Clinton, Sanders spar over ‘progressive’ credentials in debate

Their race ever more contentious, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders tangled in their first one-on-one debate Thursday night over how to achieve liberal goals such as health care for all and a better education system.

Now, thanks to former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s withdrawal from the Democratic race for president, she’s alone on the debate stage with the upstart rival who came fractions of a percentage point from beating her earlier this week in the Iowa caucuses.

“If we’re going to get into labels, I don’t think it was “progressive” to vote against the Brady Bill five times”, she said, raising Sanders’ opposition to some gun laws popular with Democratic voters.

When the debate moved the foreign policy, Clinton sought to portray herself as more experienced and a trusted Obama adviser in the operation to kill Osama bin Laden.

Clinton, raising her voice, said Sanders is suggesting that she can be bought off by special interests.

Clinton narrowly beat Sanders in Iowa, but she trails him by about 20 points in New Hampshire in most polls. Clinton was unequivocal: “I have absolutely no concerns about it whatsoever”. That was after Clinton’s campaign manager referred to New Hampshire as Sanders’ “backyard”.

“In your definition as being a gate-keeper of progressivism, I know a lot of hard working in the Democratic party”, Clinton said. That issue continued to put Clinton on the defensive, including over $675,000 she received for three speeches to Goldman Sachs after resigning as secretary of State.

For weeks now, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination has been striving to prove she’s just as noble a progressive as her opponent, Bernie Sanders.

“Secretary Clinton does represent the establishment”, he said. “I’m not making promises that I can not keep”, she concludes.

He pointed to her vote as a senator to authorise the war in Iraq and the money her campaign receives from Wall Street as evidence.

And that they’re against putting American troops on the ground in Iraq or Syria.

Clinton bristled at that remark, calling it a “low blow” and firing back that she’s been “fighting the progressive fight” for years.

“Good ideas on paper are important, but you’ve got to be able to translate them into action”, she declared.

They, however, offered different stances on the death penalty, with Clinton saying she supports it in extreme circumstances, like acts of terror, and Sanders contending that the government should not partake in killing.

“Instead of arguing about definitions, let’s talk about what we should do (as president)”, Sanders said.

Clinton took credit Thursday for the role she played in arranging the nuclear agreement, which was implemented last month.

Split screens: I am on the record as wanting a channel – online would be fine – that runs a split screen the entire time when the candidates are talking.

Under an agreement announced Wednesday, there will also be a March debate in Flint, Michigan, where the city’s water contamination crisis has been attracting national attention, and two debates in April and May on dates still to be determined. On that terrain, Clinton starts from behind, as Vice President Joe Biden has said, and seems to be constantly playing catch-up.

An NBC, Wall Street Journal, Marist poll released hours before the debate gave Sanders 58 percent support among likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire and Clinton 38 percent.