Warren-Sanders tension simmers and Steyer makes a mark: key takeaways
The final Democratic debate before voting begins in the Iowa caucus early next month ended in a testy confrontation between progressive senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
Related: Elizabeth Warren's confrontation with Bernie Sanders caps testy debate night
But it also had numerous other moments of tension, argument and policy to and fro. Here are some of they key takeaways:
Sanders v Warren: the fight goes on
In past debates Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been like a married couple who catch each other’s eye at a party full of annoying guests. But on Tuesday they were more like divorcees with old slights and recriminations boiling to the surface.
Sanders denied telling Warren during a private meeting in December 2018 that he did not believe a woman could win the presidency. “As a matter of fact, I didn’t say it,” Sanders said.
Warren said: “Bernie is my friend and I’m not here to fight with Bernie.” But then she delivered a killer line: “Look at the men on this stage: collectively, they have lost 10 elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they’ve been in are the women: Amy [Klobuchar] and me. And the only person who has beaten an incumbent Republican any time in the past 30 years is me.”
Most observers felt that Warren won the exchange and Sanders had somehow alienated the Hillary Clinton wing of the party even more.
At the end of the debate, Sanders tried to shake Warren’s hand but was rebuffed. Warren clasped her hands together and uttered some strong words. Sanders seemed momentarily taken aback, then talked some and walked grumpily away so fast that he almost missed Tom Steyer’s handshake.
If that’s the mood of the candidates, imagine their fervent fanbases.
The vanilla debate
The candidates were cautious, less aggressive than might be expected and likely did little to change voters’ minds.
For the first time, there were no candidates of color and it showed. Diverse candidates bring diverse viewpoints. They were missed.
Deval Patrick, the only African American left in the race, said: “Tonight, six Democrats were on the debate stage for over two hours. There were many good ideas from strong candidates, but there was not one question about racism in tonight’s debate. Not one.”
There were also no candidates of colorfulness. No Tulsi Gabbard, no Marianne Williamson, no Andrew Yang. This could matter because, come the general election, the nominee will be up against Trump, reality TV star, circus master and greatest showman. In the media age, some star quality is required.
Biden is still the frontrunner
Such is the soft bigotry of low expectations, Biden can be relieved that he avoided any major pre-caucus gaffes. The days when Kamala Harris went for his jugular now seem a long time ago. But he was, once again, questioned over his vote in favor of the Iraq war, newly pertinent in the light of Trump’s abrupt decision to kill the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in a drone strike.
“I said 13 years ago it was a mistake to give the president the authority to go to war if, in fact, he couldn’t get inspectors into Iraq to stop what – thought to be the attempt to get a nuclear weapon,” Biden said. “It was a mistake, and I acknowledged that.”
Biden loyalists were happy. “Joe Biden looked like a president tonight – he was strong and steady,” said Tom Vilsack, former secretary of agriculture and governor of Iowa.
But not for the first time, Biden’s main gain came by default. The debate was largely inconsequential. Media oxygen will be consumed by the Sanders v Warren clash, then the impeachment trial. That will suit the national frontrunner just fine.
The healthcare faultline continues
Perhaps the greatest theme of the Democratic primary so far has been healthcare. No issues better captures the divide between centrists and progressives. And so it was again on Tuesday night.
Sanders defended Medicare for All. “We are now spending twice as much per person on healthcare as do the people of any other country. We are finally gonna have to stand up to the health industry and end hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and profiteering,” he said.
Joe Biden and Tom Steyer said they wanted to build on the Affordable Care Act. Other centrists had their talking points ready.
Taking on Warren, Buttigieg said: “It’s just not true that the plan I’m proposing is small. We have to move past the Washington mentality that suggests that the bigness of plans only consists of how many trillions of dollars they put through the treasury.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar said: “This debate isn’t real. I was in Vegas the other day, and someone said don’t put your chips on a number on the wheel that isn’t even on the wheel.”
Reporting from Iowa suggests that healthcare is a much bigger deal for caucus-goers than impeachment or Iran.
Steyer style
Many are surprised to find businessman Tom Steyer on stage with seasoned politicians. With the stage down to six candidates, he had a chance to make his mark, especially when asked about the climate crisis.
“I would declare a state of emergency on day one on climate,” said Steyer, who has surged in South Carolina in particular, where he has spent massively on TV ads.
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The debate moderators noted that Steyer partly built his fortune from investing in coal, oil and gas, questioning whether he is the right messenger. Steyer insisted that he was, having divested from fossil fuels a decade ago and campaigned against them ever since.
Steyer even did enough to earn a presidential tweet: “Steyer is running low on cash,” Trump wrote. “Nobody knows him. Made his money on coal. So funny!”
But he got most attention because of his role as interloper in the Sanders-Warren conversation. Steyer graciously declined to reveal anything he heard, telling CNN: “I felt like, OK, there’s something going on here. Good night, I’m out of here. It was one of those awkward moments where I felt like, OK, I need to move on as fast as possible.”
