Sharp Clinton, Sanders exchanges in 4th Dem primary debate

Underscoring Clinton’s vulnerability on the topic, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley jumped in to point out her “cozy relationship with Wall Street”.

Hours before the debate in Charleston, South Carolina, Mr Sanders unveiled a plan for healthcare for all American citizens.

Their sharpest exchange was over how to crack down on Wall Street.

In a statement responding to Sanders’s plan, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon noted that Sunday’s plan differs from past single-payer bills the Vermont senator has introduced in Congress. Fallon also knocked Sanders for introducing the plan so close to the start of the debate, after also announcing his support for repealing immunity for gun manufacturers on Saturday. The former secretary of state and US senator from NY has hammered Sanders for past votes to support immunity from lawsuits for gun manufacturers and criticized his call for a national single-payer health-care system. “What would you say to them?”

Indeed at one point when he was asked to comment on former President Bill Clinton’s personal indiscretions, Sanders replied to increasing applause, “That question annoys me”. Asked why Sanders’ message is resonating as it is with young people – numerous types of voters who powered Obama’s rise – Clinton didn’t have a great response.

Meanwhile, millennials in particular don’t seem to care that Clinton could become the first woman president in American history, as other countries continue to elect women to their highest offices-marriage equality supporter Tsai Ing-wen was just elected the first female president of Taiwan.

“You’ve received over $600,000 in speaking fees from Goldman Sachs in one year”, he said.

“We finally have a path to universal health care. We have already seen 19 million Americans get insurance”.

“If you consider a Medicare premium (a) tax”, then yes, those would be increased, Sanders said.

“Nobody is tearing this up”, he said.

The debate comes at a time of rising tensions between the front-runner Hillary Clinton and second-place candidate Sen. In 2008, Obama defeated her in the race for the Democratic nomination.

He noted that when his presidential campaign began, Clinton was 50 percentage points ahead of him in the polls.

Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, has pulled into a statistical tie with Clinton in recent polls in Iowa, which holds the first contest on February 1 in the race to pick a nominee for the November election.

Sanders cautioned that he had concerns about the legislation, which in a Republican-controlled Congress faces an uphill battle, and said he would propose an amendment that would require the secretary of Commerce to monitor the impact of the measure on “non-negligent” small gun-shop dealers in rural communities.

But she said Sanders’ record showed a more lenient attitude toward the demands of the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby. As The Advocate pointed out in a piece before President Obama’s State of the Union address, “Each day about 30 people in the United States die due to gun violence, and LGBT people are not exempt”.

Sanders defended himself, saying he has a strong record on trying to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands and standing up against the powerful NRA.