The Democratic National Committee announced on Wednesday the 2020 Democratic candidates who qualify to participate in the next round of debates.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1236292
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1236292
What do the asterisks denote? If you’re going to just copy and paste the list without even looking at what you copy, could you please either provide a link to where you got it, or the annotation that explains the *s?
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However, Montana Governor Steve Bullock made the cut this time around,
oh good. The one thing we needed was another white male “centrist” governor in the debates.
The asterisks denote those with at least a tiny chance vice those with absolutely zero chance.
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Can’t be:
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Shit, you got me, then. Maybe those folks just actually have asterisks in their names…
Or it’s a shout-out…
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There has to be some other explanation for Marianne Williamson getting an asterisk. Maybe it’s a Roger Maris situation?
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Maybe they’re juicing! It’s Barry Bonds all over again!!
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I’m pretty sure, based on what happened last time, that an asterisk means that the candidate met only one of the two possible criteria (contributions, or polling) for inclusion in the debate.
ETA: @sparrowhawk below suggests that I got it backward given that the major candidates have asterisks… and s/he 's right
Given all the leading candidates have the asterisk, I think it’s the inverse. It probably denotes the candidates who met both thresholds. Though it would be nice to have the answer in the article so we don’t have to speculate.
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Still too darned many.
Asterisk May represent first night vs second night?
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13 asterisks, so probably not.
Funding
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While @castor_troy is correct, I think the asterisks indicate they qualified by both polling data and number of individual contributors.
But then Yang and Williamson are asterisked, so…
ETA: Vox has a good explanation about qualifying requirements and how they are going to select who debates on which night, but doesn’t answer the asterisk question. https://www.vox.com/2019/7/15/20691651/democratic-debate-2019-cnn-detroit-candidates-rules
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A Democratic governor elected in Montana is exactly what we need to hear. His major issue is the role of money in politics, barely mentioned in the previous debates, and well worth hearing. I’d certainly rather hear an elected Democratic governor than Williamson and Yang.
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99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer.
If one of those bottles should happen to fall, 98 bottles of beer on the wall…
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In other words, Bullock will spend his 45 seconds of “closing statement” time talking about this issue.
And no one will care, because everyone agrees that there is too much money in politics and if asked will say they support doing something about Citizens United, even if it means a constitutional amendment.
And it will get absolutely no coverage, because at some point in the two nights, there is going to be a new “Harris confronts Biden” moment…
you must be drinking near beer, 'cause my version is “take one town, pass it around” which is MUCH easier to sing after a six pack…
Why the hell can’t these annoying folks go away. Why can’t the party just say “get 2% support or pound sand” the entire thing is sort of a joke at this point. Can’t wait for some of the joke candidates/ego maniacs to go back to their day jobs…
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Speaking as someone who agrees with you in principle, I suspect that there is some effort being made to appear “unrigged”, that the party bosses haven’t already chosen Joe Biden.
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PROGRAMS! Getchyer programs here! Can’t tell the players without a program!
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