Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battled over healthcare and Wall Street in a debate on Thursday, with Clinton accusing Sanders of misleading Americans on his healthcare plan and making promises “that can not be kept”. I’m asking people to support me because I think I’m the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be the president and the commander in chief…I was very proud to get the endorsement of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund because I’ve been a leader on these issues.
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But I want to go further.
The “spin room” was working even before the debate started – as Hillary Clinton’s supporters tried to calm the waters for their candidate after a lopsided loss in New Hampshire this week, during the first-in-the-nation primary.
Demonstrators infiltrated the Student Union at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday in support of increased minimum wage and immigrant justice before the Democratic presidential debate in Milwaukee.
Asked whether he worries about “thwarting history”, should he defeat a woman running for the presidency, Sanders said he thought he would be breaking barriers himself.
The PBS debate with moderators Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff was one of most substantive of all the showdowns among both parties.
It was the sixth debate between Clinton and Sanders and comes as the Vermont Senator won the New Hampshire primary bolstered by a wave of support among young people and millennials.
Their manner generally was carefully courteous to one another – after all, the debate was hosted by PBS – but their words often were caustic, and they became more heated as the debate wore on.
Immigration is expected to play a big role as both candidates campaign for votes in Nevada, which has a sizable Latino population and holds its Democratic caucuses on February 20.
The former secretary of state, Sanders said, was “not my kind of guy”.
Another issue for Clinton could come in the form of a renewed focus on controversies from her time as secretary of state, and particularly the private email server she used while in office.
But also Thursday, The Washington Post revealed new details about a State Department investigation into Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.
Clinton had invoked his name in the previous debate as a voice she has listened to on foreign policy.
“We’re not going to dismantle anything”, Sanders shot back, explaining that middle-class families would pay $500 more in taxes while receiving 10 times that amount in the reduction of health care costs.
Clinton sought to dent Sanders by portraying his plans as unrealistic and said it was important for Americans to vet both of their programs.
President Bill Clinton heads to an early vote organizing event in Cincinnati. NPR spoke with young black voters in SC who said that “when they look into Clinton’s record, they don’t like all they’ve seen”. “We’re not going to dismantle anything”.
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“Count me in as somebody who will not be listening to Henry Kissinger”. “Why does Wall Street make huge political contributions?”
