This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/jan/17/democratic-debate-clinton-sanders-omalley-south-carolina
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Democratic debate: Sanders and Clinton face off in South Carolina – live updates | Democratic debate: Sanders and Clinton face off in South Carolina – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.16am GMT | |
| 01:16 | |
| Tonight’s debate is at a stadium only a block away from the Mother Emanuel, the black church that was brutally attacked last June by a white supremacist. Nine people were killed after praying at a Bible studies class with the gunman, and the tragedy continues to reverberate through the community. | |
| Chief reporter Ed Pilkington sends a sketch from the church service earlier Sunday. | |
| That terrible event, so close in location to the debate venue, is unquestionably going to be raised tonight as the presidential contestants compete with each other to be seen to be tough on gun violence. | |
| We had a preview of that this morning, at a special Mother Emanuel Sunday service for Martin Luther King weekend. Bernie Sanders was among the packed congregation, giving a short speech in which he recalled attending King’s 1963 march on Washington. | |
| Hillary Clinton wasn’t there, but her place was taken by her newly-announced surrogate, the former US attorney general Eric Holder. “Those who are elected must be held accountable” on fighting gun violence, he said, “and those who will not stand with us must be held accountable”. | |
| Holder did not specify whom he was referring to, but you could be forgiven for assuming it was the white-haired senator for Vermont about five feet away – the senator whom Clinton has been bashing hard in recent days over his perceived weakness on gun reform. | |
| The most moving words at the service came from Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old black teenager shot dead by George Zimmerman in 2012. | |
| “If nothing in life breaks you down, then losing a child will bring you to your knees,” she said. “The pain never goes away.” | |
| 1.08am GMT | |
| 01:08 | |
| It’s the battle of the banners in Charleston, where DC bureau chief Dan Roberts is mingling with the partisans. | |
| 12.43am GMT | 12.43am GMT |
| 00:43 | 00:43 |
| Lauren Gambino | Lauren Gambino |
| If a debate falls on a Sunday and no one is around to watch it, do the candidates make a sound? | If a debate falls on a Sunday and no one is around to watch it, do the candidates make a sound? |
| That’s a question from my colleague Lauren Gambino, who reports on whether the organizers of the Democratic debate schedule actually want anybody to think about anyone besides a certain former secretary of state. | That’s a question from my colleague Lauren Gambino, who reports on whether the organizers of the Democratic debate schedule actually want anybody to think about anyone besides a certain former secretary of state. |
| I did my best to make sure, along with my staff and along with our debate partners, to come up with a schedule that we felt was going to allow for the – to maximize the opportunity for voters to see our candidates.” | I did my best to make sure, along with my staff and along with our debate partners, to come up with a schedule that we felt was going to allow for the – to maximize the opportunity for voters to see our candidates.” |
| So said Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), told CNN’s Reliable Sources on Sunday. | So said Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), told CNN’s Reliable Sources on Sunday. |
| Two presidential candidates politely disagree. | Two presidential candidates politely disagree. |
| We’ve never had such an undemocratic debate schedule as we have this year in the Democratic Party,” said candidate Martin O’Malley last week, during Fusion’s Black and Brown forum. | We’ve never had such an undemocratic debate schedule as we have this year in the Democratic Party,” said candidate Martin O’Malley last week, during Fusion’s Black and Brown forum. |
| That event was not an official debate and drew even more dismal viewership numbers than the three debates so far. O’Malley added: | That event was not an official debate and drew even more dismal viewership numbers than the three debates so far. O’Malley added: |
| And then to add insult to injury, they schedule these debates on Saturday nights when as few people will see them as possible.” | And then to add insult to injury, they schedule these debates on Saturday nights when as few people will see them as possible.” |
| Polling far behind the other Democratic candidates, the former governor of Maryland blamed his flagging campaign squarely on the DNC’s debate schedule. | Polling far behind the other Democratic candidates, the former governor of Maryland blamed his flagging campaign squarely on the DNC’s debate schedule. |
| That schedule has been the source of much internal, well, debate, with many accusing party leadership of deliberately creating a schedule that drives down viewership and tilts the nomination in favor of Clinton. | That schedule has been the source of much internal, well, debate, with many accusing party leadership of deliberately creating a schedule that drives down viewership and tilts the nomination in favor of Clinton. |
| If true – and the party’s chairwoman has repeatedly said it is not – the plan to protect Clinton has backfired. Tonight is the last Democratic debate before voting begins in Iowa and New Hampshire, where Sanders and Clinton are deadlocked. | If true – and the party’s chairwoman has repeatedly said it is not – the plan to protect Clinton has backfired. Tonight is the last Democratic debate before voting begins in Iowa and New Hampshire, where Sanders and Clinton are deadlocked. |
| What’s the fuss? Lauren takes a look at the schedule: | What’s the fuss? Lauren takes a look at the schedule: |
| There was the one a Tuesday in October, so long ago that you might have forgotten about it. There was the other one on a Saturday in November that competed with college football. And the one just days before Christmas – in the same 24-hour window Star Wars was released to record ticket sales. Now there’s one tonight, in the middle of a holiday weekend, after two NFL playoff games. | There was the one a Tuesday in October, so long ago that you might have forgotten about it. There was the other one on a Saturday in November that competed with college football. And the one just days before Christmas – in the same 24-hour window Star Wars was released to record ticket sales. Now there’s one tonight, in the middle of a holiday weekend, after two NFL playoff games. |
