Bill Clinton’s Role Would Start At The Kitchen Table: Hillary Clinton

Democratic presidential candidates on Sunday meet for their last debate before voting begins next month as a polling surge by Bernie Sanders hands him a realistic chance to beat front-runner Hillary Clinton in the first two nominating states.

Clinton rapped Sanders, the Vermont senator, for voting repeatedly with the National Rifle Association, and then welcomed his weekend reversal of position to support legislation that would deny gun manufacturers legal immunity.

The debate over gun control took on a special importance given the event was just blocks from the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where nine parishioners were killed during Bible study last summer.

Hours before the debate, Sanders released a plan to raise income taxes across the board, substantially more on high earners, to pay for a a universal health care plan that includes an expansion of Medicare.

Sanders fired back with an ad criticizing Democrats who take money from Wall Street, an obvious dig at Clinton, and touting his plan to break up the big banks.

He painted Mrs Clinton as a defender of the status quo who accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees as a former secretary of state from Wall Street backers.

“I think that the equal time debates are actually a good idea and it’s a shame that as a nation we’ve kind of kicked those to the curb”, says O’Malley.

With Clinton nodded agreeably along, lending some serious optical unity, Sanders went on, “And I mean this seriously”.

Ms. Clinton worked aggressively to associate herself with President Obama, claiming credit for her role in the run-up to the Iran nuclear deal as well as praising the health care law.

Clinton’s case for tougher gun control also aimed to put her on the same side as Obama, who recently signed executive orders aimed at addressing a series of recent mass shootings. With polls showing Clinton on the ropes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders’ strong performance may have further imperiled Clinton’s once-inevitable path to her party’s presidential nomination.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was largely an afterthought only speaking for around half the time as Clinton and Sanders.

O’Malley was nowhere to be seen, but Clinton and Sanders worked hard to sharpen the differences between them, particularly on gun control and healthcare. He also leads Clinton in the next state to vote, New Hampshire on February 9, according to polls.

Sanders said he wanted to build on the Abeam law by making health insurance more affordable.

“He has voted with the NRA, with the gun lobby, numerous times”.

Clinton has assailed Sanders for peddling a government-run single-payer system that would be too expensive.

A University of MA at Amherst economist, Gerald Friedman, analyzed the plan and concluded it would save $6 trillion over the next 10 years compared to the current system, Sanders said.

In an interview with Time magazine on Sunday, Sanders said that his plan would ultimately save taxpayers money by lowering their health care bills.

Mr Sanders listed several moments when he and Mr Obama supported each other. Clinton said she would improve Barack Obama’s healthcare act – and not increase taxes on the middle class. O’Malley said he knows how to balance a budget and increase services.

Obama is a personal issue here in SC, where black voters dominate the Democratic primary process and the president is extremely popular.

The 2016 Democratic presidential candidates gathered for their first debate of 2016 Sunday night – and there were fireworks. “We have to go after them on a lot of their other bad behaviour in the region which is causing enormous problems in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and elsewhere”, she said.