What Went Down At The December Democratic Primary Debate

Oh dear. Sanders just tried to beg off answering a question about race, trying to address climate change instead. The moderator was not having it. That is not what he needed when he really needs to expand his coalition into communities of color.

Really sharp answer from Yang tying donating to campaigns to the idea that minorities don’t have enough disposable income to make such donations. Thing is, if we’re just talking debate qualification, Kamala Harris would’ve been on stage had she not dropped out. And if it only came down to donations, so would Cory Booker and Tulsi Gabbard. And that’s just among active or recently active candidates — Beto O’Rourke had enough donors, too!

It was kind of inevitable that Yang, as the only candidate of color, was going to get a question about diversity on the debate stage. He seemed prepared, and connected his answer to his universal basic income proposal in a way that didn’t seem cheesy. He said more people of color would be able to participate in the political system if they had an extra $1,000 a month.