Chuck Todd seems worried. The MSNBC host — who will be co-moderating Wednesday night's Democratic primary debate — spent most of an hour talking to surrogates from several of the campaigns. He vacillated on whether the proper strategy is for Democrats to “unload everything they have” now or, using a term he repeated often, “pull some punches” while debating?
It didn’t seem to occur to Todd that plotting strategy really isn’t the role of a journalist. Talking to Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV), a Biden backer, the Meet the Press moderator fretted, “Are you at all concerned, whether it's tonight or next couple of weeks, that this is going to to get super nasty? Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg, it is getting late early. Super Tuesday is a national primary. Do you think it's better for the party to get it out now or to pull some punches?”
Later while chatting with Minnesota State Senator Melisa Franzen (D), Todd repeated the same “pull some punches” language as he worried about what was “good or bad for the party”:
This race is going, is going to get probably a little heated and it is probably going to get heated quickly. There is going to be all this hand wringing. Is it good or bad for the party? Do you put all your dirty laundry out now? Or do you hope that Trump doesn't use it later type of thing? Is it healthier for the party to hash it all out with everybody's dirty laundry now or do you think some punches should be pulled?
Talking with Michael Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey, Todd echoed his top concern: “Do you think it’s better not attack each other and somehow hope that unity prevails on the Democratic side? And that this oppo doesn't stick in the fall?”
Yet again, he showed that the health and success of the Democratic Party is a top concern: “You said something yesterday, you said, “Oh my God. There's a mountain of oppo on Bernie Sanders.” Do you believe the primary campaign would better served for the eventual nominee if everybody unloaded everything they have on each other and you see who comes out?”
For more on Todd’s debate bias, see this MRC report.
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more:
MSNBC Live pre-debate coverage
02/19/2020
5:19 PM ET
(....)
5:20 PM ET
TODD: But it sounds like you're saying there's a mountain of oppo. Is that a threat to Sanders? Is that a threat to the party? What were you trying to imply with this?
(....)
5:38 PM ET
TODD: [To Rep. Dina Titus, Biden surrogate] Are you at all concerned, whether it's tonight or next couple of weeks, that this is going to to get super nasty? Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg, it is getting late early. Super Tuesday is a national primary. Do you think it's better for the party to get it out now or to pull some punches?
(....)
5:41 PM ET
TODD: Do you believe that it is imperative to prevent Bernie Sanders from winning the nomination or can Democrats win with Bernie Sanders at the top of the ticket?
(....)
5:50 PM ET
TODD [To Minnesota state senator Melisa Franzen, Klobuchar surrogate]: This race is going, is going to get probably a little heated and it is probably going to get heated quickly. There is going to be all this hand wringing. Is it good or bad for the party? Do you put all your dirty laundry out now? Or do you hope that Trump doesn't use it later type of thing? Is it healthier for the party to hash it all out with everybody's dirty laundry now or do you think some punches should be pulled?
