Quick and dirty summary of night 2 of the Democratic debates
Posted by Robert Leonard / August 1, 2019
Last night, the second group of Democratic primary contenders took to the stage to plead their case and, more than the first night, rip each other apart. The hostility was perhaps the night’s defining feature, with Biden and Harris bearing the brunt of the attacks.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand attacked Biden for allegedly opposing women in the workplace. Undoubtedly, she and her prep team thought this would be a devastating attack, but it flopped miserably. The audience was dead silent until Biden shot back, saying that Gillibrand agreed with him throughout her career. Biden’s knockout punch came when he said, “I don’t know what’s happened, except that you’re now running for president.” The audience cheered, and Gillibrand tried to carry on, but it didn’t work.
Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii went after Harris on her criminal justice record. Gabbard may have scored big points in the debate for that successful attack, but her closing statement left the audience feeling both confused and scared that they were about to be nuked.
Cory Booker gave a strong performance and successfully attacked Joe Biden on his criminal justice record. Booker was eloquent and thoughtful, and overall his performance will ensure he sticks around for awhile.
There are a few key takeaways from the debates. The first is that Democrats are divided, and in their division they’re going to allow their top candidates to mortally wound each other in debates like this. When the winner faces Trump, it’s not at all clear that they’ll be stronger for these debates. Second is that Biden is probably going to win. He didn’t hit any home runs, but he did a solid job, and right now that’s the best the Democrats can hope for.
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