Demerits for that headline's snideness, I suppose, but points for accuracy. And since we're being overtly snarky...
8:30pm may seem like late start for Dem debate, given field's mean age. But they're in NV, so forum kicks off just after early bird dinner.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 13, 2015Advertisement
In light of Democrats' obsession with identity politics and fetishization of 'diversity,' it's striking how aged and lily-white their 2016 field is, especially compared to those supposedly old, white Republicans. Allahpundit writes: "Martin O’Malley, easily the youngest of the five Democrats set to participate, is almost the same age as Chris Christie and Rand Paul and is at least eight years older than Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Bobby Jindal. Hillary is older than the entire GOP field save for Trump — and she’s younger than Bernie Sanders and Jim Webb, both of whom will be onstage." Rumored imminent entrant Joe Biden is also older than Clinton, but he isn't participating in tonight's festivities -- although CNN is ever hopeful:
In case of Biden break out podium number 6. Here it is folks. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/27B7ij3IEO
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 12, 2015The GOP's first presidential debate was held nearly two months ago, and the memorable opening round of questions featured unsparing challenges to each contender's viability in a general election. Will Democrats face a similarly pointed cross-examination tonight? The media loves to focus on Republicans' internal sniping, controversial comments, perceived flip-flops, and stances on hot-button wedge issues -- such as rape exceptions on abortion, and "do you believe in climate science"-type threshold challenges. Might these Democrats be forced to justify their support for, say, elective, taxpayer-funded, late-term abortion on demand? Will they be prodded to wade into the murky political waters of gender identity, or trans rights vis-a-vis public school restrooms? Are moderators prepared to press them to explain why they do, or do not, support importing British or Australian-style confiscatory gun bans, as President Obama has
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One suspects that Hillary's email scandal -- with fresh developments just today! -- will come up. Will any of her competitors pounce? Will Bernie Sanders finally summon the fortitude to directly challenge the woman whom he allegedly wants to defeat? Other likely flash points are Mrs. Clinton's series of nakedly political flip-flops and panders, Bernie Sanders' past support for lax gun laws, and several candidates'...strained relationships with the 'Black Lives Matter' movement. A few more questions to ponder: (1) Will Uncle Joe at least get a mention? His supporters debuted a new TV ad just yesterday, having pulled their controversial previous spot after it was deemed to be -- cough -- exploitive. (2) Raise your hand if you were aware that CNN moderator Anderson Cooper was once a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. Hmm. (3) Everyone in the field, aside from front-running Hillary, favors more debates, a point of contention that's turned nasty. On debate day, we have the DNC Vice Chair insisting that she was disinvited from tonight's forum for criticizing the party's rules, with DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz essentially calling her colleague a liar:
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Gabbard's Response? Debbie's lying, which "is not surprising." Ouch. And on that note, follow our tweets below and feel free to add your own reactions in the comments section. And if you're ever tempted to click over to the MLB playoffs, remember that SNL-host-to-be Donald Trump will be "covering" this two-hour extravaganza on social media. Away we go:
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