{"id":2455052,"date":"2020-02-26T12:31:17","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T19:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=321565"},"modified":"2020-02-26T12:31:17","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T19:31:17","slug":"debate-takeaways-bernie-sanders-bruised-but-not-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/debate-takeaways-bernie-sanders-bruised-but-not-broken\/","title":{"rendered":"Debate takeaways: Bernie Sanders bruised but not broken"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
From left, Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., talks with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute.<\/strong>
AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

CHARLESTON, S.C. \u2014 Democrats held their final debate before the South Carolina presidential primary<\/a> and the critical Super Tuesday contests that follow three days later.<\/p>\n

Here are some key takeaways.<\/p>\n

BERNIE BASH<\/h3>\n

Bernie Sanders is rarely a quiet voice, but he has managed to get through nine debates with few bruises. That ended Tuesday night when he was attacked on multiple fronts by every opponent.<\/p>\n

The overarching themes: Sanders can rile up a crowd but can\u2019t get things done. He is unelectable as a democratic socialist. He will drag down the Democratic House majority.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan anyone imagine moderate Republicans voting for him?\u201d former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg asked. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar noted that Sanders\u2019 proposals cost $60 trillion \u2014 triple the U.S. economy. \u201cThe math does not add up,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n

Sanders parried some of the blows but also got into shouting matches. Asked by a moderate how he\u2019d pay for his plans, he responded coolly, \u201cHow many hours do you have?\u201d<\/p>\n

Centrist Democrats who hoped the Vermont senator would come off as not electable may be heartened, but so could Sanders\u2019 supporters who see their candidate as passionate and authentically unpolished.<\/p>\n

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Democratic presidential candidates former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg walks with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., after a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/strong>
Election 2020 Debate<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

BLOOMBERG TRIES TO BOUNCE BACK<\/h3>\n

The good news for Bloomberg is this debate didn\u2019t go as badly as the last one. The bad news is no one is grading on the curve.<\/p>\n

He ceded prime target status to Sanders, but took his share of criticism. He still got scratched and occasionally came off as brittle.<\/p>\n

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren continued to be his nemesis, slamming him for funding Republican senators and for accusations that women at his company were mistreated. She brought up an allegation that Bloomberg had told a pregnant woman in his employ to \u201ckill it\u201d \u2014 which Bloomberg heatedly denied.<\/p>\n

Later, he tried to make a joke about how everyone else onstage should have been scared to show up \u201cafter I did such a good job of beating them last week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The joke was one of many he offered up that didn\u2019t land. A comedian\u2019s timing he does not possess. A billionaire\u2019s wallet, though, he does. And he bought advertising for the commercial breaks during the debate.<\/p>\n

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Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participates in a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/strong>
Election 2020 Debate<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

BIDEN BALANCED<\/h3>\n

Former Vice President Joe Biden has called South Carolina his \u201cfirewall,\u201d even before his dismal finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. If he gets the breakthrough he needs, it probably won\u2019t be because of a sterling debate performance.<\/p>\n

Biden seemed as comfortable as he has on any Democratic debate stage since the first encounters last June. But he little to offer a new rationale for his candidacy.<\/p>\n

He emphasized his affinity for issues dear to black voters and reminded them of his decades-long advocacy.<\/p>\n

Overall, it was a steady performance when Biden most needed it. And he expressed some confidence. Pressed on whether he\u2019d drop out if he doesn\u2019t win Saturday, Biden declared, \u201cI\u2019m going to win South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n

WARREN\u2019S CASE AGAINST SANDERS (AND BLOOMBERG)<\/h3>\n

Warren had to make a difficult straddle at the debate \u2014 she wanted to spotlight her liberal positions to pry voters from front-runner Sanders, but she also had to make a pitch for why they should back her rather than him.<\/p>\n

She has been hesitant to fully voice her criticism of Sanders but leaned into it Tuesday night. \u201cBernie\u2019s winning right now because the Democratic Party is a progressive party and progressive ideas are popular ideas,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Warren also reprised her attacks on Bloomberg, which might not help her win votes, but clearly helps her raise money.<\/p>\n

