closer-look-at-2020-dem-debates | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Taking A Closer Look At The Democratic Debates

Round 2 of the democratic debates was just as much of a circus as the last, here's a summary of what went down.

7
Taking A Closer Look At The Democratic Debates

On July 30 and 31, the second round of Democratic debates took place. Four candidates have dropped from the race since the last debates, still leaving us with a rather large group of 20. Both nights were a circus, featuring almost six hours of debates, personal attacks and the nearly constant refrain that, "We have to Beat Donald Trump."

I'll do my best to summarize the stand out issues, candidates, and moments in both nights of debating.

Night One:

Of all the opening statements delivered on the first night, Elizabeth Warren's is the most memorable. She declared that the problems we face could not be solved with "spinelessness" and that theme seemed to carry her throughout the night, especially when dealing with the small-time, moderate Democrats. Most of the night ended up focusing on health care, which leads to Senator Bernie Sanders' stand out moment. When Rep. John Delaney of Maryland stated that Sen. Sanders didn't know how the bill worked. Sanders responded with, "I do know, I wrote the damn bill."

Warren again, was one of the other stand out candidates, asking her opponents why they were running for President if all they wanted to do was talk about the things they couldn't change. Her health care bill was prominently discussed, as well as her bill to tax the upper class.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg stands out as well. He spoke passionately as a veteran on gun control and reminded his peers on stage that they were all going to be called "crazy socialists" no matter what they did, so they might as well do the right thing.

The surprise of the night was Marianne Williamson. She called out the American system for it's "collective hatred" regarding situations like the Flint water crisis. However, she didn't seem to offer any real plans when she was asked how she would prevent another crisis like that from happening again.

If there were any losers, it would be Rep. Tim Ryan, Rep. John Delaney, and Gov. Steve Bullock, all three of whom were absolutely stomped on by Senators Sanders and Warren. The others, among them Rep. Beto O'Rourke were simply there, and not particularly memorable.

Night Two:

This round of debates was slightly calmer than the first, although, in other ways, it wasn't. Former Vice President Joe Biden spent most of the night name dropping Obama, Sen. Booker called out Vice President Biden for only dropping his relationship to the former President when it was convenient. In fact, he took a lot of heat on the stage that night, from Rep. Harris as well, and Sen. Gillibrand. While CNN and crew claimed that the former Vice President had won the debate, it seemed that he could hardly string a sentence together at times.

The surprises of night two were Andrew Yang and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. The latter asked Rep. Harris about her dubious background as a California Prosecutor. Mr. Yang spent the first half of the debate being rather quiet and sheepish, as he had in the first round. While he may have had sparse speaking time, however, Yang's answers were always strong, especially his calling the debates a "reality tv show" and insisting that we be laser-focused on the issues at hand.

Former Secretary Castro also stood out that night, truly anchoring himself as a Presidential candidate.

But the most memorable moments of the night were certainly Yang's closing remarks and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's remarks to Rep. Harris.

Now, the candidates must qualify for the next round of debates, and eight of them already have. By August 28, the race will be narrowed down, and we will have slimmer pickings for the Democratic nominee.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

206
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

755
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

2072
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less
Christmas tree
Librarian Lavender

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is one of my personal favorite holidays because of the Christmas traditions my family upholds generation after generation. After talking to a few of my friends at college, I realized that a lot of them don't really have "Christmas traditions" in their family, and I want to help change that. Here's a list of Christmas traditions that my family does, and anyone can incorporate into their family as well!

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments