Nevada Democratic Debate 2020: Top 5 takeaways from target Bloomberg to invisible Biden and healthcare crisis
The ninth Democratic debate took place in Las Vegas on Wednesday, February 19, ahead of the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, February 22, and things looked really charged up in the two-hour event.
That the candidates were under pressure to perform in this primary season was visible when they engaged in a "fight-all" situation. The one who received the maximum blows was, however, first-timer Michael Bloomberg.
No single candidate has been able to dominate the Democratic race so far with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg in the leading positions but with not a big gap.
With the proceedings tied at 1-1 between the two at the moment, both Sanders and Buttigieg turned up wearing aggressive looks ahead of the battles in Nevada and South Carolina (February 29) before the Super Tuesday of March 3 arrives.
Here are five top takeaways from the ninth debate that took place at Layla’s Palace Banquet Hall in East Las Vegas and was hosted by NBC News, MSNBC and The Nevada Independent.
The 'Punch Bloomberg' show
The 78-year-old former mayor of New York was essentially a punching bag at the debate. Having joined his first debate, the billionaire candidate was slammed by the other five rivals in varying degrees on issues like stop-and-frisk policy, alleged mistreatment of women, tax returns and more.
The likes of Sanders and Elizabeth Warren — who are contesting more on leftist planks — were particularly ruthless on Bloomberg for more ideological reasons. Former vice president Joe Biden was also critical of the man, but more from administrative points of view.
Overall, it seemed like the rest of the Democratic hopefuls were targeting Bloomberg more like a shadow of President Donald Trump, their common enemy this election.
Bloomberg did his best to defend the relentless attacks but when Warren made a remark like: "A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians – and no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump - I'm talking about Mayor Bloomberg," he did not have much to do.
Sanders' momentum continues
His rivals had the ammunition to corner him, especially over the nasty online attacks that members of a culinary union in Nevada faced from his alleged supporters. They tried to capitalize on the issue as well but Sanders was in no mood to relent.
The Vermont senator won the New Hampshire primary after finishing a close second in Iowa and he is in no mood to squander his momentum in Nevada and South Carolina — two states that are more diverse than the first two.
Sanders was perhaps more boosted by the fact that Bloomberg, located at the other end of the ideological spectrum, was present on the stage as that gave him even more ammunition to push for his own electability as an alternative to Trump.
Sanders' campaign is feeling ecstatic over the fact that he has moved up the ladder in two big states of California and Texas that will go to polls on March 3.
Biden was less visible
It was not really his fault but Bloomberg and the attacks on him hogged the limelight at the debate but former vice president Joe Biden would rue the chance that he did not speak as much as he would have wanted to.
The former Delaware senator spoke only for 13.23 minutes in the debate, a second more than the last place-holder Bloomberg. After the drubbing he received in Iowa and NH, one thought he would have spoken more.
Warren, who also did less than satisfactorily in Iowa and NH, spoke the most (16.35 minutes) and was in an aggressive mode. However, Biden was more about reacting to Bloomberg and other more prominent speakers of the debate.
Buttigieg under pressure
Having won Iowa and finishing second in NH, Buttigieg is the surprise package of this election year but the race might get tough for him from here on. The 38-year-old is polling poorly in Nevada and things are not looking bright for him in South Carolina either.
The shows in Iowa and NH haven't really ignited his run and mobility of supporters and as he predicted in the debate on Wednesday, the presence of Sanders and Bloomberg could have a "polarizing" effect on the race which would hurt a centrist candidate like him.
Buttigieg was more about hitting and running his rivals in Las Vegas, like his verbal duel with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar showed. But overall, Buttigieg wasn’t as impressive and could face a big challenge in three days' time.
Division deepens over healthcare
Healthcare remains a crucial issue to debate for the Democrats and it was no exception in Nevada wither. Talks on healthcare serve as a mobilizer for the candidates and in the past, Warren and former candidate Kamala Harris saw their respective support base crumble because of their inability to address it effectively.
Healthcare now has become more of an issue that is causing ideological divide. While the left camp wants the "Medicare for All" plan to be implemented, the centrists are not convinced as they believe that it would jeopardize the common people’s private plans.
It is reaching a situation where no candidate can afford to ignore the healthcare debate and still win the presidency.