Round two of the Democrat debate is kicking off Tuesday night with ten Democrat candidates on the stage, but the first night’s lineup comes with a prominent sense of irony as all candidates on the debate stage are white.
CNN split the 20 qualified candidates during a live draw on Anderson Cooper 360 this month. It separated longtime frontrunner Joe Biden (D) from his two fiercest competitors: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). However, it also resulted in the first debate featuring all-white candidates, despite the Democrat Party’s insistence that it is the party of diversity. Those taking the stage are:
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
- Pete Buttigieg (D)
- Beto O’Rourke (D)
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- John Hickenlooper (D)
- Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)
- John Delaney (D)
- Marianne Williamson (D)
- Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT)
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— CNN (@CNN) July 30, 2019
Even NBC News referred to the phenomenon as “an awkward twist of fate.” According to NBC, Democrat strategists wonder if the sea of white candidates will be able to address the race-based issues that have dominated the news cycle over the past few weeks.
NBC reported:
A random draw by CNN, the debate’s host, put them out front — without including a single one of the five contenders of color, all of whom will participate on the second night of the debate on Wednesday, along with Joe Biden, the front-runner in the polls.
So, the 10 white men and women on Tuesday will be the first of the candidates to answer the president’s put-downs and try to refute his assertion that he has the best programs for black and brown Americans. And they’ll have to do so at a time when they are still trying to define their own narratives.
“The challenge to all the candidates, regardless of their background, but particularly those who are white, is that they are able to convey that they can heal the country in a way that is true to who they are, that doesn’t feel like they are pandering and that sets forth some sort of substantive vision,” said Lynda Tran, a Democratic strategist. “I do feel like the field that we have currently has folks who could absolutely do that, regardless of their heritage.”
This comes at a time of fierce infighting between progressive and moderate Democrats in both the House and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), specifically with the progressive flank urging the party to emphasize far-left ideas and “walk the walk” in terms of diversity.
Top DCCC officials quit in droves over the ultra-left’s self-imposed diversity quotas, resulting in what one lawmaker called a “Monday Night Massacre.”
As Breitbart News reported:
DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL) has been facing complaints from Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus members who have been unhappy with the lack of minority representation within the DCCC.
“There is not one person of color — black or brown, that I’m aware of — at any position of authority or decision making in the DCCC,” Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) said. “It is shocking, it is shocking, and something needs to be done about it.”
Bustos flew back to Washington D.C. to hold an emergency meeting to address the internal strife within the organization. Tensions boiled over, and DCCC executive director Allison Jaslow quit during the meeting.
Her move created a domino effect with a slew of other employees leaving the organization.
The debate is expected to last two hours and airs on CNN at 8 p.m. ET.
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