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.
Navy Launches Investigation After Low Airshow Flyover Causes Chaos on the Ground
Bessent invokes assassination attempt ‘2 hours after being sworn in’ in dramatic brushback of leftist threat
Missouri teen girl shot and killed at home, and now 3 friends face charges
Dems roasted for comparing Hegseth’s testosterone initiative to ‘gender-affirming care’
Watch: Professor Who Clams He Got Fired for Crazy Pro-Abortion Antics Comes Back for Revenge and Flops Even Harder
Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed’ Newsletter: Spotlighting 250 years of Jewish contributions to America
Bon Voyage: Alleged Spousal Abuser Dem Katie Porter Announces She’s Done With Politics After California Gubernatorial Disaster
Platner Part 2? ‘Firejumper’ Running for Seat That Could Determine Who Wins House Actually Lobbyist Defending Transing Kids, Drag Shows in Libraries
‘Somebody needs to do something’: GOP senators split as Tuberville demands McConnell answers
Five takeaways from Todd Blanche hearing as Trump’s attorney general pick gains more GOP favor
Trump AG pick hangs by a thread as key GOP senators refuse to commit
‘I Knew It Was On Me’ – TV Reporter Somehow Holds It Together as Giant Bug Crawls Across Her Chest While She’s On Camera
AOC paid pro-Palestinian activist who fundraised for refugee camps suspected of being Hamas strongholds
House Campaign Cash Tracker: Democratic challengers raise big money, but GOP incumbents maintain advantage
Two families sue North Dakota hospital on allegations babies were switched at birth
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.
Navy Launches Investigation After Low Airshow Flyover Causes Chaos on the Ground
Bessent invokes assassination attempt ‘2 hours after being sworn in’ in dramatic brushback of leftist threat
Missouri teen girl shot and killed at home, and now 3 friends face charges
Dems roasted for comparing Hegseth’s testosterone initiative to ‘gender-affirming care’
Watch: Professor Who Clams He Got Fired for Crazy Pro-Abortion Antics Comes Back for Revenge and Flops Even Harder
Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed’ Newsletter: Spotlighting 250 years of Jewish contributions to America
Bon Voyage: Alleged Spousal Abuser Dem Katie Porter Announces She’s Done With Politics After California Gubernatorial Disaster
Platner Part 2? ‘Firejumper’ Running for Seat That Could Determine Who Wins House Actually Lobbyist Defending Transing Kids, Drag Shows in Libraries
‘Somebody needs to do something’: GOP senators split as Tuberville demands McConnell answers
Five takeaways from Todd Blanche hearing as Trump’s attorney general pick gains more GOP favor
Trump AG pick hangs by a thread as key GOP senators refuse to commit
‘I Knew It Was On Me’ – TV Reporter Somehow Holds It Together as Giant Bug Crawls Across Her Chest While She’s On Camera
AOC paid pro-Palestinian activist who fundraised for refugee camps suspected of being Hamas strongholds
House Campaign Cash Tracker: Democratic challengers raise big money, but GOP incumbents maintain advantage
Two families sue North Dakota hospital on allegations babies were switched at birth
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.
