Clinton, Sanders spar over taxes, health care

“Last night in the debate, Secretary Clinton, to try to mask her proximity to Wall Street, the huge amount of dollars and contributions she has received personally from the major banks of Wall Street, sadly invoked 9/11 to try to mask that”, he said.

Clinton struck a more somber note toward the beginning of her speech, saying the recent Paris attacks serve as a reminder that “America is not just electing a president”.

“It is painful time for the whole world in the aftermath to what happened in Paris”, Bill Clinton said on the terrorist attack.

Taxes have become the latest flashpoint in the race for the Democratic nomination, with Clinton charging that Sanders supports raising taxes to pay for his plans and the Vermont senator responding that the former secretary of state is not being realistic with her proposals.

Mr. Sanders, an avowed socialist, and Mr. O’Malley, who implemented a left-wing wish list as governor of one of the most liberal states in the country, denounced Mrs. Clinton for being beholden to Wall Street and offering weak reforms. But I like what you do. I like how you stand up. “But I don’t think so”. Helped by a strong autumn, Clinton has built a small lead in Iowa and is trying to stave off Sanders in the February 1 presidential caucuses.

When Clinton raised Wall Street donations along with 9/11, her Democratic rivals quickly pounced.

Clinton has endorsed raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour, a level below the $15 an hour that Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley have sought.

“I thought that moment, frankly, was pretty shameful”.

“On Medicare for all, the middle class would be far better off because it would save taxpayers money”, Michael Briggs, Sanders’ spokesman, said Tuesday. He called the exchanges over Wall Street the “pivotal moments of the debate”.

Republicans said Clinton had hidden shamefully behind the 9/11 attacks to deflect attention from her ties to her wealthiest donors. And they signaled that the response would likely find its way into advertising if Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee.

“It’s an intersection between stupid and offensive, and I think that’s going to be a big problem as the campaign heads into the general election”, said Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee’s chief strategist.

“It’s truly stupid, because if you look at the way things have worked, if you look at what Obama got in 2008 and what we then did, if you look at those of us who pushed through a bill over the greater objection of the financial industry, there’s no argument there”, said Frank, who was joined on a conference call set up by the Clinton campaign by Gary Gensler, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and now a Clinton campaign adviser.

“Of course we have to have a lot of vigilance and we have to vet people”, Clinton said.