Thread by @BBuchman_CNS

Good evening! We are just under a half hour away from tonight’s debate in Miami. Let's go over some bullet points!
My live-tweet thread begins here.

Tonight is the first of two rounds. Moderating this evening is NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt. During the first hour of tonight’s debates, he will be joined by Today Show host Savannah Guthrie and Jose Diaz Balart of Noticias Telemundo.

During the second hour, Holt will be joined by Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow. You can expect the same debate moderator format for tomorrow’s event.
Now to the rules for tonight.

Candidates will have 60 seconds to answer Qs + 30 seconds to respond. No one will make any opening statements tonight given the size of the field but each candidate will have a chance to give closing remarks.

Now to the contenders. On the floor tonight we have: @ewarren, @BetoORourke, @CoryBooker, @amyklobuchar, @JulianCastro, @JayInslee, Bill de Blasio @NYCmayor, @TimRyan, @JohnDelaney and @TulsiGabbard.

Quick stats: All of those on the stage met specific criteria to be here. They managed to get at least 65K donors for their campaigns and polled at least 1% over 3 surveys recognized by the DNC.

But how do they end up standing where they are tonight?
Their placement is reportedly based on how they’ve performed in the polls.

Let’s take a look at some quick hits on the campaigns of each candidate.
Elizabeth Warren, according to @FiveThirtyEight is the current favorability front-runner. She “has a plan” for just about everything.

Warren wants to break up out sized monopolies, including big tech like Amazon; she wants to cancel student loan debt up to $50k per borrower depending on income and has called for free public college. She wants to raise taxes on the “ultramillionaire” who has assets over $50M.

She calls for free child care for low-income fams & caps costs for other families at 7% of their income. Warren’s plan for the economy: invest $2T over 10 years for fed-backed sustainable research/industry that will help meet goals laid out in the Green New Deal.

On that note – Warren has also called for the creation of the National Institutes of Clean Energy that would fast track fed $ for American renewable tech while also promoting U.S. goods abroad. Corporate tax increases would pay for these initiatives.

Part of that plan also features min wage of $15 for contractors + 12 wks paid parental leave. This week she also unveiled an election security plan that doubles as a vehicle to expand voter access.

It demands that every voting machine be updated/modernized & proposes uniform standards for all elections, incl. automatic/same day registration/early voting etc. It would also make Election Day a fed holiday & she’s proposed restoring voting rights to the formerly incarcerated.

Then there’s gerrymandering – she’s called for a redo of congressional districts and would bar states from removing voters from the rolls. Fed govt is also called on to foot the bill for state election administration costs in her plan. It's price tag is $20B over 10Y.

Now to Beto O’Rourke. He nearly beat Republican Ted Cruz in the 2018 Texas Senate race. And while he had high favorability for awhile, his poll numbers sagged in recent months. This past week, his numbers dipped among liberals in Texas.

Recent background on that from my colleague, @eidelagarza here: courthousenews.com/debates-could-…). But his campaign is strong among those who are seeking a polar opposite of Trump on immigration policy.

Beto supports NAFTA, he wants to expand DACA from kids to parents and wants to revamp the immigration system by building out current immigration court and case mgmt systems, particularly for asylum seekers. He’s proposed $5B in aid to Northern Triangle

(Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras) and Central America to ease immigration impact on U.S. This proposal would not be fed. funded, rather paid through NGOs.

On climate, Beto’s campaign features a $5T investment over 10Y in sustainable industry and renewables, with a goal to cut greenhouse gases by 50% in 2030 + net-zero emissions by 2050. “Structural changes” to the U.S. tax code are how he plans to pay for it.

Unlike the Green New Deal, he has not made any provisions for a federal job guarantee.

Now to Cory Booker.

Booker is a former mayor of Newark NJ and a sitting US senator who has pushed for more progressive-leaning issues and speaks out strongly and frequently against the Trump admin. He also pushed hard against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.

He has pushed for a national gun licensing program and more stringent background checks; he’s backed @BernieSanders Medicare-for-All plan and backs the Green New Deal.

