Michigan’s Democratic Presidential Primary Debate Day 1
Last night 10 of 20 Democratic Presidential Primary Candidates took the stage at Fox Theatre in Downtown Detroit. By the way the Fox Theatre venue was an excellent choice to hold the debate, it looked beautiful.
CNN televised the event and chose two of their opinion/news personalities Dana Bash and Jake Tapper and one of their opinion personalities Don Lemon to serve as moderators for the event last night and the second debate tonight.
The format of the debate was as follows:
- Candidates will be given 60 seconds to respond to a moderator-directed question and 30 seconds for rebuttals.
- A candidate attacked by name by another candidate will be given 30 seconds to respond.
- Candidates who consistently interrupt will have his or her time reduced.
- Television viewers will see the questions posed by moderators at the bottom of the screen.
The following is the complete list of the candidates of the first of two debates and how much time each received to respond to questions:
- Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: 18:33
- Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: 17:45
- Democratic South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg: 14:07
- Democratic Montana Gov. Steve Bullock: 10:59
- Former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke: 10:58
- Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar: 10:49
- Former Democratic Maryland Rep. John Delaney: 10:31
- Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan: 9:47
- Author Marianne Williamson: 8:52
- Former Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper: 8:49
The Detroit News reported on what they called some of the notable interactions of the night:
Elizabeth Warren: Real courage and a backbone are necessary to beat President Donald Trump, presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren emphasized.
Bernie Sanders: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders condemned the country's "dysfunctional" health care system and defended a plan he authored that some challengers attacked as bad policy.
Marianne Williamson: Best-selling author Marianne Williamson said the problems in the United States run much deeper than all the issues debated Tuesday, and that some of her competitors were part of the problem.
Beto O'Rourke “Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke said he would support reparations for African-Americans if elected.
Tim Ryan: Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan emphasized economic issues as he occasionally tangled with progressive Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in the first of two Detroit debates.
Steve Bullock: Reaching the American people and working to improve life for ordinary citizens could be the path for Democrats to reclaim areas Donald Trump won in 2016, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock argued.
John Delaney: Former Maryland Congressman John Delaney received a lot of air time as he sparred with U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren about the future of the party.
Amy Klobuchar: Amy Klobuchar said she has a better chance of winning the presidency with her proposal for a public health plan option than with her U.S. Senate colleague Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All plan.
John Hickenlooper: Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper emphasized his moderate stances on health care to immigration in fiery exchanges with left-leaning Democratic presidential front runners.
Senator Warren and others on the stage and in the Democratic Party believe that the United States should decriminalize the illegal entry of crossing our borders. In fact Senator Warren was asked by Dana Bash:
Just to clarify, would you decriminalize illegal border crossings?
Senator Warren replied:
Yes
First of all what does decriminalizing illegal border crossing mean? If it is no longer illegal to cross our borders in any manner possible then does that mean you would no longer deport anyone for doing so?
If you would no longer deport anyone for crossing our borders "illegally" that essentially means you are for open borders, does it not?
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