Tulsi Gabbard qualifies for October Democratic debate

[StevieM]

~snip~

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has qualified for the October Democratic presidential primary debate, making her the twelfth candidate to hit the Democratic National Committee's thresholds.

Gabbard got 2 percent support in a New Hampshire poll conducted by Monmouth University and released on Tuesday. The Hawaii congresswoman had previously gotten 2 percent in three other DNC-approved polls, and her campaign said she already racked up more than the 130,000 donors she needed to make the debate stage.

Gabbard will join Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tom Steyer, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang onstage in October.

Neither Steyer nor Gabbard participated in the September debate, with both needing more time to hit the polling threshold. It's not yet clear if their inclusion will force two nights of debates in October. Previously, the DNC and its media partners have wanted to avoid putting more than 10 people onstage at a time.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/24/tulsi-gabbard-qualifies-for-october-primary-debate-1509412

[SidDithers]

1. Oh. Yay...nt

Sid

[NurseJackie]

7. That one will likely be her last... so... yay.

[ismnotwasm]

19. Heh.

[ritapria]

2. Will it be 1 debate or two ?

My guess is there will be 2 debates comprised of 6 people each

[StevieM]

8. There will be two debates.

They are scheduled for October 15 and 16.

[thesquanderer]

21. Link? I have not seen confirmation of this. nt

[StevieM]

22. I was relying on Wikipedia, which I guess isn't always such a good idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Democratic_Party_presidential_debates_and_forums#Fourth_debate_(October_15–16,_2019)

Anyway, here are a couple of articles on the subject.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/13/politics/october-democratic-presidential-debate/index.html

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/tulsi-gabbard-is-the-12th-candidate-to-make-octobers-democratic-debate/

[StevieM]

23. Actually, here is another link, and I think this one indicates that they will do two debates.

It is from democrats.org, which is run by the DNC. And they said on September 13 that they will hold two debates, if necessary.

https://democrats.org/news/dnc-announces-details-for-fourth-presidential-primary-debate/

[thesquanderer]

24. "The debate will occur on October 15, and potentially October 16, if needed."

But it's up to them to determine if it's needed, and as far as I've seen, they still have not made that determination. It's more likely now that there are 12, but they still have not announced.

[StevieM]

25. I just can't see them allowing for a 12 person debate.

They already established in the run-up to the last debate that if there were 11 candidates they would split it in two.

Unless they have changed their minds there will be two debates in October.

[Funtatlaguy]

3. So, it must now be two nights.

I hope it’s the 6 leading candidates on one night and the rest on the second night.
But I bet the DNC Sticks with the drawing names format.

[StevieM]

13. I think it is better, for now, to draw names and give everyone an equal shot at getting coverage.

The November debate will raise the bar for entrance, and at that point you will have the top 5 or 6 candidates on the same stage.

Five of the candidates have already qualified for the November debate. We'll see if Andrew Yang or Tom Steyer can get in as well. Either way, it will be one night and it will feature a smaller number of participants.

[at140]

27. You mean the first debate of more popular followed by ....

the back benchers?

[hedda_foil]

4. I hope when they split it they at least put the top contenders all together

Tulsi and Yang and Steyer can sit at the kids' table as far as I'm concerned.

[Mr.Bill]

6. They will do whatever gets the best ratings.

That's all these shows are about.

[NurseJackie]

9. Until we get it down to the top-five, this is just a pageant and not a debate.

If the moderators each get more "talk time" than the candidates do, then it's not really a debate.

[Mr.Bill]

10. Agree 100% Pageant is a great word for it. n/t

[woodsprite]

5. At this point, IMO they should have a 1st tier and a 2nd tier debate. nt

[Celerity]

11. they probably wont do that, as all the debates after this one will be harder to get it into

Booker (maybe), Yang, Klobuchar, Beto, Castro, Gabbard and Steyer will struggle to get into the November one, and will probably be gone after that, barring a surge.

[StevieM]

14. As I wrote above, there are currently five candidates who have met the bar.

I think Yang and Steyer have the best shot at joining them.

[Devil Child]

12. Fantastic!

[BeyondGeography]

15. Leave it to the DNC to create rules that expand the number of debaters as we go along

[mahina]

16. Thanks NH

Not

Can’t even get her to support impeachment. Ed Case either. We’re 0 for 2. At least our Senators are down.

[LiberalLovinLug]

17. Her willingness to keep an open door to talk to scumbag rulers is what she is demonized for

On the surface, it seems she shares that tactic with Donald Trump. Trump I think, has other motives. Like withholding aid to get a Trump hotel built. But I don't see why this is such a bad idea on the surface. I think you could go either way. Sabre rattling to "encourage" a rogue leader to come around, or pretend to be their buddy, appealing to their narcissistic personalities. I think one reason why Trump does it this way is because it takes one to know one. He knows that's a way in. Tulsi isn't pro-dictator. She is just supporting a different way to winning concessions and avoiding bloodshed. Too often Democrats are over eager to "catch up" to their GOP rivals, of the Bolton variety, of looking like they are tough too.

It actually fits with more with Democratic principles. ie..Obama made a peace deal with Iran, instead of poking them like Trump. These authoritarian leaders, Trump included, all share one weakness: Their own egos. Threatening this kind of leader, only makes them even more defensive and uncooperative.

And to be able to get a meeting with these authoritarians you cannot openly criticize them. Whether its Assad or Indian PM Narendra Modi. Many do not agree with this approach. But she is all in because she is all about avoiding war and death to her fellow soldiers above all. I respect her for that.

[Claritie Pixie]

18. Just saw her on CNN - she is not for impeachment.

Sure she's polished, well-rehearsed, and most of the time says all the things we want to hear. Then there are the red flags. Like the interview she just gave on CNN.

[Raine]

20. Good

I hope she makes some others too, I want to hear more from her!

[LiberalFighter]

26. Couldn't they put Tulsi all by herself?

[2naSalit]

28. Hopefully

she will be grilled about her activities with despot(s).

[customerserviceguy]

29. While I think this has zero effect

on her chances of winning the nomination, it absolutely guarantees that we will have two debates in October, with another random matching exercise. It means that each candidate will get a bit longer time to speak, and that there may well be less than ideal matching between the top three to five candidates.

That is what will change things in the short term.

[MustLoveBeagles]

30. She's wasting her time and ours

She has zero chance winning the nomination after today.