He’s pushed for lgsltn decriminalizing marijuana on a fed level and he’s introduced a bill that would create “baby bonds” for low income kids and w/ an eye on the disenfranchisement of the poor & working poor. He’s proposed bills that end overdraft fees + ensuring stock buybacks.

Bookers history of support for the DeVos school choice plan has earned him criticism from fellow Dems and while he’s had Wall Street donors in the past, when the Dems began condemning corporate PAC donor, he gave it up.

On climate, Booker, who sits on a senate environment committee, has pushed against environmental rollbacks from the Trump admin and has a perfect record with the League of Conservation Voters; he’s a vegan, supports carbon pricing and opposed the Keystone XL pipeline.

While he supports the Green New Deal, he has been somewhat quiet about specifics of his own plans to tackle climate.

And now to Amy Klobuchar.

Klobuchar, a former prosecutor, is a three-term Senator and the 1st female senator in her home state of Minnesota. Largely moderate and making few waves among her party, her middle-of-the-road approach to politics has helped her pass a dozen pieces of legislation under Trump.

She’s stayed out of the fray on the Medicare-for-All issue. She hasn’t yet agreed to back it but instead calls for universal health care, with a public option for fed-backed plans and wants to lower drug prices.

She’s also proposed investing $100B to combat addiction and bolster recovery. Instead of free tuition she’s called for student loan refinancing and she’s proposed reforming – not abolishing – ICE.

On guns, she’s for stricter rules and background checks and she’s led the charge on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act; on taxes, she’s advocated closing loopholes that allow U.S. businesses to mitigate tax liability by shipping jobs abroad.

Klobuchar has also been vocal about changing how social media handles advertiser transparency (Honest Ads Act). She’s been mum on increasing the minimum wage to $15.

On climate, she supports carbon pricing, has been tepid on the Green New Deal and dubbed it more “aspirational” than practical. She does not oppose fracking, rather, the industry should be better regulated in her opinion.

She has supported “clean coal” as a part of an “all-options” plan to handle impact from climate but she has voted to expand research into carbon capture.

Julian Castro is the frr mayor of San Antonio, TX and previously served as Secy of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama. He’s had name recognition issues outside of Washington, and his took heat historically from progressives for his relationship to Wall St.

His signature issue is pre-K for all, with a sliding scale for low income fams. Castro has pushed for more affordable college too, expanding Pell Grant caps, creating student loan forgiveness etc. He wants to invest in education infrastructure to the tune of $150B.

On immigration, Castro was among the first candidates on the stage to release a proposal; he’s called for lowering illegal entry offenses from a misdemeanor to a civil offense and he’s advocating for a reform to immigration agencies and courts.

He wants to avoid long term incarceration and wants to incentivize states with $ to get away from the process. A housing expert, Castro went in-depth on a proposal for affordable housing ahead of the debates.

He wants to lower rent, reduce homelessness and strengthen civil protections to end housing discrimination. He’s also for Medicare-for-All.
On climate, Castro wants to rejoin Paris and wants to pour funding into sustainable research but he’s not anti-fossil fuel.

And its unclear if he is for/against carbon cap and trade. He does however have a plan to reduce lead contamination in water.

To our next contender: Jay Inslee.

Jay Inslee, the Washington state governor, is probably best known for his fierce advocacy of all things climate so we’ll start there. He wants to end reliance on fossil fuels gradually + phase out fracking.

He wants to implement the Green New Deal by investing $9T over 10Y in overhauling U.S. infrastructure. He wants to rejoin Paris and in his home state, he’s made into a law a bill that pulls WA off coal and carbon sources by 2045.

On immigration, he’s called for immediate stoppage to Trump’s bans + the wall. He wants to reinstate DACA and wants more refugees to be admitted through asylum. Like some of his counterparts, he too has called for an uptick in aid to the Northern Triangle.

He’s also supported universal health care and expanded ACA in his state.

Now to Bill de Blasio, current mayor of New York. He has had a mixed reception in his run, indicative of the mixed reception he has received as mayor.

