Democratic Party debate: Sanders’ passion vs. Clinton’s pragmatism

Sanders got a couple of the biggest cheers Sunday night, but for most of the evening the crowd seemed to be on Clinton’s side. You had Bernie Sanders reciting poll numbers – nearly Trumpian – to argue for his electability, and you have Hillary Clinton going at Sanders on guns, which has been a point of friction in this race for some time, with real zeal.

In South Carolina, the first state where the black vote will dominate the Democratic primary, Sanders was pressed on his lack of support among minority voters. “(Sanders) have focused only on the big banks”, Clinton said.

On a weekend tour in South Carolina, Sanders attended Congressman Jim Clyburn’s World Famous Fish Fry, went to church and held a lengthy live-streamed roundtable on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

During Sunday night’s Democratic presidential debate, the former Secretary of State was asked about what her husband’s role might be in advising her in office. “He voted to let guns go on Amtrak, for guns to go into National Parks”, she said.

Clinton responded by again depicting herself as Obama’s defender.

“You called Bill Clinton’s past transgressions ‘totally, totally, totally disgraceful and unacceptable, ‘” she said.

Clinton has assailed Sanders for peddling a federally administered national single-payer system that would prove too costly, and on Sunday she launched new criticism, saying Sanders’ plan would shred President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which has provided 19 million new people with health insurance.

Clinton’s response – that “hedge-fund billionaires” are running ads against her and that “I’m the one they don’t want to be up against” – probably failed to convince many listeners that she is more antagonistic toward Wall Street than Sanders, who frequently rails about all the executives who need to be sent to prison.

In 2015, accused shooter Dylann Roof was able to buy a gun after the waiting period had lapsed – the result of a clerical error when the Federal Bureau of Investigation sought records from the wrong local law enforcement agency about Roof.

Clinton got 10 percent and longshot Martin O’Malley garnered 3 percent.

Sanders, who has drawn almost even with Clinton in Iowa according to polls, sent shockwaves just two hours before the debate when he unveiled his “Medicare for All” proposal, which he said would save average American families thousands of dollars per year. “Secretary Clinton well knows, when this campaign began, she was 50 points ahead of me”. Sanders said he backed the 2005 law in part because of provisions that require child safety locks on guns and ban armor-piercing ammunition. The Everest of the 2016 Presidential debates so far remains the 24 million viewers who tuned in to Fox News Channel for the first GOP debate last August.

At a campaign event in New Hampshire on Saturday, Donald Trump described former Sen.

“On the other hand, the fact that we’ve managed to reach an agreement, something that I’ve very strongly supported that prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and we did that without going to war”, he said.

Moderator Lester Holt asked about concerns over Sanders’ electability, especially with minorities.

“As we celebrate his life it is terribly important to me that we don’t just look at him as a museum figure, somebody in the past”, the Vermont senator said. Clinton contrasted Sanders’ 2005 vote with his recent change in position to make a subtle case of political flip-flopping.

Hit on the issues Electability was a key theme, and Clinton came out swinging against Sanders on gun control, healthcare and Wall Street.