Chris Cillizza: Winners and losers from the 1st 2020 Democratic debate

[brooklynite]

WINNERS

* Julián Castro: The former San Antonio mayor had been running below the radar -- WAY below the radar -- until Wednesday night. That is likely to change after his performance, in which he was able to carve out a remarkable amount of speaking time for a candidate polling somewhere between 0% and 1%. (An hour into the debate, Castro had spoken as much as Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who is in the midteens in national polling, according to a count kept by The Washington Post. Hugely helpful!) Castro's battering of Beto O'Rourke on immigration was hard to watch (especially if you were related to O'Rourke), but a clear win for Castro.

* Elizabeth Warren: Yes, she got more questions than anyone else. And, yes, she didn't directly answer all of them. But Warren -- especially in the early parts of the debate, when the most people were watching -- was the straw that stirs the drink in the debate. (She did disappear somewhat in the second hour.) The debate began on home turf for her -- talking about economic inequality. And Warren's hand-raising when all of the candidates were asked whether they supported abolishing private insurance (only Bill de Blasio joined her) was a strong message to liberals watching that she was proud of who she was and what she believed. Warren came into the debate with the momentum in the race. Nothing she did on Wednesday night will stop that momentum.

* Cory Booker: The senator from New Jersey won't be the big star coming out of Wednesday's debate -- my guess is that Castro will be that person -- but he found a way to inject himself into most of the conversations during the night -- even those where he wasn't directly asked. Booker had the most talking time of any of the 10 candidates; talking the most isn't always a sign of victory, but when you are someone like Booker who is just trying to get his name out there, it's a pretty good measure. One caveat: For all of that talking, is there a memorable line from Booker coming out of this debate? I don't think so.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/politics/who-won-democratic-debate/index.html

[True Dough]

1. Wow! Cillizza put Beto on the "loser" list twice!

OUCH!

[Tipperary]

5. Beto did look pretty lame up there.

Reminded me of a nerdish guy my sister used to date in high school, uncomfortable at having to wear a suit.

[JoeOtterbein]

2. Chris Cillizza? Hahahahahahahah!

Great one to judge? I don't think so!

[OnDoutside]

3. Cillizza wants Trump to win, is always a good premise to start with.

[JI7]

4. Chris Cillizza is an Incel Douchebag

[JI7]

6. as if this Trump Supporting INCEL loser gives a shit about policy

[dalton99a]

9. Specifically, Ivanka Trump

[PETRUS]

7. Quick question -

I was unable to watch the debates. The article above states "Warren's hand-raising when all of the candidates were asked whether they supported abolishing private insurance (only Bill de Blasio joined her) was a strong message..."

So Warren is in favor of abolishing private insurance? Am I reading that right? Was it a healthcare question?

[tishaLA]

11. Yes, she said she was in favor of eliminating it

and it was the first question of the night IIRC

[PETRUS]

12. Thank you!

[Trumpocalypse]

8. Chris Cillizza is a joke nt

[comradebillyboy]

10. Is there a bigger loser than the vacuous Cilizza?