But as mayor, he expanded paid sick leave and helped established universal pre-K. He takes credit for lower crime in NY and expanded affordable housing. He’s advocated for higher taxes on the uber wealthy but he hasn’t had much traction on that end as wage disparity continues.

On climate, he’s yet to introduce a detailed plan for his presidential run but he’s approved a Green New Deal for NYC which set caps on emissions in the city, with a goal of decreasing by 40% by 2030. NYC’s largest buildings must be retrofitted, better insulated and made greener,

This came under legislation known as the Climate Mobilization Act. The plan has an ambitious goal of cutting emissions by 80% by 2050.

Now to Tim Ryan.

Tim Ryan is the House Rep for Ohio and on his website and in several interviews touts his ability to appeal to Trump voters because he’s in touch with “blue collar” concerns. The closure of GM plant spurred him to run.

He was once against abortion but said he changed his mind and hoped new voters would appreciate that he “evaluated new information” and did so by listening to women who had abortions. He was once a friend of the NRA, (A rating), but he broke ranks after Sandy Hook.

He began calling for more rigorous background checks and even donated $20K he received from NRA to gun control groups. He’s against free-trade for the most part and cites the impact it has on his home state often. He supports Medicare-for-all and criminal justice reform.

On climate, he wants to rejoin Paris, he supports renewables but he’s been cool on support of the Green New Deal. He’s more reform-minded but has pushed back against Trump enviro regs and wants to electric car industry revitalized economically depressed areas.

Rounding out tonight we have John Delaney and Tulsi Gabbard.
John Delaney, formerly a health industry finance executive now worth $280 million, is against Medicare for All. The onetime MD congressman was heartily booed for expressing this at a speech he delivered in California.

He’s for free trade, has no apparent desire to decrease spending on the U.S. military.

On climate, he wants to install a “cap and dividend program” meaning that for every ton of carbon emitted, there would be a $15 fee that would steadily increase by $10 per year until emissions in the U..S. dropped by 90 percent.

His climate plan calls for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and he wants to invest $5B in direct air capture. He’s supported corps programs to get young people involved in tackling climate as well. His climate plan has a $375B pricetag.

And to Tulsi Gabbard. An Iraq war vet and House Rep for Hawaii she is often – these days – polarizing. She once courted progressive and leftist Dems at a significant clip but her foreign policy positions have stirred up controversy.

She advocated for Syria’s leader Bashar al Assad, her record on terrorism is self defined as hawkish and she sided with Republicans when they demanded Obama refer to Islam as “radical” when addressing the faith.

Her father’s own history with opposing LGBT rights and condemning homosexuality bled into her life; she once worked with her father’s org. which used conversion therapy. But since her ’12 campaign for the House, she switched to supporting same-sex marriage as well as abortion.

Gabbard supports universal health care, a $15 min wage and the Green New Deal.

The debate will be getting underway soon.

And away we go. Lester Holt introduces the debate with hot button issues at the fore: immigration, detention centers. He also notes that not every candidate will be able to comment on every topic. But everyone will get a chance to speak

We start with Liz Warren; her many plans (As discussed earlier in this thread) - what does she say to criticism that the changes she poses could be risky to economy?
Warren: Who is the economy really working for? It's doing great for thinner and thinner slices at the top.

It's not great for those who are watching climate change bear down on them. Its not great for those who cant afford Rxs.
There must be "structural change" in the government, economy and country.

Klobuchar - she's said she would do something like free college if she was a "genie".
Does she believe ppl are being a given a false sense of whats possible?

Klobuchar says there are so many who are able to afford college but....
what she is concerned about is "paying for it for rich kids."

Beto, who switched to Spanish before translating: Right now we have a system that can pay for access and outcomes rigged for the very wealthiest. A new democracy that is revived because power is returned to people. Calls for no PACs, automatic voter registration.

But would he support 70% individual tax rate to pay for programs?
"I would support one that is fair to all. Tax capital at the same rate you tax income, take the rate up to 28 percent to pay for the programs." Finishes just before the buzzer

Cory Booker on the economy - says indicators from GDP and Wall St rankings arent helping people in low income communities. But does he think its right to name names and single out offending companies like Warren has?

Booker says he'll single out companies who pay nothing in taxes like Amazon and Halliburton To antitrust law, he calls for a DOJ that would go thru necessary processes to "check corporate concentration."

Warren says courage in Washington has been missing to take on the corrupt monopolies. They've been making campaign contributions, funding super PACs, making sure influence is heard and felt all through D.C.

"I want to return government to the people and that means calling out the names of the monopolists and saying I have the courage to go after them" - Warren

Q to Castro about how he is going to close the pay gap
Castro says lets pass the #EqualRightsAmendment and pursue legislation so that there is equal pay for equal work.

If we want to be the most prosperous nation in the 21st century, we must make sure women are paid what they deserve. - Castro

Bill de Blasio on addressing income inequality: he says he's secured $15 min wage and paid sick days for working people in NY. (Wage disparity however is still an issue there, as-is affordable housing."

We are supposed to break up big corporations when not serving our democracy. de Blasio pulling a slogan out that many might be familiar with: there's plenty of money, it's just in the wrong hands.

Delaney now up. Says he wants people to have a living wage by doubling the earned income tax credit. He's also calling on reform of the education system. Says he's different from everyone else on stage. He's an "entrepreneur."

Inslee now up. On wage disparity, says its wrong that executives at corporations like McDonalds are making 100s of times more than the people "slinging hash" in the same restaurant.

Tim Ryan on manufacturing jobs coming back to Ohio. Moderator asks if he can make the same promise Trump did - that he will revitalize the auto industry, bring jobs back.
He says he can.

GM got a bailout and then moved new car production to Mexico. Saying he want to dominate electric vehicle production, the solar industry and manufacture in the U.S.

Warren says if giant corporations can save a nickel by moving jobs internationally, they'll do it. For industrial policy she says start where there's a real need. Like worldwide development of clean green tech.

Warren says its time to go "ten fold on green energy going forward" Then we can say any corporation can come and make use of that work but they have to be manufactured in America.

"Then it must be sold around the world. There's a $23T market coming for green products. We should be the leader and owners of that. We could have 1.2M manufacturing jobs."

On Medicare-for-all, Warren says she is with Bernie on this. Its a basic human right for all to have health care.

Klobuchar didn't answer the question about whether she would really support Medicare for All but goes hard against pharma. "Trump gave $100B to giveaways to pharma companies. This was after he promised people's heads would spin when Rx prices dropped.

"That's what we call "all foam and no beer" - Klobuchar

Beto now talking Medicare for All - wants to get to guaranteed high quality universal healthcare, the ability to afford Rx; to go to a mental health care provider. In Tx, he says, the largest provider of mental heath care is the prison system.

Says women should have the right to determine their own repro health.
Beto says he would not replace private insurance however when Holt asks directly.
De Blasio jumps in and says Beto has to acknowledge private insurance isnt working

Beto says if a person wants to keep it, they can.
Delaney agrees with Beto, says we should keep what's working, get rid of what isn't. "Healthcare should be a basic human right but ppl should also have the option to buy private health insurance."

Gabbard says Medicare-for-All is the only solution to ensure that everyone has access to HC. If you look at other nations with universal HC, every one has some role of private ins "Take the best of these ideas and make sure unequivocally no sick American goes w/o care they need."

Booker says he's game for Medicare-for-All but says its a gradual process. Promises immediate action if he becomes POTUS. Want to provide more affordable cost and access immediately. Comes down on insurance companies

Warren says the industry sucked $23B in profits.

Inslee says he's the only candidate whose protected women's rights to repro right coverage in health insurance.
Crosstalk among all and Klobuchar says "There are 3 women up here who have worked pretty hard to protect a woman's right to choose."

All on stage support women's right to abortion. Julian Castro says he doesnt just believe in repro freedom but repro justice. That doesn't just mean protection for women but someone in the #transgender community, he adds.

A person's right to choose is under assault in places like MO, GA, AL. I would appoint judges who understand the precedent of Roe v Wade and would respect it - Castro

Warren says she would make sure all women have access to full range of repro services, incl. abortion and BC. "It includes everything for a woman. It's not enough for us to expect the courts to protect us."

"Roe v. Wade was decided 47 years ago and we've all looked to the courts to protect it. State after state has undermined Roe and come right up to the edge, we now have an America where most ppl support it, we need to make it a federal law." - Liz Warren

On the opioid crisis, would candidates hold big pharma responsible?
Booker says he would hold them to it, which is why he's denied $ from big pharma this cycle.

We are on a commercial break.

We're back and we're starting right with undocumented children being held in detention.
Fathers and mothers and children are dying while trying to enter the US and ask for asylum.
Last moth, 130K migrants apprehended at southern border.

To Castro - what would he specifically do?
In April, he was the 1st candidate to put fwd comprehensive immigration plan.

On Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Valeria, who drowned:

"The images were heartbreaking and frankly, they should piss us all off. If I was POTUS, I would sign an EO to get rid of the metering policy, which is what prompted the risky swim across the river."

"Oscar and Valeria went to a port of entry, they were denied, so they got frustrated and they went elsewhere and they died." Castro says
Also wants to go back to the way we used to treat asylum, we don't criminalize desperation. we treat it as a civil violation.

In his first 100 days, he would honor asylum claims, put undoc immigrants who haven't committed serious crimes on a pathway to citizenship. We need a plan for N. Triangle, so ppl can find safety at home instead of coming to US to seek it.

Booker says it doesnt just go on at borders, it happens when ICE "rips children away from parents in cities all over the U.S." Also calls for rollback of Trump bans and policies on immigration.

de Blasio says to Americans who feel the American dream isn't working for them because of immigrants - its not them. it's not immigrants, he says, to much applause. It's big corporations, it is the 1%.

Beto is asked what he would do on day 1 in the WH.
"We would not turn back Valeria and Oscar, we would not build walls or put kids in cages.. We would spare no expense to criminalize those who have been separated already."

Castro: Let's be clear, they're separating children from families by criminalizing the act of trying to cross.
Castro says ORourke has not called for the repeal of a section which criminalizes it instead of making it a civil offense.

Beto says he would not detain any family fleeing violence, wants to implement a family case mgmt program so they can be cared for at a fraction of the cost and rewrite the immigration laws, make Dreamers citizens, invest in Central America to curb flow

Beto didnt want to repeal sec 1325 because he was concerned over drug and human trafficking but Castro says existing statutes already prevent this.
If Beto did his homework on this, he would be wiling to repeal it, Castro adds

Klobuchar is asked if she would decriminalize crossing hte border. Klobuchar says immigrants don't diminish America, they improve America. She would be willing to look at Castro's proposal. But says what we need to talk about is the economic imperative.

Fortune 500 companies are led by ppl from other countries, 25% of Nobel laureates are from other countries. we need their ideas, she says. This POTUS has "literally gone backwards at a time when our economy needs immigrants."

Tim Ryan agrees with Castro, says there are already established laws to prevent human trafficking/drugs.
"If you go to Gitmo, there are terrorists who get better healthcare than those kids who tried to cross border in the U.S."

POTUS should immediately ask drs and nurses to go the border and take care of these kids, Ryan says.

"What kind of country are we running here when we have a POTUS so focused on hate, fear and division, now we have kid laying in own snot in 3 week diaper that haven't been changed. That's not a sign of strength, that is a sign of weakness." - Ryan

Booker says we have criminalized too much in this country + there's a way to solve problems. By making investments in N. Triangle, using our resources, to provide healthcare and affirm values and human dignity of ppl who come here.

Booker: "We can't sacrifice our values. We can have both by doing this the right way. "

Inslee says Trump tried to threaten him with sending refugees to his state.
"That's not a threat at all" Inslee says, he welcomes diversity.

"There's no reason for sep of children, they should be released pending hearings and they should have a hearing and the law should be followed. Says US should do what Washington state does which "prevents mini ICE agencies popping up."

Booker says he would go back into Iran deal. Says Trump has pulled us further into crisis with Iran. We need to renegotiate with them. But he won't have a platform now that unilaterally explains how we go back into the deal. If there's a way to leverage a better one, he would.

Klobuchar says she would negotiate back into Iran deal. Says it was imperfect but it was a good deal for that moment. She wanted longer sunset periods. But the pt is, she said, Trump said when US got out, we'd have a better deal.

Now we're a month away from Iranians saying they will blow caps on enriching uranium. He made us less safe than we were when he became president.

Klobuchar slams trump saying US shouldnt conduct foreign policy in its bathrobe in the middle of the night. Says Trump has brought U.S. to the brink of war "every ten seconds"

Gabbard says we need to renegotiate with Iran, because if we go to war, it will be a multinational war and lengthy.
If there was an attack against US troops, there would have to be a response she says.

But says, Trump, Pompeo and his "chickenhawks" are creating a situation that would light the spark that would start a war with Iran and it must end.
Trump has to "swallow his pride" and put American people first.

We're changing moderators. Holt will also appear in the second hour, with Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow

Are you having fun yet?

And we're back. One more hour left in debates tonight.

Guns, climate will be discussed at the top of this hour.

Starting with Warren - tonight's debate is less than 50 miles from Parkland. Many are calling for a ban on assault weapons, but even if implemented, Chuck Todd asks: is there a role for fed govt to play in order to get guns off the streets.

There's a mic issue. Control room has failed to turn off their own mics of previous moderators. On a break for a moment.

We're back.

What do we do about all the guns already out there even after a ban?
Warren says she's taken more than 2k unfiltered questions, over 100 town halls, single hardest were Qs from kids. When you're president, how are you going to keep us safe?

7 children will die today due to gun violence. It's a national health emergency and we need to treat it as such. So we can do the sensible things, universal background checks, ban "the weapons of war" +double down on research to find out where it really works.

But specifically, Todd asks.
She says we have to treat it like a serious research project that we haven't done before.

Booker has a buyback program in his plan. How will it work? Todd asks.
Booker' answer: says he hears gunshots in his own neighborhood and for millions of Americans this isn't a policy issue but an urgency issue.
I'm tired of people offering thoughts and prayers, he says.

"We've let corporate gun lobby frame this debate. We need bold action and a bold agenda. This isn't about policy this is personal. "- Booker

Maddow asks what we can do to stop school shootings.
Castro says in Jan 2020, we'll have a Dem House, Senate and White House. The activists who have risen up and inspired so many people, we may not have seen yet legislative action but we're getting closer, he says.

Tim Ryan says the schools need emotional support/learning/PTSD help for kids to feel connected to their school. mental health counselors in all schools. we need to play offense he says. if kids are so traumatized, we need to reform around trauma-based care.

Todd says what do you say to ppl who say, hey, you're jut going to take my guns away.
Beto says he went thru this in Texas. They talked about univ. background checks, "weapons of war" belong on battlefields, red flag laws need to be expanded. He saw a lot of support.

This effort must be led by young people, Beto says.

Maddow switching to judicial picks.
Mitch McConnell said his greatest achievement was filling a SCOTUS seat. Asks if Republicans would confirm Booker's nominees?

Booker says: we will get to 50 votes in Senate whoever is our nominee, this is a team sport. we need to campaign, this is about getting us back there and more so we can not only balance the SCOTUS but pass an agenda that most of america agrees with

de Blasio is back to guns, and says he is the only one on the stage who has experienced raising a black son in America, relates this to his push for better gun regs

Now Warren will answer about plan to deal with McConnell if he isn't beat in the Senate. It's plausible she'll be elected with a Republican senate. Do you have a plan? Todd asks.
Warren: "I do."

"No. 1, let's get a Dem majority in Senate but short of that, you better understand, the fight still goes on. It starts in the WH and it means everyone we energize in 2020 stays on the front lines come Jan. 2021. "- Warren

"We have to push from outside, leadership from inside and make this congress reflect the will of the ppl." - Warren

Delaney relies on bipartisanship as the answer to solving conflicts w/McConnell. Says like with HC, we can have universal but not get rid of private insurance. On guns, he says if we become the party of getting things done with real solutions, not impossible promises" goals met.

Inslee now up for climate. Let' get specific, Maddow says. After all, we're in Miami, parts of Miami and Keys could be underwater in our lifetime.
Inslee: First step: taking filibuster power away from McConnell.

Our towns are burning, our fields are flooding, Miami will be inundated, he says.
This is a climate crisis. "We are the last chance administration to do something about it. We need to do what we've done in my state, like the 100 percent clean electrical grid bill passed in WA."

Beto on climate: people who are front lines need to be mobilized. $5T over 10 year investment, putting farmers and ranchers in the drivers seat, focus on carbon capture, paying farmers for enviro services they want to provide.

Castro notes how he went to PR first at the start of his campaign run.
He's got a track record of getting things done. They shifted coal fired plants in San Antonio to renewables. They created 800 jobs, he adds.

The first thing I would do is sign an executive order recommitting the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accord. - Castro

We're onto pricing carbon. Todd says its politically impossible to figure out a way to pay for it.
Tim Ryan backs up and says we can talk about climate/guns, issues we all care about but we haeve a perception problem with the Dem party, we're not connecting to working class ppl.

"We've lost all connection. We have got to change the center of gravity in the Dem party from being coastal and elitist and Ivy league, to somebody from the forgotten communities that have been left behind for the last 30 yrs.

"We need to get those workers on our side to build solar panels etc.
If you want to beat McConnell and Graham, you have to have a blue collar party that can relate to those in the heartland, he sasys.

"White, black, brown, gay, straight, working class people, have to have their connection restored to the Dem Party. " Tim Ryan says

Todd asks why LGBT community should trust Gabbard after her flip flop on gay marriage
"No one in govt should tell anyone who to love or how to marry."
Notes she now serves on the Equality Caucus and voted for the Equailty Act.

The views she held when she was very young are not the ones she holds today.
She knows LGBT soldiers would give their life for her and she for them and she emphasizes need to preserve civil rights for all.

Booker says civil rights is a place to begin but its not enough. We don't talk enough about trans Americans and black trans Americans. We don't talk about the 30 percent of LGBT kids who are afraid to go to school because they'll be targeted.
He co-sponsored the Equality Act.

Klobuchar says in her first 100 days in WH, she'll work to make sure everyone can vote, and we'll go the second step to address criminal justice reform.

How to mobilize Latino voters -
Castro says we have to begin by being honest when recognizing racial injustice.
Says he's the only candidate who has put forward plans to reform policing system in U.S.

Crowd Q posed to ORourke - does US have a responsibility to get involved when genocide is being committed elsewhere in the world. Beto says yes, preventing the genocide like what we saw in Rwanada, the type we want to stop going forward, is our responsibility.

But now, POTUS has diminished our standing in the world and less able to confront challenges, whether Iran, Russia etc.

de Blasio says its also about management of the war powers act. References the PTSD his own relatives have experienced. in a humanitarian crisis, US should intervene but we can't let the military run without congressional approval. We forgot the lessons from Vietnam he says.

Maddow notes Taliban killing of 2 Americans today; admin has said its over with ISIS, Tim Ryan now answering.
He's sat on Armed Srvcs committees, the lessons he's learned: you have to stay engaged no one like it, its long and tedious,

But we must have State engaged, military engaged to extent they need to be but the reality is, POTUS doesn't even have ppl appointed in state to deal with these things.

Why? Because they flare-ups distract us from the real problems in the country. If we're get $130M drones shot down because POTUS is distracted, we could be reinvesting that in Flint and elsewhere, Ryan says.

