WINNOWING THE FIELD: YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. With 7 Candidates Debating In South Carolina, The Stage Is, Umm, Getting Larger? “We’re at the point in the election cycle — after three states have voted — that the debate stage is supposed to shrink, not grow. But apparently the 2020 Democratic field didn’t get the memo. After six candidates debated in Nevada last week, seven have now qualified for this Tuesday’s showdown in South Carolina. The debate will reunite the six debaters from last week’s heated fracas and also welcome philanthropist Tom Steyer back to the stage.”

More than anything this is an indication that the party elders no longer have the muscle or clout to winnow the field in advance. The GOP has the same problem, but the result was Trump and a lot of #winning. We still don’t know what the same chaos will produce on the Democratic side.