Mike Norris, Co-Editor, The American Dossier
This week, Detroit’s Fox Theater was host to twenty Democratic candidates vying to be the party’s nominee for president.
For many of the candidates, this debate was a do-or-die moment. Stricter participation guidelines in place for the next debate mean that many will not make the cut in September.
With so much at stake, the candidates quickly turned on each other, eager to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The first night of the two-night debate featured Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma) defending themselves against attacks from the centrist candidates.
Sanders gave Tuesday evenings strongest performance, including a memorable rebuttal to Rep. Tim Ryan’s (D-Oh) critique of Sanders “Medicare For All” bill. “I wrote the damn bill,” Sanders responded.
Warren had her own moment in the spotlight, when she addressed former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md): “I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for.”
Wednesday night's raucous crowd stood in contrast to Tuesday's relatively tame audience, many of whom left early.
Hecklers interrupted Sen. Corey Booker’s (D-NJ) opening remarks with a chant of "Fire Pantaleo." The chant referred to New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo, who was not charged in the death of Eric Garner.
The network’s moderators asked Booker to standby while the heckler was removed from the building. About a half hour after Booker was interrupted, another chant interrupted Vice President Biden: “Three million deportations.”
Wednesday night witnessed the other candidates attack former Vice President Joe Biden on everything from race and immigration to healthcare and his record as the vice president. Biden struggled at times and he seemed to wilt in the face of the sustained attacks. He also dodged some issues, including whether he supported President Obama’s actions on deportations.
After the Miami debate, there was much anticipation of another face-off between Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Ca) and Biden. Biden could not afford another misstep after Miami, where he was the clear loser in clashes with Harris.
At the beginning of the debate, Biden was heard telling Harris, “Take it easy on me, kid.” But Wednesday night, the hunter became the hunted. Biden took forceful shots at the California senator, attacking Harris’ record as a prosecutor and accusing her of “double talk,” regarding her health care plan.
Harris seemed thrown off by the attacks and her answers were often flat and lacking in specifics.
Booker also attempted to mount his own attacks on Biden, going after the former Vice President’s record on immigration. Booker called Biden out for continuously invoking President Obama, while attempting to dodge the more awkward elements of the 44th president's record.
"You can’t have it both ways," Booker told Biden. "You invoke President Obama more than anyone in this campaign; you can’t do it when it’s convenient and then duck it when it’s not."
In his closing remarks, Biden attempted to drop a way for voters to support his campaign, as were all of the other candidates on stage. But Biden accidentally sent voters to the wrong place.
"This is the United States of America. When we’ve acted together, we have never, never, never been able to overcome whatever the problem was. If you believe me go to joe30330 and help me win this fight," Biden said.
The slip up sent possible supporters to joe30330, a website, rather than "text Joe30330." Within minutes, joe30330.com redirected to a website that redirects to an ActBlue donation page for Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign.
Few people enjoyed the Democratic infighting more than President Donald Trump.
When the Democratic candidates addressed health care, they found themselves debating over which policy would best ensure Trump’s defeat. When they covered immigration, they fought about the political impact of decriminalizing the border. When they spoke about climate change, they debated the potential political backlash to their own policies.
Despite warnings that their time would be reduced if they didn’t wait their turn, the candidates interrupted each other 35 times, according to CNN.
Only once, did an interrupting candidate offer an apology. At one point, after moderators told Sanders that it was Warren’s turn to speak, he quickly replied, “Oh, I’m sorry."
After spending hours attacking each other, the Democratic candidates closed their second primary debate by focusing on the President.
His name was mentioned 161 times between the two nights. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Co) and Elizabeth Warren mentioned Trump the most. Bennet had 12 mentions, while Warren had 11, according to CNN.
Although Progressive Democrats in Congress are adamant that the President should be impeached, these debates exemplify how few mainstream Democrats view impeachment as a serious possibility. Except for a short exchange before the end of the second debate, the topic went without mention.
The big mystery of the two nights? What was on Pete Buttigieg's forehead?
The South Bend, Indiana mayor showed up at Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate with a smudge on his forehead that didn't go unnoticed online.
Twitter was abuzz with debates as users tried to solve the mystery. The South Bend, Indiana Mayor thinks it may have been the remains of a gnat he killed.
Whatever it was, the smudge was gone by about 9:20 p.m.
After serving as an Airborne Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division, Mike attended Florida State University, where he received his Bachelors Degree in Political Science and George Washington University, where he received his Masters in Political Management.
Since 2004, Mike has worked in the Florida Senate, where he was one of only two Chief’s of Staff under 30 and in the Michigan Senate, where he served as the Legislative Aide to the Assistant Minority Floor Leader. The 2018 election cycle was Mike’s eighth as a Political Consultant.
Mike previously served as the Secretary and Vice President of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans, Regional Vice Chair for the Florida Federated Young Republicans and attended the 2012 Republican National Convention as an Alternate Delegate. He currently lives in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, with his rescue Pit Bull, Ike.
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