OnPolitics: High drama in Las Vegas

Annah Aschbrenner, USA TODAY
·2 min read
From left, Democratic presidential candidates, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas, hosted by NBC News and MSNBC. (AP Photo/John Locher)
From left, Democratic presidential candidates, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas, hosted by NBC News and MSNBC. (AP Photo/John Locher)

I've never been shot out of a cannon, but I'd imagine it feels a little bit like the first few minutes of Wednesday's Democratic debate.

Mike Bloomberg was on stage for the first time this cycle, and he, uh, was not welcomed warmly. Every candidate on stage at one point targeted him. But it might have been Sen. Elizabeth Warren who went after him the hardest.

She derided what she called a weak apology for stop-and-frisk. She scoffed at his defense when pressed on previous comments about women in the workplace, saying his explanation amounted to "I've been nice to some women." And within the first minute of the debate, she pointed out previous comments Bloomberg reportedly made where he called women "fat broads and horse-faced lesbians."

It set up a truly wild evening in Las Vegas. Sanders vs. Bloomberg. Buttigieg vs. Sanders. Klobuchar vs. Buttigieg. It was survival of the fittest.

But with Sen. Bernie Sanders leading the pack in both the SIlver State and nationally, did Wednesday really hurt him and help anyone else? He got dinged a bit on health care and sparred with Pete Buttigieg over online harassment, but with everyone focused on Bloomberg, he only got a taste of the so-called frontrunner treatment.

Will it matter? Guess we'll find out Saturday.

Roger Stone leaves the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia after being sentenced February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Roger Stone leaves the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia after being sentenced February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC.

The ballad of Roger Stone

Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 40 months in prison, seemingly an end to judicial drama that has played out for months. Stone was found guilty in November of lying to Congress and obstructing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The sentencing came after more than a week of tension in the Justice Department. The original four prosecutors on the case withdrew after the department overruled their sentencing recommendation. One of them resigned from the department altogether.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the prosecution, but a pardon did not appear imminent Thursday.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Only 50 or so more primaries to go. -- Annah Aschbrenner

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: OnPolitics: High drama in Las Vegas