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.
Trump responds to post suggesting Rubio as president of Cuba: ‘Sounds good to me’
Somali Maine city councilor resigns days after taking office after felony charge, residency questions
Ex-con charged in Christmas Day CVS robbery that left clerk fatally stabbed
Rob Schneider Goes Off on Minneapolis Mayor for Fanning Flames After ICE Shooting
NASA makes ‘unprecedented’ call to bring astronauts home after illness, expert says: ‘Evacuated from orbit’
How One Trump Admin Arrest May Soon Refill the Strategic Oil Reserves Biden Drained
Left-wing group backs tens of thousands of anti-ICE demonstrations nationwide
Lib Reporter Faces Subpoena After Doxxing Delta Force Commander Over Maduro Capture
Charlie’s Legacy: Ex-Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy Has ‘Surrendered’ to Jesus, Says Kirk’s Death Immediately Drove Her to Start Studying the Bible
DC pipe bomb suspect pleads not guilty to planting devices at DNC and RNC headquarters
Trump says Venezuela has begun releasing political prisoners ‘in a BIG WAY’
Trump Launches Plan to Protect Americans from Getting ‘Ripped Off’ By Credit Card Companies
MTG May Have Leaked Trump’s Location to Unhinged Activists: White House
Justice urges ‘stand up for our girls’ as Supreme Court weighs fate of his ‘Save Women’s Sports Act’
Who is Michael David McKee, the man accused of killing ex-wife and dentist husband in Ohio
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.”
We have two more debates– of course the threshold will go up. 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.
— Xochitl Hinojosa (@XochitlHinojosa) March 4, 2020
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.
Trump responds to post suggesting Rubio as president of Cuba: ‘Sounds good to me’
Somali Maine city councilor resigns days after taking office after felony charge, residency questions
Ex-con charged in Christmas Day CVS robbery that left clerk fatally stabbed
Rob Schneider Goes Off on Minneapolis Mayor for Fanning Flames After ICE Shooting
NASA makes ‘unprecedented’ call to bring astronauts home after illness, expert says: ‘Evacuated from orbit’
How One Trump Admin Arrest May Soon Refill the Strategic Oil Reserves Biden Drained
Left-wing group backs tens of thousands of anti-ICE demonstrations nationwide
Lib Reporter Faces Subpoena After Doxxing Delta Force Commander Over Maduro Capture
Charlie’s Legacy: Ex-Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy Has ‘Surrendered’ to Jesus, Says Kirk’s Death Immediately Drove Her to Start Studying the Bible
DC pipe bomb suspect pleads not guilty to planting devices at DNC and RNC headquarters
Trump says Venezuela has begun releasing political prisoners ‘in a BIG WAY’
Trump Launches Plan to Protect Americans from Getting ‘Ripped Off’ By Credit Card Companies
MTG May Have Leaked Trump’s Location to Unhinged Activists: White House
Justice urges ‘stand up for our girls’ as Supreme Court weighs fate of his ‘Save Women’s Sports Act’
Who is Michael David McKee, the man accused of killing ex-wife and dentist husband in Ohio
I welcome the opportunity to raise & discuss the foreign policy challenges we face, like the new cold war/nuclear arms race, Turkey's efforts to drag the U.S. into a war with Russia over Syria, the coronavirus, & more. Domestic policy cannot be separated from foreign policy. https://t.co/jgVxSz1huX
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 5, 2020
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.
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.
