Democratic Debate: Clinton and Sanders Duke it Out
- Mar 7, 2016
- 6 min read
Senator Bernie Sanders and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a clash of personalities in the Democratic debate last night. The debate took place in Flint, Michigan, a city ravaged by a water crisis and possibly corrupt politicians.
Flint Water Crisis
Sanders and Clinton called for the resignation of Governor Rick Snyder, who has been put through the wire with questioning on how he handled the water crisis.
Sanders felt that Snyder knew about that crisis a long time ago and that there are no excuses for what has transpired.
“There are no excuses. The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned. Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead. Gov. Snyder should resign,” he said in a statement.
"Because of the conduct by Gov. Snyder’s administration and his refusal to take responsibility, families will suffer from lead poisoning for the rest of their lives. Children in Flint will be plagued with brain damage and other health problems. The people of Flint deserve more than an apology."
Clinton also described the situation as being "unconscionable." She has also called for Michigan to pay for water bought from Detroit to be delivered to Flint residents until the water becomes safe to drink again. Clinton also sent Amanda Renteria, who is her national political director, and Mike Schmidt, a policy adviser, to Flint this week where they will meet with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver about the water crisis.
Clinton also called for Gov. Snyder to resign and elaborated on what she would do to combat the crisis.
"I agree the governor should resign or be recalled, and we should support the efforts of citizens attempting to achieve that," Clinton said to loud applause during the CNN Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Michigan. "But that is not enough. We have to focus on what must be done to help the people of Flint."
"I support 100 percent the efforts by your senators and members of Congress to get the money from the federal government in order to begin the work that must occur to fix the infrastructure," she added. "The state should also be sending money immediately to help this city."
Clinton also discussed a plan of attack with campaign spokesman Brian Fallon who asked, "If the governor stepped down tomorrow, would that make a difference in the everyday lives of the people who can't take showers and can't brush their teeth?"
"What Hillary Clinton is doing is trying to figure out a way to make a difference," he added. "So Sen. Sanders put out a very nice press release calling for Gov. Snyder to step down. Hillary Clinton's not going around defending Gov. Snyder. She thinks he's falling down on the job too. But what she's caring about is what can make a difference to people."
Although Flint was the main basis of the discussion, Senator Sanders also wanted to talk about some of the other issues that are similar to Flint's taking place across the country.
"All over this country, middle-class families are struggling, and cities and towns are struggling in order to provide basic services," Sanders said.
"Among many other things, we need to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, our water systems, our wastewater plants, our roads and our bridges. The wealthiest country in the history of the world has to get their priorities right and take care of the people. No more tax breaks for billionaires."
Clinton also said that she wants to remove lead from water, paint and soil in America and commit to it within the next five years.
However, David Murray, a Snyder spokesman, said that the governor didn't realize that there was a blood lead issue until October 1. He also contends that Sanders' ideas will not help to solve the water issue currently.
"The best thing for the people of Flint is that every effort is focused on solving this emergency, getting the aid needed to help the residents, and ensuring that clean drinkable water is restored to the city," he said in a statement. "Political statements, and finger pointing from political candidates not involved in finding solutions for Flint, only serve to distract from solving this crisis."
On School Systems
Bernie Sanders goes after Hillary Clinton about giving paid speeches to big banks. Jim Young/Reuters
The debate started to turn to addressing the country's school systems, but it mainly had to do with Detroit public schools. One member from the audience said that she is suing not for money, but for real change to address issues like crumbling school buildings and teachers who lack certification. The former Secretary of State addressed the question by her defense of teachers.
"Teachers do so much good, they are often working under the most difficult circumstances, so anything that could be changed, I want them to look at it," Clinton said.
Sanders brought up a major question that has driven his campaign up until this point, in response to the audience member that asked the question.
"How is it starting at college that hundreds of thousands of bright young people are unable to go to college because they can't afford it?" he asked.
Race Issues
Clinton and Senator Sanders were asked many questions about their view on racial injustices in America. Flint is a city made up of approximately 60% black residents and CNN's Don Lemon had a major question for former Secretary of State Clinton.
Lemon highlighted Clinton's support of a 1994 crime bill which placed behind bars "a generation of black men." Then, he asked her "Why should black people trust you to get it right this time?"
Clinton cautiously proceeded to mention her support of the bill, said Sanders backed the bill also, then explained her current views that "mass incarceration" must end. Lemon would not allow her to back away from the question and then Clinton responded.
"Senator Sanders supported it as well. Are you going to ask him the same question?" she asked.
"I just said that," she said when asked if backing that bill was a mistake, she defended her support of the bill because of the provisions that created the Violence Against Women Act, then she said that "other aspects of it were a mistake."
Sanders said that he believed racial and discriminatory issues were different for white and black people. His answer was a questionable one and was met with a mixed reaction.
"When you're white you don't know what it's like to be living in the ghetto, you don't know what it's like to be poor, you don't know what it's like to be hassled when you walk down the street or to get dragged out of a car," he said.
Clinton assesses that despite her mixed results on racial issues, she will go forward and try to address them to the best of her abilities.
"I cannot pretend to have the experience that you have had and others have had but I will do everything that I possibly can to not only do the best to understand and to empathize but to tear down the barriers of systemic racism," Clinton said during Sunday's debate.
She also apologized for using the word "super-predators" when describing the high rates of crime and violence during in 1996 during her husband's presidency.
"I think it was a poor choice of words. I had never used it before, I haven't used it since, I would not use it again," she said said about using that word.
Sanders has had a long history of working with the black community on these issues and he harkened back to the days of his activism during the Civil Rights movement where he was arrested for protesting in Chicago.
"Most candidates running for president usually don’t put this on their resume, but a year later I was arrested by Chicago police for trying to desegregate the Chicago school system," he said during Sunday's debate.
Further Review
Under further review of this debate, many could say that it is a tie. Both candidates brought up good points. However, Senator Sanders delivered a huge blow when he talked about the role of God in his everyday life.
He cited the Golden Rule: "doing unto others as you would have done unto you. "I believe morally and ethically, we do not have a right to turn our backs on children in Flint or veterans who are sleep on the street ... We are in this together."
Sanders was also asked about his reluctance to publicly claim his Jewish heritage. He responded by saying he was "very proud" to be Jewish." Then Sanders also explained how his parents took him around Brookyln and he would see workers who had been tattooed during the Holocaust and placed into concentration camps. This affected Senator Sanders' worldview.
This view to aid the people who are less fortunate has been striking through Senator Sanders' campaign and last night, he showed the empathy and courage to win over voters who are more representative of the "common man".
For more, follow @KyleAndrews1994 on Twitter and @TheDemoTape
Comments