Last week, CNN and Facebook came together to showcase the first debate of the Democratic Primary season. It was the first (and quite possibly last) chance for mainstream viewers to meet the lesser-known candidates: Governor Martin O’Malley, Former Senator Jim Webb (who has since dropped out of the race), and Governor Lincoln Chafee. It was also the much-anticipated first time that clear frontrunner Secretary Hillary Clinton was set to share the state with rising firebrand Senator Bernie Sanders. With Sanders eroding Hillary’s lead in previous months, the debate promised to force the two to showcase their policy differences in direct contrast, squeezing out some semblance of clarity or precision in policy that is often not seen in the primary process.
Much could be written on the performance of the debate and how it affects each candidate’s chances; in fact, even before Sen. Webb withdrew his nomination, much already had. But while CNN tried to bring the debate into virtual reality, we here at GPPR also wanted to do something different to reflect on the sheer amount of information that was included. So our team jumped on messaging app Slack and shared our compared our analyses in real-time as we watched. What follows below are some of the highlights we took away.
(*All opinions are those of the individuals and not of GPPR)
Who is in the debate
Patrick Spencer
“I don’t think it is right that Lawrence Lessig has not been included in this debate”
Bryan Baird
“It does make me wonder whose absence will be most conspicuous by the end of this. Do you think there’s any chance of an issue coming up where the candidates’ responses leave the audience clambering for Biden or Warren, or do you think everyone on stage will already have a pretty solid lock on those policy bases?”
On Guns
Delaney Luna
“I don’t understand how Bernie can hate huge outside interests in politics but not be hard on gun control”
Bryan Baird
“It seems like Sanders is unprepared to speak coherently on gun control, which is weird because it is not a surprise issue”
Alexa Frank
“Did Jim Webb make a statement that carrying more guns would a political strategy to reducing mass shootings?!?”
Justin Goss
“Trying to classify gun control as a regional issue just isn’t a winner right now given current events”
On Anderson Cooper
Matt Emerterio
“Anderson Cooper, more like AC720 tonight…these questions are really good”
On Martin O’Malley
Shane McCarthy
“O’Malley will definitely get a boost in the standings, I concur with the “presidential look” comment but also he was well prepared to put forward and defend his policies.”
Brandon Reillly
“Martin O’Malley is tonight’s big winner”
Delaney Luna
(On opening statements) “O’Malley gives off the most level-headed impression of all the candidates so far”
(On Closing statements) “O’Malley.. what a great closing statement”
Climate Change
Nausheen Khan
“Interesting that climate change has been brought up by two candidates as the greatest national security threat”
“It seems ironic that Hillary mentions her success in getting the Chinese to sign a climate deal when the US themselves didn’t sign Kyoto”
Economic Policy
Bryan Baird
“I absolutely believe that Sanders knows what he’s talking about when he talks about expanding Social Security, but I don’t buy anything he says about how to pay anything about it”.
Justin Goss
“Bernie does add a fascinating new element to this debate…I have never seen politicians actually examine the 4th wall that is the economic system itself”
Patrick Spencer
“The two types of taxes on financial services that are cited most often by politicians are: a) levy on profits and bonuses, and b) a % tax on financial trades (equities, bonds, paper et), also known as a financial transaction tax. Neither of these work in reality. Taxes on remuneration and bonuses will just prompt banks to pay their employees in different ways. A tax on financial trades will result in banks just trading through different financial centres (eg London/Singapore/Hong Kong)”
On Paid Family Leave
Alexa Frank
“Hill making a GREAT point that multiple states and large cities effectively institute paid leave policies without these overly-mentioned and under-evidenced “ill effects”
Delaney Luna
“Interesting to note that they are asking the only woman, quoting the only other woman from the other side, about family leave. This is not an issue that only affects women and mothers”
On Marijuana Legalization
Delaney Luna
“Candidates need to discuss the economic benefits of legalization of marijuana too…It’s a much stronger point than ambiguous morality of its use”
Bryan Baird
“HRC’s restrained approach is actually probably more resonant with the mainstream than one would think. While pretty much everyone is on board with previous health risks being hilariously overstated, [it’s] a different sell that it works well as a fully legalized policy. People are looking to Colorado to see what other implications there are when you actually have the thing in action.”
