Jay Inslee's 5 minutes of debate fame: Here's what he did with it Jun 27, 2019 at 7:36 am

Five minutes – that’s all Washington Gov. Jay Inslee got Wednesday night.

Inslee had the least amount of time to speak of the 10 candidates appearing in Miami at the Democratic presidential primary debate. Sen. Corey Booker and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke got more than twice asthat much. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former housing secretary Julian Castro also got substantially more time. (Refresh if the tweet below doesn't show immediately.)

Who dominated the #DemDebate?



Cory Booker, Beto O'Rourke and Elizabeth Warren tallied up the most speaking time. https://t.co/5zVcNFYLea pic.twitter.com/SorNtOj4KE — NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) June 27, 2019

So what did Inslee do with his fleeting moments? He focused on highlighting his record and progressive gains in Washington state. For instance, when given a chance to talk about immigration:

“I’m proud to have been the first governor to stand up to President Trump’s heinous Muslim ban," he said. "I’m proud to be a person who’s not only talked about Dreamers but been one of the first to make sure they get a college education.” Notice the mention of Donald Trump? Inslee mentioned the president more than some of the candidates. Elizabeth Warren didn't utter his name at all. Everybody had the same goal: Stand out from the pack. And he did a couple of times, but maybe not in the way he hoped. Late in the debate, moderator Rachel Maddow of MSNBC lobbed him a question on climate change – his signature issue. “We have to understand, this is a climate crisis, an emergency,” he said.

We’ve heard him say that before, but this was his opportunity to deliver the message to a wider audience. Earlier, Inslee turned a discussion of health insurance toward abortion rights, touting his signing of a law requiring coverage for abortion if insurers cover maternity care. “I am the only candidate here who has passed a law protecting a women's right of right of reproductive health and health insurance,” he said. “I respect everybody’s goals and plans here, but we do have one candidate who’s advanced the ball.” That brought a retort from Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “I just want to say there are three women up here who have fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose, I'll start with that,” she said, to cheers from the audience.

The headline this morning in The New York Times: “There Were 3 Women Onstage, and a Man Had a Lot to Say About His Work on Abortion” So Inslee’s campaign might rework that answer. A better moment for Inslee came at the end of the debate, when all the candidates were asked to cite what they considered to be the biggest geopolitical threat to the United States. Inslee got a big reaction with his answer: “The biggest threat to the security of the United States is Donald Trump.” The crowd loved it. But when O’Rourke, Warren, Booker and Castro got their turns, they all mentioned climate change – stealing Inslee’s thunder a bit. And about that lopsided amount of time. Others on the stage tried just talking over people (looking at you, New York Mayor Bill dDe Blasio). But Inslee stayed Northwest Nice and raised his hand trying to break in. It didn’t work.

Inslee acknowledged as much on CNN. “Well look, things could have been a little bit more equitable, but I was able to deliver a message that I alone will make defeating the climate crisis our top priority and I was able to talk about my very progressive record,” he said. He also called again on the DNC — Democratic National Committee — to hold a climate change debate. Washington state Republicans used Inslee’s short speaking time to point out again the cost of his security detail. They also noted that one of the questions mentioned the failure of the carbon tax in Washington – though it’s fair to point out that the fossil fuel industry spent heavily to defeat it. So what’s next for Inslee? He heads to Iowa Friday to talk about his plan to get America off its fossil fuel habit.