| So far, the three Democratic debates have drawn a total of 33 million viewers. By contrast the Republicans have held six debates, collectively attracting 102 million viewers. | So far, the three Democratic debates have drawn a total of 33 million viewers. By contrast the Republicans have held six debates, collectively attracting 102 million viewers. |
| There are only two more Democratic debates scheduled, compared to six for the Republicans. | There are only two more Democratic debates scheduled, compared to six for the Republicans. |
| On Sunday, Wasserman Schultz seemed to excuse the Democratic debates’ low viewership with a quality-over-quantity argument: | On Sunday, Wasserman Schultz seemed to excuse the Democratic debates’ low viewership with a quality-over-quantity argument: |
| They have got a reality TV star that is attracting a lot of train wreck, you know, you shouldn’t watch, but you can’t help yourself-type interest. On our side, we’re getting record viewership for our debates. And we have had three up to now, and this is our fourth. And that’s because voters really care about the issues.” | They have got a reality TV star that is attracting a lot of train wreck, you know, you shouldn’t watch, but you can’t help yourself-type interest. On our side, we’re getting record viewership for our debates. And we have had three up to now, and this is our fourth. And that’s because voters really care about the issues.” |
| So tonight we can expect Clinton and Sanders will likely go at it harder than they have yet, in a final sprint to shore up as many votes as possible before the 1 February caucus. | So tonight we can expect Clinton and Sanders will likely go at it harder than they have yet, in a final sprint to shore up as many votes as possible before the 1 February caucus. |
| 12.01am GMT | 12.01am GMT |
| 00:01 | 00:01 |
| Hello and welcome to our coverage of the fourth Democratic presidential debate, where Americans will get to spend time with a cantankerous semi-socialist from Brooklyn, the stateswoman who brought dancing to diplomacy, and a street busker from Maryland who thinks he can lead the free world. | Hello and welcome to our coverage of the fourth Democratic presidential debate, where Americans will get to spend time with a cantankerous semi-socialist from Brooklyn, the stateswoman who brought dancing to diplomacy, and a street busker from Maryland who thinks he can lead the free world. |
| Anything could happen! Most of it probably won’t. But you’ve probably got Monday off and all the football games have ended – probably – so why not stick around? | Anything could happen! Most of it probably won’t. But you’ve probably got Monday off and all the football games have ended – probably – so why not stick around? |
| Tonight we’re in Charleston, South Carolina, on the even of Martin Luther King Day, so it’s safe to expect some sober talk about civil rights – reproductive, voting, healthcare, inequality – and about a new struggle: gun control. Emotions are running high on both issues in Charleston, where chief reporter Ed Pilkington has landed and written up a little on what people are thinking. | Tonight we’re in Charleston, South Carolina, on the even of Martin Luther King Day, so it’s safe to expect some sober talk about civil rights – reproductive, voting, healthcare, inequality – and about a new struggle: gun control. Emotions are running high on both issues in Charleston, where chief reporter Ed Pilkington has landed and written up a little on what people are thinking. |
| And with only two weeks before one of our three contenders wins Iowa, the stakes are considerably higher. | And with only two weeks before one of our three contenders wins Iowa, the stakes are considerably higher. |
| This week the allies of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton ratcheted up attacks on her closest rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont – her daughter said something scary (and dubious) about his plans, and a Super Pac wanted to see a note from his doctor. | This week the allies of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton ratcheted up attacks on her closest rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont – her daughter said something scary (and dubious) about his plans, and a Super Pac wanted to see a note from his doctor. |
| Sanders bolstered his campaign presence in Iowa and launched a new ad tying Clinton to Wall Street – the great bugaboo of the senator’s campaign. Martin O’Malley, polling below 3% nationally, didn’t drop out of the race, so kudos for perseverance anyway. | Sanders bolstered his campaign presence in Iowa and launched a new ad tying Clinton to Wall Street – the great bugaboo of the senator’s campaign. Martin O’Malley, polling below 3% nationally, didn’t drop out of the race, so kudos for perseverance anyway. |
| The debate is set for 9pm ET on BC, a little after playoff football should end (unless the Steelers and Broncos go to overtime). Candidates will likely face questions about the Black Lives Matter movement, Sanders’ voting record, those pesky banks, those pesky military interventions in the Middle East – and you can bet they’ll give Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz a dishonorable mention or two. | The debate is set for 9pm ET on BC, a little after playoff football should end (unless the Steelers and Broncos go to overtime). Candidates will likely face questions about the Black Lives Matter movement, Sanders’ voting record, those pesky banks, those pesky military interventions in the Middle East – and you can bet they’ll give Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz a dishonorable mention or two. |
| Along for the ride this evening here at Guardian US are: | Along for the ride this evening here at Guardian US are: |
| We’ll make sense of the circus so you don’t have to … or at least we’ll try. Read on! | We’ll make sense of the circus so you don’t have to … or at least we’ll try. Read on! |