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Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg participates in a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/strong>
Election 2020 Debate<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

BUTTIGIEG: ANOTHER GOOD NIGHT, BUT WILL IT MEAN VOTES?<\/h3>\n

If the race were about skill on the debate stage, it might be hard to deny Pete Buttigieg the nomination. He continued to answer questions with calm and clarity, and showed he could throw an elbow too.<\/p>\n

But his path forward is still unclear, given that his support is overwhelmingly white \u2014 and the Democratic electorates in most upcoming primaries are not.<\/p>\n

Buttigieg helped lead the moderates\u2019 charge against Bernie Sanders, almost mocking the idea of a general election between Sanders and President Donald Trump. \u201cImagine spending the better part of 2020\u201d listening to such a match-up, he pondered.<\/p>\n

It added up to another consistent performance for Buttigieg. The question is whether that will mean anything at the ballot box.<\/p>\n

KLOBUCHAR FIGHTS TO BE HEARD<\/h3>\n

The star of the New Hampshire debate had to fight to be heard in Charleston.<\/p>\n

Klobuchar pulled out some of her go-to lines \u2014 like the one about checking with the duck hunters in her family as she formulates gun control policies \u2014 but she was often cut off by moderators for going over her time.<\/p>\n

She consistently made the case for a Midwestern moderate as the best candidate to take on Trump. She hammered Sanders on the cost of his plans.<\/p>\n

And she had one striking moment, when she was asked about coronavirus and said the issue was too serious for politics. \u201cI\u2019m not going to give my campaign website,\u201d Klobuchar said. Instead, she pointed viewers to CDC.gov, the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

But she had a hard time breaking through at a time she may have needed it most.<\/p>\n

THE OTHER BILLIONAIRE<\/h3>\n

Tom Steyer has pinned his hopes on snatching South Carolina from Biden. But on Tuesday he looked like someone whose momentum has been yanked away.<\/p>\n

Steyer spluttered after Biden accused him of investing in private prisons as a hedge fund manager. He condemned both Sanders and Bloomberg as unelectable but never was able to make a clear case for himself.<\/p>\n

Without a clear win in South Carolina, it\u2019s hard to see how Steyer wins anywhere else.<\/p>\n

MODERATE MUDDLE CONTINUES<\/h3>\n

The moderate, anti-Bernie lane remains crowded. So crowded that several candidates couldn\u2019t agree on a strategy to clear some of the space.<\/p>\n

Buttigieg acted as if Biden wasn\u2019t on the stage at all, trying to make himself the clear alternative to Sanders. Biden and Bloomberg barely acknowledged one another. Klobuchar and Buttigieg did not renew their blood feud.<\/p>\n

The jumble underscores the uncertainty of the race beyond the reality that Sanders is still the front-runner. He\u2019s not a commanding one yet. But he may not have to be if the moderate muddle continues.<\/p>\n

WHITE STAGE, BLACK VOTE<\/h3>\n

The seven white Democratic presidential candidates took turns offering various reasons black voters should support them. Some attacked their rivals \u2014 or struggled to defend their own records.<\/p>\n

Biden immediately took aim at Sanders for contemplating a primary challenge to President Barack Obama, the nation\u2019s first black president, in 2012.<\/p>\n

Steyer said he\u2019d spent his career and his political activists fighting for, among other things, \u201cracial justice.\u201d But Biden went after him, too, for his investments in private prisons.<\/p>\n

The scenes highlight the oddity of an all-white slate of presidential candidates in party where about four out of 10 voters are non-white. It\u2019s even more stark in South Carolina, where black voters are likely to make up more than 60% of the primary electorate.<\/p>\n

When they weren\u2019t attacking each other on race, several candidates found ways to name drop Rep. Jim Clyburn, the House majority whip and the most influential Democrat in the state. Clyburn is expected to endorse a candidate Wednesday.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From left, Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., talks with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute.AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky CHARLESTON, S.C. \u2014 Democrats held their final debate before the South Carolina […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2455052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 13:28:03","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455052\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}