News Opinons Politics

DNC Changes Debate Qualifications, Excluding Tulsi Gabbard

The qualifying criteria for the next Democratic debate are out, and they manage to exclude the only veteran and only woman of color left in the race: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii).

This afternoon, Politico reported that the candidates still in the running for the Democratic presidential nomination will need to have earned at least 20 percent of the delegates awarded thus far in order to participate in the March 15 debate hosted by CNN and Univision in Phoenix, Arizona.

That means that only former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), who respectively have 48 percent and 41 percent of the delegates so far, will be on next Sunday’s stage.


Despite her strong showing in the American Samoa caucuses where she won two delegates, Gabbard still falls short of that very high threshold.

Had the Democratic National Committee stuck with its criteria for the last debate it held on February 25—which only required each candidate to have won a single delegate—Gabbard would have qualified.


Erika Kirk delivers raw, faith-filled tribute to late husband at Ole Miss: ‘I slept on his side of the bed’
Virginia school district slapped with complaint alleging new claims in viral trans locker room fight
Trump orders US nuclear weapons testing to begin ‘immediately’ after Russia tests new missiles
Watch: Kamala Fails to Escape Tough Aussie Reporter After ‘World Class Pivot’ Gets Called Out in Face-to-Face Interview
Bill Gates’ New Stance on Climate Change Got Conservatives Censored for Years
13-year-old girl narrowly escapes broad daylight abduction after biting masked attacker
Alert: Dem Gov’s Aide Arrested Over Cocaine Trafficking Charges – Allegedly Was Shipping Drugs to State Office – and, of Course, There Are Firearm Charges, Too
Nearly 37,000 VA employees furloughed or working without pay amid government shutdown
Sherrill and Spanberger join DNC vote drive with NJ governor’s race in dead heat
DOJ arrests 10 people from violent Los Angeles anti-ICE protest
America’s quietest crop is set to take center stage in Trump-Xi talks
Report: Seattle-Area Jail Hired Dozens of Guards Who Couldn’t Pass Immigration Requirements – Most Still Illegally Employed
Cuomo warns Trump will ‘take over New York City’ if Mamdani elected mayor
Mamdani critic Suozzi endorses Cuomo for NYC mayor
Colorado sues Trump over Space Command move, calls relocation unconstitutional

See also  Butterfly species named after North Carolina stabbing victim Iryna Zarutska

DNC Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa foreshadowed this decision on Super Tuesday, saying on Twitter that “by the time we have the March debate, almost 2,000 delegates will be allocated. The threshold will reflect where we are in the race, as it always has.”

In response to the expected rule change, Gabbard tweeted Thursday about her campaign’s foreign policy focus, and how that can’t be separated from the domestic issues that have gotten the most attention in past debates.


Erika Kirk delivers raw, faith-filled tribute to late husband at Ole Miss: ‘I slept on his side of the bed’
Virginia school district slapped with complaint alleging new claims in viral trans locker room fight
Trump orders US nuclear weapons testing to begin ‘immediately’ after Russia tests new missiles
Watch: Kamala Fails to Escape Tough Aussie Reporter After ‘World Class Pivot’ Gets Called Out in Face-to-Face Interview
Bill Gates’ New Stance on Climate Change Got Conservatives Censored for Years
13-year-old girl narrowly escapes broad daylight abduction after biting masked attacker
Alert: Dem Gov’s Aide Arrested Over Cocaine Trafficking Charges – Allegedly Was Shipping Drugs to State Office – and, of Course, There Are Firearm Charges, Too
Nearly 37,000 VA employees furloughed or working without pay amid government shutdown
Sherrill and Spanberger join DNC vote drive with NJ governor’s race in dead heat
DOJ arrests 10 people from violent Los Angeles anti-ICE protest
America’s quietest crop is set to take center stage in Trump-Xi talks
Report: Seattle-Area Jail Hired Dozens of Guards Who Couldn’t Pass Immigration Requirements – Most Still Illegally Employed
Cuomo warns Trump will ‘take over New York City’ if Mamdani elected mayor
Mamdani critic Suozzi endorses Cuomo for NYC mayor
Colorado sues Trump over Space Command move, calls relocation unconstitutional

Biden and Sanders have sparred in the past over the former’s initial support for the Iraq War, so there is some chance that the two candidates’ contrasting foreign policy visions will be on display come the next debate.

See also  DOJ arrests 10 people from violent Los Angeles anti-ICE protest

Still, it might have been interesting to have Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, up on stage to offer her own unique perspective on foreign policy. She’s repeatedly argued that rising tensions between the U.S., Russia, and China is putting the country on the road to nuclear war.

A Bernie-Biden smackdown will likely feature less talk of a nuclear apocalypse and a lot more bickering about health care. That’s enough to get anyone running for their fall out shelter.

Story cited here.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter