Thread by @VABVOX

In writing about the debates today, I was in part focusing on how much candidates spoke.
Biden spoke most: 21.2 mins.--even longer than last time.
Warren was 17.9, Harris 17.7 and Bernie 17.6. Nearly an hour and a half of the overall time was spoken for by these frontrunners.
1/

The difference of 4mins more time from Biden is nearly a quarter of what the other top three contenders spoke, as they are all tied within a few seconds. It's especially significant for Harris, who was challenged repeatedly and got 4mins less time to rebut than Biden. Telling.
2/

On Tuesday, Warren and Sanders were basically a team. And their nearest polling rival, Buttigieg, is in agreement with them on many issues and for the most part wasn't fighting them. So his 14.4 mins was spent mostly on his own plans and history.
3/

Booker at 12.8 and Gillibrand at 11.6 were next and both used their time well. Klobuchar and Inslee were tied at 10.7 and more memorable than Bullock at 10.8.
Gabbard and Bennet were tied at 10.6. He was vague whilst she spent her time defending Biden & attacking Harris.
4/

Castro only spoke for 10.5 mins but used his time powerfully whilst Delaney spoke for 10.3 and it felt like that fly that won't stop buzzing you. Ryan and De Blasio tied at 9.8 and for most annoying candidate. Though Ryan got a laugh for "You don't have to yell, Bernie!"
5/

Williamson spoke for 8.9mins and while she is a highly problematic candidate for her views on mental illness and #disability, she was spot on about race, raised Flint and environmental racism and laid out the case for #reparations with the math on what it would cost and why.
6/

Hickenlooper spent 8.8mins reminding us that he doesn't belong on the stage and Yang used his 8.7 mins to remind us he's Ron Paul redux with a $1k check for you every month.

The moderators took up a lot of time and were all terrible. MSNBC was bad, this was far worse.
7/

Think about whether the candidates gave you what you wanted and if you know why they are running. Some do not belong there even if "anyone and my cat are better than Trump." That's not the bar. The bar is who will be a good progressive president. That narrows it to maybe 8.
8/

The field, one hopes, will narrow in September as the donor and polling bar is much higher to make the stage. Here are the people who should remain:
The most progressive: Warren, Sanders, Harris, Gillibrand.
The solid centrists: Biden, Buttigieg, Booker, Castro.
9/

The folks who push specific left issues, but who are there to do just that, nothing else: Inslee, Yang, Williamson.
The rest should go for a range of reasons from not their time (Klobuchar) to dangerous (Gabbard) to pointless excercises in white male entitlement (the rest).
10/