Democrats Don’t Want You to Watch Them Debate

Legal Insurrection
"It’s all about protecting Hillary."

"If you’re one of the political junkies who will be watching this Saturday, Noah Weiland of Politico offers some background on what to watch for:

Everything you need to know about the next Democratic debate

What’s Hillary Clinton’s challenge in this debate?
Clinton is more vulnerable to forces outside her own party than those inside right now. At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire this week, she lashed out at what she sees as Donald Trump’s vandalism of conservative and American politics. That doesn’t mean Sanders and O’Malley haven’t been criticizing what they see as Clinton’s policy weaknesses. O’Malley recently called Clinton’s immigration politics “worn out,” and Sanders had to retract negative ads from his campaign website that portrayed Clinton as a Wall Street shill.

Can Bernie Sanders make a dent in Clinton’s massive lead?
Recent polling suggests that Sanders’ candidacy should still be taken seriously; In a December Des Moines Register poll, Clinton is only 9 points ahead of him, and the strong New Hampshire polling puts him in a nice position with the audience on Saturday. National polling still spells doom for the Vermont senator, alas: only a few December polls have Sanders within even 20 points of Clinton.

What about Martin O’Malley?
While trying to distinguish himself recently as the candidate most supportive of refugees and dismissive of his rivals, 

O’Malley is barely registering in the polling. Only 7 percent of Maryland Democrats—O’Malley’s home state and the one he served as governor—are supporting his bid for president. His uphill climb is steep.

"The debate will air at 8 PM ET on ABC."