Amy Klobuchar turns in her best debate - 5 things to know
Sen. Amy Klobuchar came into Thursday night’s third Democratic debate polling in the single digits, with the stage in Houston presenting her best, and perhaps even last shot, at showing some much-needed signs of positive momentum.
While the impact of the debate won’t be clear for a few days, the initial signs are promising for the DFLer. She had a clear stand-out moment, and drew a few positive reviews, including from one very unexpected source, even if she will never be the preferred candidate of local progressive activists.
Here are five things to know about her performance:
1. She zinged Bernie Sanders on Medicare for All
Nearly every post-debate writeup highlighted Klobuchar's exchange with Sen. Bernie Sanders on Medicare for All. When Sanders repeated one of his best lines from the last debate “I wrote the damn bill,” he unwittingly walked into a trap, and Klobuchar was ready to pounce. “While Bernie wrote the bill, I read the bill,” she said, drawing a reaction from the crowd. “And on page eight... it says that we will no longer have private insurance as we know it… I don’t think that’s a bold idea. I think it’s a bad idea.”
2. Klobuchar got good reviews
Washington Post opinion writer Jennifer Rubin was the most glowing, saying Klobuchar had "her best moments of the campaign in her opening remarks” while also noting that “she made a smart case that as someone from the midwest she can talk to the heartland in a different way.”
Such effusive praise is not necessarily surprising from a centrist columnist who has already taken warmly to Klobuchar’s campaign. But the compliments also came from some unexpected quarters.
There were several moments Thursday night when Klobuchar seemed more impassioned than in previous debates, as if she sensed she needed to show a different side of herself, beyond the “polite and pragmatic” persona she had established so far.
This was most evident in her deeply personal closing remarks. She began with the story of her father's struggle with DWIs and alcoholism, and then went on to describe giving birth to her daughter. She said the hospital she used had a rule whereby mothers had to be sent home within 24 hours, and that they applied it in her case even though there were serious complications with the birth — her daughter was born sick and unable to swallow.
"She was in intensive care, and I was kicked out. And I thought, this could never happen to any other mom again,” she said.
The story stuck a chord on Twitter, particularly with women who related to her ordeal.
Another moment that raised a few eyebrows occurred just after the debate. When Klobuchar was asked what she thought of how Julian Castro had criticized Biden's memory, her reply was blunt.
As Democratic party activists have been increasingly focused on criminal justice reform, Klobuchar and Kamala Harris have come under scrutiny for their experience as "tough on crime" prosecutors, with both derisively labeled as "cops" by more progressive types on Twitter.
Thursday's debate took place at a Texas Southern University, an Historically Black University and ABC News correspondent Linsey Davis addressed the issue head on with both candidates.
Klobuchar noted that her position on how prosecutors should deal with police shootings had shifted.
"When I was there, the way we handled these police shootings, I actually took a stand to make sure outside investigators handled them. I took on our major police chief in Minneapolis. But in the prosecutor's office, they were handled with a grand jury. That's how they were all handled across our state. I now believe it is better for accountability if the prosecutor handles them and makes those decisions herself," she said.
That answer that was never going to satisfy criminal justice reform minded progressives who have been critical of her campaign from the start.