Gabbard says Ryan's answer is unacceptable. We have to bring home troops from Afghanistan. We should be putting that money back at home. We're no better off today than we were when the war began, she said.

Ryan says we have to stay engaged or terrorism will only grow, says thats why Taliban flew planes into our buildings
Gabbard corrects him, the Taliban wasn't responsible for that. Al Qaeda.
Under the buzzer, Gabbard notes Saudi Arabia is a backer of AQ.

When asked what the greatest threat to America is, Inslee says Trump.

Beto says climate change. Booker says nuclear proliferation. Castro says China and climate change. Ryan, China without question and de Blasio says Russia because they're undermining our democracy.

With 15 mins left, we're getting into Mueller. Todd asks if House chooses not to impeach as POTUS, what would candidates to address potential crimes outlined in Mueller Report.
Beto says yes, talks about the painting of GW resigning commission to Continental congress

GW submitted to the rule of law and the will of the people. if we set another precedent now that a candidate who invited the participation of a foreign power, who sought to obstruct the investigation into the invasion of democracy...

if he is allowed to get away with complete impunity.... we cannot allow that to stand we must begin impeachment now to have facts and truth and follow a high as they go and high as they reach. - beto says

Maddow asks if Trump should be prosecuted after he is out. The first POTUS ever to face this.
Delaney says, there's always a first.
Delaney says Pelosi knows more about whether or not to impeach Trump better than anyone on the debate stage but calls Trump "lawless"

But Delaney says impeachment is not the no.1 issue people care about. They care about health care, infrastructure, what is happening in their communities.

Klobuchar says if we don't do something about the election security now, none of what anyone is talking about improving will be possible.

We are in the home stretch. 15 minutes left in tonight's debate.

Closing remarks. Delaney says "we are so much better than this."
We're a country that "used to do things."
He's a grandson of immigrants, son of an electrician.
This is not about me, this is about getting America working again.

de Blasio: We are fighting for the heart and soul of the Democratic party.
It matters to have candidate who gave ppl universal health care, $15 min wage, gave pre-K to those who were denied it, for free. He's done it in NY and wants to do the same for entire US.

Inslee says he wants to be able to look his grandkids in the eye and said he has done everything he could to stop climate crisis. He has made it a top priority. If you join me, we can have a unified nat'l mission, save ourselves, our children and grandchildren, life on planet.

Ryan: There's nothing worse than not being heard. They've tried to divide us, who is black/gay/straight/man/woman and they ran away with all the gold, he says. I'm ready to play offense. Says everyone will be heard.

Gabbard says nation was founded by ppl who wanted to create a govt that was of, for and by ppl, not run by kings, That's not what we have, it's of, by and for the rich and powerful. This must end.. Our WH will be a beacon of light, ushering in a new century.

Castro says he knows the promise of America. If elected, he will work hard every day to make sure families have good health care, children have good education and good job opportunities for cities and small and in Jan 2021, we'll say Adios to Donald Trump.

Klobuchar says she gets things done because she listens to people and acts. That's important to a president. She can win and beat Trump, she won in the reddest of districts, she can win in Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan. She's not the establishment party candidate, she says.

Booker says he's been able to get out of tough fights, knows Trump wants to fight on his turf and terms. Booker says he'll beat them by calling ppl to a common purpose. It's a referendum on getting rid of Trump, but also about who we are and what we are to each other.

O'Rourke says he's on the stage for his own kids and alll, incl. those sleeping on concrete floors now. If we're to be there for them, we can't return to same approach. We'll need a new kind of politics.

Warren will end it tonight.
She had a dream growing up, to be a public teacher. By the time she graduated, the $ wasn't there for college, but she got her chance and the govt helped create opportunities for her.

She's in this fight because she believes "we can make the govt and economy work not just for those at the top but for all.."
"I will fight for you as hard as I fight for my own family."

And that wraps up live-tweeting for the first round of debates. I'll be back again tomorrow night at 9PM ET. Thanks to all for joining me. My colleague @alexbpickett will have the final wrap-up in his story coming out soon.