Seven Rules for Rating the Democratic Presidential Debates
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Republican candidate for President in 2020 is sucking all the oxygen out of the mediasphere, thanks to some political horseplay in both the domestic and foreign arenas.
Big name journalists and outlets are being commandeered by the White House for interviews flooding the airwaves. As long as his name is spelled right, Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the implications of what he rambles about.
Listening to what the Democratic candidates have to say is a priority at this point. Nowhere is it written that anybody has to be declared as the winner.
You should pay attention because it’s the right and necessary thing to do as a citizen in an era where the future of democratic governance is not great.
The first Democratic presidential debate will be broadcast on NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo on Wednesday June 26, and Thursday June 27, starting at 6pm Pacific Time. Free online streaming will also be available on NBCNews.com, NBC News apps, Telemundo, NBC News' Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Twenty candidates will take the stage over the course of two nights for the first two Presidential primary debates in June. For many people, this will be the first time they’re tuning into the primary.
Because so many of the contenders qualified for the first round of debate, the Democrats will be split into two groups across two consecutive nights totaling four hours. Ten candidates were sort of randomly chosen to appear on each night.
So many people on stage means this will be more speed dating than courtship. Candidates will have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups. There will be no opening statements, though candidates will have a chance to deliver closing remarks. The two-hour debates will move fast as there will be five segments each night separated by four commercial breaks.
The rules laid out by the DNC stipulate that candidates will only appear on stage together at official debates— meaning this is the first time these candidates will be going head to head.
To qualify for the first debate in Miami candidates had to fulfill one of two criteria: either get 65,000 donors to their campaigns, with at least 200 donors in 20 different states, or obtain at least 1% in three polls recognized as legitimate by the committee.
The next debates will be broadcast on CNN from Detroit on July 30 and 31.
Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and José Diaz-Balart will moderate this round of debates from the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.
Wednesday’s lineup is:
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
Former Secretary Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro
Former Maryland Representative John Delaney
Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar
Former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke
Ohio Representative Tim Ryan
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren
(Links to each candidate’s website are embedded in their names.)
Thursday’s Lineup is:
Former Vice President Joe Biden
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
California Senator Kamala Harris
Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
California Representative Eric Swalwell
Author and activist Marianne Williamson
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
Not qualifying for the debate were:
Seth Moulton
Steve Bullock
Mike Gravel
Wayne Messam
So, yeah, I made up some rules for watching the debate in the hope of getting readers interested in this process. Make up your own rules if it makes you happy.
Rule #1: For watching and discussing the debates is to just ignore all the projections and pronouncements. Politico says Dem leaders are worried about a circular firing squad, but they did manage to include one terrific quote down in the body of the story:
“One thing I’m not really fond of is people sort of falling for the [notion] that this is about candidates beating each other up, rather than [an exchange of] ideas,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA..
Rule #2: Whining about the format of this debate, stage positions, or choice of moderators is pointless. There will be ELEVEN more debates. This is what it is. Listen for whatever little bit of substance you can get out of these one minute sound bites.
Rule #3: It’s okay to have a subjective impression of the candidates. Whomever makes it through this process will be asking a lot of people who can’t be bothered with issues for their votes. On-stage energy, demeanor, and vibes all count for something. The color of a necktie or the height of heels, along with playing off stereotypes are just excuses. And, as we all know, excuses are for losers, especially in the pundit class.
Rule #4: Note-taking is allowed. My suggestion is to create a grid with a candidate list on the left side of the page, and issues listed across the top. Give each candidate a score on issues as they arise. Issue categories like to appeal to Democratic voters could be: Abortion, Healthcare, Climate Change, Immigration, Racial Justice, Civil Rights, Gun Reform, Voting Rights/Democracy Reform, Economic Inequality, Trade, and Foreign Affairs. (I wouldn’t write them in until they actually come up at this debate.)
Extra-Credit: If you are already committed to a candidate, exclude them from the grid. Find out who’s second best.
Rule #5: Let the world know you are interested. Use social media to say you’re watching. Tell your friends you watched/or will watch. This is about negating the influence El Trumpo is having on the national discourse. A key part of destroying democracy is denigrating the process until people just give up.
Rule #6: This isn’t a horse race. We the people are supposed to be the winners at the end of the cycle. Don’t fall into the trap of “so-and-so is the best.”
Rule # 7: “Electability” is a bullshit choice at this stage in the process. All too often it’s code for older, white, and male used by pundits or third-way types committed to the status quo. No one was considered less electable than Donald Trump in 2015. The midterm elections for the House of Representatives gave us the most diverse freshman class in the institution’s history, proof that people are ready to move beyond the same old stuff.
Finally, I turn to the folks at Indivisible for a quote from their analysis of the importance of this process:
We want to nominate the best possible candidate to beat President Trump in November 2020: a candidate who can motivate a multiracial coalition of voters, excite core Democratic voters, and push back against dangerous and divisive rhetoric on the right.
We believe the best way to pick a candidate who can win is to figure out which candidates are speaking directly to our values, and putting out bold policy platforms on the issues we care about.
This isn’t just a values-driven strategy—it’s also strategic. The Democratic nominee will need to motivate a multiracial coalition of voters across huge swaths of American geography.
Candidates who are able to articulate a real vision and plan on the issues we care about will be best positioned to motivate that coalition, and win in November. In evaluating Democratic performance in the debates, we’ll be looking at how candidates respond to questions on the core issues we think will drive the 2020 campaign: Democracy Reform, Immigration, Abortion, Climate, Health Care, Peace & Foreign Policy, and Racial Justice.
(The Indivisible guide to the debates also includes handy-dandy worksheets.)
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Postscript: I intended to include Facebook invites and/or the locations for debate watching parties, but they’re all fully booked. That means people are interested. Yay!
An email from the Democratic Party came in as I was finishing up this piece, so if you move quickly it may still be possible to join in on some partisan debate watching. Or you can just invite some friends over. Or you can watch for me ranting on Twitter.
Democratic Debate Night 1
WHEN: Wednesday, June 26, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Woodstock's Pizza in Pacific Beach, 1221 Garnet Ave., San Diego 92109(map)
DETAILS: Co-hosted by the Pacific Beach Democratic Club. Due to availability, seating is limited.
Democratic Debate Night 2
WHEN: Thursday, June 27, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.
WHERE: Art on Third, 269 Third Ave, Chula Vista 91910 (map)
DETAILS: Co-hosted by South Bay Young Democrats. Admission is free. South Bay Young Democrats will be selling beverages, snacks, and food to benefit their Democratic Club.
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