In the first Democratic presidential debate since Bernie Sanders’ sweeping victory in New Hampshire’s primary, the Vermont senator sought to build upon success and introduce himself to voters who may be open to an alternative to Iowa victor Hillary Clinton. And he noted that Clinton was the only one on the stage who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential race.
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The race now moves to what should be more favorable ground for Clinton in Nevada and SC, states with more black and Hispanic voters, who, polls show, have been more supportive of Clinton so far.
Sanders has focused his campaign nearly exclusively on a call to break up big Wall Street banks and overhaul the current campaign finance system that he says gives wealthy Americans undue influence.
“Let’s not insult the intelligence of the American people”, said Sanders. And she accused Sanders of trying to shade the truth about what she said would be a 40 percent increase in the size of the federal government in order to implement his policies.
Los aspirantes a convertirse en el candidato del Partido Demócrata a la Casa Blanca, el senador Bernie Sanders y Hillary Clinton, se dan la mano tras un debate durante las primarias del partido en la Universidad de Wisconsin-Milw…
“I’m not asking people to support me because I’m a woman”, Clinton said. “I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves”. “I was not that candidate”. He said he was the candidate willing to take on drug companies, the insurance industry and medical equipment suppliers who might be opposed to an overhaul.
Both Clinton and Sanders also disagreed with raids authorized by Obama to arrest and deport some people from Central America who recently came to the country illegally.
Black voters will be critical in SC and in several Southern state that follow, including Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas. Sanders said the disproportionately high rate of incarceration for black men was “one of the great tragedies” in the United States.
“We should be deporting criminals, not hardworking immigrant families who do the very best they can”, Clinton said. “That is beyond unspeakable”.
Clinton criticised what she called “systemic racism” in education, housing and employment. “I’m going to do everything I can to address distressed communities, whether they are communities of color, whether they are white communities, whether they are in any part of our country”, she said.
Clinton dodged an opportunity to distance herself from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s recent controversial comments that there was “a special place in hell” for women who don’t support other women.
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On the foreign policy front, Sanders criticised Clinton for her warm relationship for Henry Kissinger, who served as secretary of state under Republican President Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War.
