Expect the rules to go out the window during the second round of Democratic debates

If you thought the first round of Democratic primary debates was chaotic, just wait for round two in Detroit this week.

The general lesson the candidates learned following June's debates was that it "pays to break the rules," The Washington Post reports. That means that it's fair to expect more interruptions, more candidates exceeding the speaking time limits, and more attempts to steal the show with a "controversy-stirring moment that cable news will play for days afterward."

The strategy, after all, paid off for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) after she went after former Vice President Joe Biden for his past civil record, vaulting her into the top tier of contenders.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Now candidates are reportedly focused mostly on how to interrupt their opponents, rather than how best to deliver their own lines.

"It was like a children's soccer game, 10 candidates swarming the ball," one of the candidate's senior advisers told the Post. "We have done a lot less practice of what your 60-second answer is and a lot more practice of live fire drills of how to interject into the debate."

But don't expect Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to employ that strategy, at least not with each other. The pair will headline Tuesday night's battle royale, but the old friends haven't changed their amicable dynamic since the campaign began and they've signaled that it's unlikely to shift in Detroit, either. Read more at The Washington Post.