plays her cards right she can actually work this to her benefit for reasons I explained above.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Come on, lol. No one's reaction to this should be "the DNC hate X! rigged!"
It's just luck. Deal with it like adults.

[The Ex-Factor]

As someone who follows the NBA draft lottery each year, a high proportion of people will claim that the result is rigged no matter what happens. If you want to avoid that perception just do the kiddie table thing.

[Gustaf]

I don't think this is as bad for Warren as a lot of you seem to think, mainly for the reason that it isn't about who watches the debates (I imagine not that many people will and many of the ones who do are political junkies for whom the debates will mean less) as much as what the news media spins afterwards. And Warren seems guaranteed to get attention from her debate.

[HillGoose]

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to keep up with the second debate in terms of radio apps? During that time I'll be driving from Savannah, GA back to TN and would like to listen but not sure how I'd keep up with it driving through rural GA/TN on just normal radio 😂😂😂 Like will the NBC app have radio coverage?

[The Free North]

GO YANG!

[henster]

Wait, WTF?? Why is Warren in the same debate stage with these nobodies, are these guys brain damaged or something?

I can't believe I'm (kind of) agreeing with you but... I do think it is BS Warren is the odd woman out considering the results of this "random" assignment are essentially the same as a kiddie table division would have been anyway. (They really should have just gone ahead and done it!)

That said, I think if she plays her cards right she can actually work this to her benefit for reasons I explained above.

Interesting that there happens to be three women in each debate. Makes me think it isn't so random.