The Circuit: Democratic Smackdown Day 2! Biden v. “The Bitch From God!” ¡Beto en español!
Plus: Is Chuck Todd Still Talking?
Welcome back to the special, two-part Democratic Debatocalypse edition of your favorite weekly election newsletter. Last night, ten candidates battled for relevancy and caused a wave of signups for Duolingo Spanish. I’m here with the highlights from Night One and another handy, dandy debate guide for what (and who) you need to know before tonight’s second debate. Plus, an update on the four lost souls who didn’t meet the qualifications to appear onstage.
What time? 9 PM ET tonight, June 27.
Where to watch on TV? NBC News, MSNBC in English. Telemundo in Spanish.
Where to watch online? NBC News' digital platforms, including NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, the NBC News Mobile App, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV, as well as Telemundo's digital platforms. NBC News will also stream the debates live and in full on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
I’m Chris Erik Thomas. Welcome to Issue 08 of Rubber Chicken Circuit, the weekly election newsletter from Study Hall. Read more about us, subscribe here, and forward us to your friends!
Debatocalypse Night 1 Recap: ¡Español, Argumentos, y John Delaney!
-JULIÁN CASTRO surged with thoughtful, sharp answers and told a terribly unprepared Beto to “do his homework.”
-BETO O’ROURKE will probably take this to mean keep practicing Duolingo Spanish. He became the night’s big meme for pandering en español to voters at the beginning of the night.
-ELIZABETH WARREN had a strong night in the first hour but slid into the background in the second half once everyone started shouting over each other.
-CHUCK TODD was a “moderator” on stage for half the night and not a candidate, but he spent so much time talking that he spoke almost as many words as Warren by the end of the night.
-JOHN DELANEY and TIM RYAN proved that the debates need tougher restrictions because literally nobody knew who they were, though many tried to figure it out.
The Takeaway: Elizabeth Warren showed she was prepared, Julián Castro had the breakout moment he needed, and Beto O’Rourke was painfully out of his depth. Besides that, a lack of major moments made this feel like a junior varsity debate warm-up. I just hope it’ll make a few of the Mole People drop out and scurry back into the darkness where they belong.
Debatocalypse Night 2: Frontrunner Fight Club (Except for Warren?)
The Candidates: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Marianne Williamson, John Hickenlooper, Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bennet, and Eric Swalwell.
Trouble in Black and White: Night One was full of surprises as candidates pandered to the Spanish voters watching the debates. Tonight, I expect a fair bit of pandering to African American communities as JOE BIDEN defends his embrace of segregationist Senators in the ‘70s while trying to maintain his polling lead. The segregationist misstep caused an uproar among the media and other candidates, but over the past week, voters have stuck with him, with 41 percent of likely primary voters saying his comments made no difference to them. It’ll be interesting to see if this seemingly unwavering support lasts as he finally debates against other candidates who don’t have a long history of public speaking flubs.
Whatever happens, he won’t be the only candidate under the spotlight on the issue of race. Over the weekend, PETE BUTTIGIEG had a town hall back home in response to the fatal shooting of a black man by one of South Bend’s police officers and… it didn’t go well. Buttigieg had already hurt his relationship with the city’s communities of color in 2012 over his decision to demote the city’s first black police chief, Darryl Boykins, for illegally recording conversations. With the shooting, he faces a new wave of scrutiny. I hope there’s at least one conversation at the debate about the use of police body cameras because, as the South Bend shooting showed, body cameras only work if they’re actually turned on.
One not-so-wildcard in tomorrow’s discussion of race is KAMALA HARRIS. Her prosecutorial style has made everyone from Brett Kavanaugh to William Barr proverbially shit themselves with anxiety, so I can think of no better person to take the two white men to task for their racial flubs than her. Expect her comment about Biden’s segregationist buddies to turn into a full-on assault that pulls Buttigieg into the fray.
Bernie’s Sexist Ceiling: It’s not breaking news that Elizabeth Warren has been steadily climbing towards BERNIE SANDERS in the polls, which is why it would make sense for the Vermont senator to be asked about female politicians. The problem is that when asked, Sanders responded with a heaping spoonful of sexism, saying: “I think that there are a certain number of people who would like to see a woman elected, and I understand that.” Since Bernie probably won’t become something other than the cisgender, white man he is, I’m curious how long he’ll stick to the “voters want a woman” defense when it’s not held up by facts (see: Joe Biden’s polling lead). Stay tuned to see if he can use the debate to appeal to a wider audience and finally break the ceiling of support he’s been hitting all year.
In Search of a Spark: Oh, to be ANDREW YANG. So passionate, so nerdy, and so happy to stand next to Joe Biden on stage tomorrow night. The tech entrepreneur-turned-candidate could be the night’s big wildcard solely because the internet’s meme king is so different from the pack.
Then again, he could also get crushed by the true wildcard: the almighty MARIANNE “THE BITCH FROM GOD” WILLIAMSON. Who is she? Honey. The spiritual guru-turned-candidate may only be on the debate stage because of joke donations from supporters of leftist podcast Chapo Trap House, but there’s something about Marianne. Time Magazine called her the “Mother Teresa for the '90s” because of her charity work for HIV/AIDS victims, she’s Oprah’s spiritual guru, and she would create a “Department of Peace” if elected president. Sure, she has called vaccinations “Orwellian,” but nobody’s perfect. All I know is the “bitch from God” is going to storm that debate stage tonight with nothing to lose (except maybe her chakra alignment).
On the other end of that spectrum is KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, a candidate with a lot to lose if she doesn’t make an impact. She’s been fighting against a sexist political system that has turned her into yet another “wonky woman,” but she’s also been struggling with her own rushed campaigning style. If she can slow it down and leave an impression on the millions of people watching — or at least get a viral moment under her belt — it could go a long way towards reversing the impression from the campaign trail that she’s just not that deep.
The Mole People: At the bottom of the Thursday night’s barrel are a few more candidates lucky just to be there, even if they’ll probably end up being tonight’s version of Tim Ryan and John Delaney. With tonight’s debate featuring every frontrunner besides Warren, I’d expect these four to fade into the background immediately after their opening remarks and be completely forgotten by the end of the night.
JOHN HICKENLOOPER: Used to be Colorado’s governor, loves his mother and has a microbrewery. MICHAEL BENNET: Was Hickenlooper’s chief of staff before becoming a Senator. ERIC SWALWELL: Will probably run for Congress in December if he can’t make a dent in the presidential race.
Have feedback or want to slip us a tip? Reply to this or email chris@studyhall.xyz with your scoops and suggestions.
The Leftovers (or the ‘People You May Know’ Section)
By this point, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Hey, what about Miramar, Florida, mayor WAYNE MESSAM?” That was a joke. Nobody is thinking about Miramar, Florida mayor Wayne Messam (except maybe the 140,328 residents of his town). The no-name candidate was kept off the debate stage for not meeting the minimum requirements, but there’s good news! He’s not alone!
The other candidates who failed to qualify for the debates include Iraq war veteran SETH MOULTON (not to be confused with gay Afghanistan war veteran, Pete Buttigieg), anti-war candidate MIKE GRAVEL whose lifeless corpse is being controlled by three teenagers Weekend at Bernie’s-style, and actual important Montana governor STEVE BULLOCK, whose claim to fame is winning re-election in a state Trump won by 20 percent.
Maybe they’ll make it to the July debates or maybe they’ll just drop out and go for Senate. Either way, you’ll probably forget who they are by tomorrow.
Buy yourself something nice tomorrow for surviving the Democratic Debate Deathmatch. See you next week for a regular serving of Rubber Chicken Circuit.
