US Democrats spar on gun control

Senator Bernie Sanders, hours before taking the stage Sunday to debate Democratic presidential nomination favorite Hillary Clinton, unveiled his universal health care plan which would raise taxes on Americans across the board.

Bernie Sanders was asked at the Democratic debate in SC whether he regrets having said that Bill Clinton’s past sexual indiscretions were “deplorable”.

Sanders, meanwhile, has questioned Clinton’s liberal credentials, casting the former secretary of state as a Wall Street ally who will switch her position for political gain.

The fighting wasn’t just over politics, but over policy, too, as Clinton and Sanders exchanged barbs over gun control and their competing health care plans – two issues that have emerged as central to the race in recent days.

He referred to his rising poll numbers in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, where he has pulled even or ahead of Clinton, saying he believed he could expand his number of supporters to include more African-American voters. It was the last Democratic matchup before voting in the 2016 race begins in two weeks, with both sides intent on seizing the momentum. It is one block from the historic church where nine black worshipers were killed by a white gunman in June. He also said he supported immunity then in part to protect small shops in his home state of Vermont.

Clinton also faulted Sanders’ past votes to deregulate financial markets and ease up on federal oversight. Have I said a word?

Sanders enjoyed the attention, and Clinton’s campaign appeared glad that someone was finally asking Sanders these questions in a high-profile format.

Last week was probably the greatest week of the entire campaign for Bernie Sanders, who now is within striking distance there, with Clinton (and her allies) starting to visibly feel the heat of his insurgent run. “We’re going to go forward”, Sanders said.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, who lags badly in polls, was often a bystander although he joined Sanders in criticizing Clinton’s Wall Street ties.

Throughout the debate, Mrs Clinton presented herself as a pragmatic alternative to the idealistic Sanders, trying to undermine the policies of the 74-year-old senator and show herself as a more electable contender.

She blasted Sanders” so called “single payer plan’ and accused him of making things up as he went along. It’s because we have a campaign finance system that is corrupt, we have Super PACs, we have the pharmaceutical industry pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into campaign contributions and lobbying… He countered that he had a D-minus rating from the NRA, despite hailing from a state that does not embrace gun control. “I helped write it, but we are going to move on top of that to a Medicare for all system”.

In some respects, the debate crystallized one of the main differences between Sanders and Clinton: passion versus practicality.

During the debate, the three remaining Democratic candidates traded jabs on issues like healthcare, with Clinton claiming that Sanders would essentially dismantle President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.