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.
Gov. Sherrill blames ICE, defends rioters after deploying troopers to quell violent mob
What The Left’s Colorado Climate Lawsuit Is Really All About
New Yorker Sentenced To 40 Years in Prison After Slaying 4 People on a Midnight Rampage
CBS News’ Bari Weiss Fired A ’60 Minutes’ Producer Citing ‘New Approach’
Who Was in Charge? Dems Owe Answers After Jill Biden Says She Thought Joe Was ‘Having a Stroke’ During Debate
Why Does the Media Care That Has-Beens Are Withdrawing From ‘Freedom 250’ DC Event?
Watch: Mysterious Strangers Pile Out of Sewer Manhole, Prompts Police Investigation
Anti-ICE agitator charged with allegedly biting officers during Delaney Hall clashes
Trump threatened to ‘blow up’ Oman — why the tiny Gulf kingdom is caught between DC and Iran
Buyer’s Remorse: The Democratic Party’s Radical Lurch and the Reckoning It Invited In
Six Tax Tips You Should Start Thinking About Now
Mackenzie Shirilla’s texts surface as ‘hell on wheels’ driver’s appeal collides with Netflix’s ‘The Crash’
Bessent readies Trump $250 bill as one big hurdle stands between Treasury and making it reality
How a Rhodes Scholar with ties to Cuba’s president organized the convoy that brought Hasan Piker to Havana
The celeb endorsements boosting Spencer Pratt’s chances of becoming the next LA mayor
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.
Gov. Sherrill blames ICE, defends rioters after deploying troopers to quell violent mob
What The Left’s Colorado Climate Lawsuit Is Really All About
New Yorker Sentenced To 40 Years in Prison After Slaying 4 People on a Midnight Rampage
CBS News’ Bari Weiss Fired A ’60 Minutes’ Producer Citing ‘New Approach’
Who Was in Charge? Dems Owe Answers After Jill Biden Says She Thought Joe Was ‘Having a Stroke’ During Debate
Why Does the Media Care That Has-Beens Are Withdrawing From ‘Freedom 250’ DC Event?
Watch: Mysterious Strangers Pile Out of Sewer Manhole, Prompts Police Investigation
Anti-ICE agitator charged with allegedly biting officers during Delaney Hall clashes
Trump threatened to ‘blow up’ Oman — why the tiny Gulf kingdom is caught between DC and Iran
Buyer’s Remorse: The Democratic Party’s Radical Lurch and the Reckoning It Invited In
Six Tax Tips You Should Start Thinking About Now
Mackenzie Shirilla’s texts surface as ‘hell on wheels’ driver’s appeal collides with Netflix’s ‘The Crash’
Bessent readies Trump $250 bill as one big hurdle stands between Treasury and making it reality
How a Rhodes Scholar with ties to Cuba’s president organized the convoy that brought Hasan Piker to Havana
The celeb endorsements boosting Spencer Pratt’s chances of becoming the next LA mayor
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.
