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.
Federal government’s landlord joins Vance fraud crackdown as White House widens hunt: ‘Critical force’
Pentagon slashes NATO combat commitments as Trump pushes Europe to defend itself
US denies reports of evacuating US Embassy in Kyiv amid threats of Russian airstrikes
Ukrainian veterans are returning injured, broken, and angry. How can the government help them survive?
California teacher Samantha Watson arrested for alleged sexual conduct with student at charter school
RFK Jr. responds to snake-handling critics with new video showing him wrangling a venomous rattlesnake
Nebraska K9 sniffs out 525 pounds of cocaine during routine traffic stop, leading to California man’s arrest
EXCLUSIVE: Veterans turn war stories into music at Trump Kennedy Center in powerful patriotic showcase
Trump Debuts Brutal Cartoon Nickname for James Talarico to Kick Off Texas Senate General Election
Father admits leaving handgun within reach of young daughters before toddler fatally shot baby sister
Peak Woke: Rape Can’t Be Committed by Blacks, Muslims, or Women, According to Neo-Marxist Insanity
Conservatives erupt after DNC lashes out at top White House official with vulgar personal attack
US military carries out new strikes against Iranian military base as negotiations continue
NEW VIDEO: RFK Jr. Just One-Upped Himself, This Time Capturing a Deadly Rattlesnake with Nothing but a Tiny Net and a Bucket
Pete Hegseth Reveals Trump’s Quiet Order to Protect the Most Vulnerable Christians
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.
Federal government’s landlord joins Vance fraud crackdown as White House widens hunt: ‘Critical force’
Pentagon slashes NATO combat commitments as Trump pushes Europe to defend itself
US denies reports of evacuating US Embassy in Kyiv amid threats of Russian airstrikes
Ukrainian veterans are returning injured, broken, and angry. How can the government help them survive?
California teacher Samantha Watson arrested for alleged sexual conduct with student at charter school
RFK Jr. responds to snake-handling critics with new video showing him wrangling a venomous rattlesnake
Nebraska K9 sniffs out 525 pounds of cocaine during routine traffic stop, leading to California man’s arrest
EXCLUSIVE: Veterans turn war stories into music at Trump Kennedy Center in powerful patriotic showcase
Trump Debuts Brutal Cartoon Nickname for James Talarico to Kick Off Texas Senate General Election
Father admits leaving handgun within reach of young daughters before toddler fatally shot baby sister
Peak Woke: Rape Can’t Be Committed by Blacks, Muslims, or Women, According to Neo-Marxist Insanity
Conservatives erupt after DNC lashes out at top White House official with vulgar personal attack
US military carries out new strikes against Iranian military base as negotiations continue
NEW VIDEO: RFK Jr. Just One-Upped Himself, This Time Capturing a Deadly Rattlesnake with Nothing but a Tiny Net and a Bucket
Pete Hegseth Reveals Trump’s Quiet Order to Protect the Most Vulnerable Christians
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.
