US Democratic presidential candidates clashed over who has been strongest on gun control at a debate on Saturday where a dispute over a campaign data breach intensified the battle between front-runner Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
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One thing the three candidates agreed on was their opposition to Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate who is leading in most polls.
The country will rise to the challenge of the IS extremists, but only if Americans never surrender their values “to the fascist pleas of billionaires with big mouths”.
While the allegations that Sanders’ campaign improperly exploited a breach in the Democratic National Committee voter database kicked off the third Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire, it wasn’t the issue the defined it. Candidates spent most of the night engaged in an extensive conversation about foreign policy and national security.
“I worry that Secretary Clinton is too much into regime change”, Sanders said.
“We’ve already had a talk about what it means to caucus”, said Bernie Sanders supporter, Katy Themm.
Wasserman Schultz said she personally informed Sanders of “his own campaign’s breach”, adding that he was “very troubled” by the issue.
Donald Trump’s proposed ban on allowing Muslim immigrants to travel to the USA is being used by ISIL to recruit more “radical jihadists”, according to Hilary Clinton.
“He is becoming ISIL’s best recruiter”, Clinton claimed.
Sanders apologized to Clinton over the data breach incident, but questioned whether the former secretary of state’s campaign may have accessed similar information.
The self-described democratic socialist also reminded viewers of Clinton’s 2002 vote when she was a NY senator authorizing president George W. Bush’s use of military force in Iraq. “No, Hillary Clinton, we are not “where we need to be” in fight against ISIS”.
When pressed by the moderators, he says yes, he does apologize to Clinton for his staffers’ actions and says if any more are found to have been involved, they will be fired.
But with security taking center stage at the debate, Clinton benefits from the four years she spent as U.S. secretary of state (2009-2013).
In the debate’s final minutes, Clinton sneaked in a reference to the movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, the latest installment of the sci-fi series that opened Friday nationwide.
“They would repeal the Affordable Care Act, not improve it”, she said. But Sanders trotted out a series of issues where he stands to Clinton’s left. That calculation may well be at the heart of Clinton’s strategy: she wants to make the case that she’s tough on foreign policy before the general election, and doesn’t mind coming off a little hawkish during the primary to get there.
In the previous debates, Sanders hammered Clinton for her close to ties to campaign donors from Wall Street banks and wealthy hedge fund investors. “I’m not quite the fan of regime change that I believe she is”.
“If the United States does not lead, there is not another leader”, she said.
In response, Clinton said, “I very much appreciate that comment, Bernie”. They ain’t going to like me and Wall Street is going to like me even less.
Sanders has trailed Clinton in almost every national poll by more than 20 percent. Now, he’s saying to fight ISIS there has to be an global coalition – including Russian Federation – and that “troops on the ground should not be American troops, they should be Muslim troops” and to bring in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The DNC maintains the database and charges campaigns for access.
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“To tell Saudi Arabia that instead of going to war in Yemen, they, one of the wealthiest countries on earth are going to have to go to war with ISIL”, Sanders said.
