What Went Down At The CNN Democratic Debate

Clinton faces a conundrum. On the one hand, she’s pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class. Instead, she’ll raise taxes on the wealthy — who she has tentatively defined as households earning $250,000 or more. So lifting the payroll tax cap to better finance the Social Security trust fund, which is currently set at around $118,000, might put her in position of defending tax increases on those who are arguably in the middle class.

One of the things that the Democrats — Clinton, Sanders and their supporters — have to start thinking about is what this contest will mean. Looking at the delegate math, it’s likely that Clinton will be the nominee, but Sanders will have a strong claim to having made an impact on the race and the party. I’m not sure that the tone of the debate is connected to anything substantive. The candidates share some views and have not infrequently been on the same side of policy issues, but there are some significant differences. Thing is, we’ve had plenty of time to air them. The candidates differ on their foreign policy records and approaches. Clinton is connected to the establishment, the Obama administration, and the banks. Yup, we’ve got it. Still, these are real differences, and Sanders might represent a real shift in the direction of the party. The Democrats have moved left since Bill Clinton left office, and inequality issues have moved to the fore. In some ways, I think Sanders is playing the same role that Ronald Reagan played in 1976 for the Republicans, signaling a movement that would eventually become the party mainstream. But are the Dems headed for a crack-up? I would be surprised. (Of course, I’ve been kinda surprised by what’s happened with the Republicans.) Oddly, thinking back to what I’ve written about party splintering, the fact that there are real policy differences between the candidates is a good sign. Parties can contend with different factions, provided there’s some common ground. The Republicans are dealing with different candidates who claim to carry the true vision of conservatism — and one insurgent who’s challenged them all. The Sanders candidacy has been unexpected, but it’s premature to expect that it’s a signal of party weakness.

Julia, here’s a question that is way too big to adequately answer in a live blog, but I’ll ask it anyway: With this debate getting pretty testy at times, and Sanders’s continued strength, are there reasons to think the Democratic Party could have structural problems down the line akin to the crack-up the GOP is currently undergoing?