On Hillary
Alexa Frank – Upon Hillary Clinton arriving late from a toilet break and citing her gender as a need for more time
“I think it’s great that it took two hours into the debate to acknowledge the woman on the stage – otherwise, her gender seemed irrelevant”
Patrick Spencer
“Hillary Clinton’s strategic platform is interesting if a little obvious – Not only am I the progressive candidate as the first woman, but I am also the pragmatic choice who has a career of experience on the world stage”
Alexa Frank – in response to above
“I don’t think she frames her progressive values as having to do with her gender. I think she just highlights the fact that her perspective is one that many with progressive needs also have, she only runs as a woman when people force her to”
Foreign Policy
Alexa Frank
“ That is a great question from [debate co-moderator] Dana Bash – what would cause a president sanders to call for ground combat. Bernie responds by saying he can’t conceive of a situation where he would call for military use. This is a mistake, especially in the US….i just don’t think anyone would be able to see Commander in Chief Bernie Sanders after tonight”
Shane McCarthy
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard Bernie Sanders talk about foreign policy”
Bryan Baird
“I wonder when Bernie talks about “a coalition of Arab countries” he includes Turkey, which is doing a ton of the legwork in Syria, and is very much NOT Arab”.
John Allison
“Sanders just doesn’t seem confident in foreign policy…. slow and not much substance”
Brandon Reilly
“Bernie Sanders allowed some doubt to creep in the voters minds about his abilities on foreign policy”
Closing Thoughts
Bryan Baird
“O’Malley could explain a vision, but didn’t have to address his record as much, so he comes out well. I still don’t know if Sanders even has a foreign policy, but his Revolution is his new main policy anyways. Clinton has plans for everything and she isn’t afraid to share the details”.
Brandon Reilly
“Martin O’Malley is tonight’s big winner, appearing both passionate yet poised, while making some definitive and defensible statements. Hillary Clinton is the only other candidate who I’d say had a good performance, sticking out on many of the issues she’s championed, while Bernie Sanders allowed some doubt to creep in the voters minds about his abilities on foreign policy especially. This is where “looking Presidential” starts to matter and O’Malley and Clinton came off that way tonight”
Patrick Spencer
“Compared to the Republican debate, more issues were discussed, the lead candidate came off as the most experienced and most qualified (a big difference from the Rep debate)…. Democrats will feel energised and confident that they can beat anyone the GOP nominate”.
Alexa Frank
“I don’t agree that O’Malley was the big winner – I think Sanders, O’Malley, and Clinton all had incredibly strong showings, each in a way that projected a different vision of what the presidency could look like in 2017. Though, the Clinton/O’Malley combo, either as a head-to-head in the run-up or as a Democratic ticket in the general election, seems to be my biggest takeaway”.
Shane McCarthy
“I think considering the fact that Clinton is the frontrunner by a fair amount (and therefore could have had her lead diminished) she had a very strong showing and will remain strong. This is also the first time in a long time that she could actually take on all the criticism she’s been getting and was able to call the GOP out for being petty. O’Malley will definitely get a boost in the standings, I concur with the “presidential look” comment but also he was well prepared to put forward and defend his policies. Again, nothing too surprising from Sanders. He definitely did what he came here to do but needs to shore up his weak policy points. I think he did pretty well actually, but it’s interesting because he seems to be more in line policy-wise with the frontrunners than he anticipated at the start of the campaign (but then again, maybe he’s the one responsible for driving them to the left). Webb and Chaffee will be teaching political science to Georgetown undergraduates within a month”.
Nausheen Khan
“Most important issues- income inequality, climate change, Middle East crisis. Clinton and O’Malley definitely coming out on top in terms of strong and clear answers. Debate was quite substantive in terms of policy Issues and stance”
Established in 1995, the Georgetown Public Policy Review is the McCourt School of Public Policy’s nonpartisan, graduate student-run publication. Our mission is to provide an outlet for innovative new thinkers and established policymakers to offer perspectives on the politics and policies that shape our nation and our world.