A few progressive stalwarts and a bevy of moderates met on the debate stage Tuesday in Detroit for a refreshingly policy-heavy debate. They made their cases based on the minutiae of their health care plans, focused on electability and changed up their stylistic approaches.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the first night of the second round of debates:
This debate began with actual exchanges on policy
Most of the first hour of the debate was spent on health care alone. The questions bounced around and candidates got jabs in here and there — see Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “you’re wrong” to former Rep. John Delaney — but it really came down to the sunlight between their policy differences.
Health care is the No. 1 issue for Democrats, and it’s one rare area where the candidates aren’t in complete lockstep, so it makes sense that the moderates spent so much time on it. But the format definitely hampered any serious policy discussion — it was nearly impossible for candidates to delve into complicated aspects of their plans in mere seconds.
A new Bernie
Sanders, shouting and gesticulating with a furrowed brow, came to this debate much more aggressively than he did the first time around. He didn’t shy away from personal attacks, a tactic which stood out while most of his fellow candidates took pain to address each other with even overzealous politeness.
This exchange with Delaney was typical:
Sanders: “Maybe you did that and made money off of health care, but our job is to run a nonprofit healthcare system. When we save $500 billion a year by ending all of the incredible complexities that are driving ever American crazy.”
Delaney: “His math is wrong. That’s all I’m saying.”
Sanders jabs Delaney, suggesting he made money off of a broken healthcare system pic.twitter.com/33sY8wwZf4
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 31, 2019
Joe Biden loomed large
While the former Vice President was absent and largely unmentioned, his presence loomed large when the candidates dove into an electability debate, frantically waving the flags of the red states they’d won.
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) painted an election where Texas’ electoral votes are on the table; Bullock made sure to remind everyone that the state he governs is ruby red.
O'Rourke paints a future where Texas is a swing state pic.twitter.com/MjXgKsLgXT
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 31, 2019
Delaney gets the spotlight
For someone who is polling below 1 percent, former Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) got the top-tier treatment. He received an inordinate amount of his own questions, and capitalized on those opportunities by extending exchanges with other candidates. His aggressive posture helped too, as it embroiled him in fights with his higher-billing peers. The first question of the entire debate was directed at Sanders, but referenced Delaney.
Moments of levity
The night was not without its lighthearted moments. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper got a laugh when he mimicked Sanders’ famous gesticulations.
The debate gesticulating seen ’round the world pic.twitter.com/pul5E7QDID
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 31, 2019
The ever-eclectic self help author Marianne Williamson cited a “dark psychic force” in the United States and summed up Democratic talking points that voters don’t buy as “yada, yada, yada.”
“Yada yada yada” pic.twitter.com/LvntQ3IYBP
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 31, 2019
