Jessa Crispin: ‘Sorry, I still don’t like Pete Buttigieg’

Here we are gathered together during the year of the rat, and I regret to report that Pete Buttigieg is ascending. I kept waiting for his fellow candidates to go after him for little things like, oh I don’t know, claiming victory over a caucus before all results were tallied? Minor despotic behaviors, that sort of thing? Instead, we heard mostly the same talking points coming from the same candidates who were almost all wearing the same outfits from the last debate. Is that Klobuchar dress plum or more of an eggplant? I’ve seen it so much by now you think I would have figured it out. (Is it just me, or does she spend most of her time on the debate stage explaining to people why they should like her more? Like someone who realizes she’s about to be broken up with suddenly listing out all their best assets?)

So I will just be Tom Steyer yelling from the margins of the stage PULL IT TOGETHER for the rest of this campaign. While some of the Democrats have gotten better at addressing the lived experience of people in the country, most are still speaking in broad ways that don’t connect. Whenever abortion is discussed on the stage, it’s always in terms of “protecting Roe v Wade”, and not the massive crisis of accessibility that is going on in most states, with clinics closing, prices rising and distances traveled for care increasing. It’s easy to talk about “rehabilitation” being the solution to the opioid crisis, but no one talks about how ineffective, expensive and dangerous treatment facilities are in this country.

It’s hard to talk in specifics when you’re given 75 seconds to address structural problems, but the distance between political speech and actual reform never seems to stop growing. It was the exasperated, exhausted outliers at the ends, Yang and Steyer, who spoke the most directly – Yang channeled Marianne Williamson there for a second, talking about the “disease” of American society that Trump is but a symptom of – but they are just biding their time, hoping if they stay in long enough they can force a cabinet position somewhere. The inevitable debate confrontation with Trump is coming, and only Bernie Sanders and the single-digit losers seem ready for the fight.

Jessa Crispin is the author of the Public Intellectual podcast

Art Cullen: ‘Bernie Sanders took the spotlight and held it’

The frontrunners acted like frontrunners. Bernie Sanders put in perhaps his strongest debate performance of this cycle with a confident defense of Medicare for All, a relentless attack on corporatism and the gilded class, and an indictment of endless wars. Pete Buttigieg tried to bury Joe Biden in the past with calls to turn the page. Buttigieg was deft and calm fending off attacks for being in the billionaires’ pockets, claiming that he will need that money to beat back the sea of Trump money crashing down on Democrats. He demonstrated that he can be commander-in-chief with nuanced answers to foreign policy questions. He would be a relief.

Elizabeth Warren may have needed a breakthrough moment in this debate before the New Hampshire primary. She was sure as always, and cogent, and passionate about rooting out corruption – the central issue of our time. What line from the evening will vault her to the top, though? Joe Biden continued his slide from Iowa, appearing angry and disjointed. While Amy Klobuchar delivered a powerful close, can it be enough to really put her in the game? No. Sanders took the spotlight and held it. He was at his best.

Art Cullen is editor of the Storm Lake Times in north-west Iowa, where he won the Pulitzer prize for editorial writing. He is author of the book: Storm Lake: A Chronicle of Change, Resilience, and Hope from a Heartland Newspaper

Malaika Jabali: ‘Sanders instills confidence, unlike Buttigieg’

This Democratic primary season will likely be defined by how the candidates fought to rhetorically out-progressive each other. An election cycle ago, we may have never imagined a billionaire like Tom Steyer talking about systemic racism and arguing for reparations on a major debate stage. As the debates and elections advance, the candidates will continue to sound relatively left-leaning. Yet, few candidates instill confidence that their positions will move beyond campaign talking points into policies they will actually fight for once in office. Bernie Sanders is one of those few.

Despite questions about socialism and the viability of Medicare for All, Sanders was steady and commanding. While candidates talked about uniting the party, no other frontrunner can claim to have the economic, ethnic and ideological diversity as Sanders, who has the most people of color and lowest income constituency in his donor base and success attracting independents.

Contrasting Buttigieg, who seems to believe billionaires are mere constituents and not a part of a power structure that siphons wealth from everyday Americans, Sanders staked his allegiance assertively with the working class. He warned that none of the progressive policies being promoted can pass if corporate and billionaire donors have undue influence on candidates, and he is the only candidate who doesn’t have billionaire financing in his campaign coffers. Talk is cheap, and few but Sanders seem like they will prioritize people over billionaire patrons when it’s time to deliver.

Malaika Jabali is a public policy attorney, writer and activist

Jill Filipovic: ‘Amy Klobuchar stood out from the pack’

Amy Klobuchar killed it.

Let me state for the record that I am not a Klobuchar fan. She’s a moderate Democrat, far too conservative for my tastes. She’s never going to be my candidate in a primary that has several solid contenders to her left.

But stepping back from my own personal preferences and looking at who made a solid, thoughtful case for their candidacy, Klobuchar did it. She stood out from the pack, most of whom were saying what we’ve heard before. And when they weren’t – for example, when Sanders was asked about his record on guns – the debate moderators didn’t push as hard as they could have, leaving those of us who have followed this election hearing more and more of the same.

Joe Biden had a rough although not unusual night, meandering his way through half-answers and incomplete thoughts, a reminder that he is indeed pushing 80, and pushing it hard – not something you want voters to be thinking about. Bernie Sanders, by contrast, was his usual vigorous, sharp and delightfully cranky self despite being a touch older than Biden, making the contrast all the more apparent.

Warren brought her usual mix of competence and capability, but also seemed frustrated. And who can blame her? As usual she’s over-prepared, compelling and absurdly thoughtful, and she’s still lagging behind a couple of less capable guys. But her exasperation showed. And unlike when it comes from always-exasperated Sanders or “I was THERE!” Biden – both of whom enjoy the presumption of authenticity and righteous irritation – exasperation from a woman doesn’t tend to play as well. Andrew Yang was, well – you may have heard that he’s very into the idea of a universal basic income? And Tom Steyer similarly had absolutely no reason to be on that stage.

But Klobuchar stood out in what was hands-down her best debate yet. She was warm and approachable in her mom-joke way, and able to pivot to tough and considered at all the right moments. She was one of the few candidates on stage who seemed to actually imagine the average voters Democrats are trying to reach, and talked directly to them. She answered the questions, and she pushed on her opponents. And her closing statement – a riff off of a speech she also gave once it became clear that the Iowa results weren’t coming in as planned – was pitch-perfect.

She’s not my candidate. It’s not even clear that debate performance matters one iota in terms of securing votes. But Klobuchar had a great night.