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| 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) | |
| 2.34am GMT | |
| 02:34 | |
| From Guardian US columnist Richard Wolffe: | |
| At the first bathroom break, the points were with Clinton, with Sanders struggling to make his case and O’Malley doing a decent job of getting people to recognize him in a crowd. | |
| Clinton landde punches on Sanders’ votes on guns, and Sanders showed little desire to counterpunch. Sanders delivered more crowd-pleasing lines with indignation against the wealthy, the bankers who triggered the financial collapse and the entire drugs industry. | |
| O’Malley reminded everyone he was mayor of Baltimore. Biography may be everything, but the getting-to-know-you phase is surely over, just two weeks before the Iowa caucus. | |
| 2.27am GMT | |
| 02:27 | |
| Richard Wolffe | |
| From Guardian US columnist Richard Wolffe: | |
| NBC News set up the first dangerous crossfire on gun safety legislation. After a sleepy opening about jobs and wages, moderator Lester Holt zinged Bernie Sanders on his new reversal on immunity for gun-makers. Sanders did his best to avoid the question by talking at length about his D- rating from the NRA. | |
| Sadly all his answer did was tee up Clinton for an easy barrage against Sanders on the pro-gun lobby votes he didn’t talk about. This is the challenge of policy reversals before debates: you’re just making the moderators’ jobs that much easier. | |
| 2.27am GMT | |
| 02:27 | |
| Clinton’s asked about the opioid/heroin addiction crisis that’s hit parts of New England and the south particularly hard. | |
| She says she would put a couple million federal dollars into tackling the issue, and that “the policing needs to change.” She wants police and firefighters to carry “the antidote to a heroin overdose or an opioid overdose”. | |
| Without outright saying that the war on drugs has failed, she concedes: “We need to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead move it to where it belongs as a health issue.” | |
| Sanders jumps in to say she’s right about how Americans need to think about addiction as a disease and not a crime – and segues a little awkwardly into his pitch for universal healthcare. | |
| Lester Holtz cuts off O’Malley mid-plea for “just 10 seconds”. Commercial break! | |
| 2.24am GMT | |
| 02:24 | |
| A voter gets a question in about the conflict of interest between prosecutors and police in cases of police shootings. | |
| Sanders answers first: “This is a responsibility of the US Justice Department to get involved. Whenever anybody in this country is killed in police custody it should automatically trigger a US attorney general investigation.” | |
| He says that it a police officer breaks the law they’ve got to be held accountable. He also wants to “demilitarize police departments so they don’t look like occupying armies” and instead “look like the communities they serve in their diversity”. | |
| 2.20am GMT | |
| 02:20 | |
| Clinton: 'systemic racism in criminal justice' | |
| Clinton gets a question about the police killings of black Americans around the country. | |
| “It has been heartbreaking,” she says, “to see the constant stories of young men like Walter Scott” and others killed by police. | |
| She says there’s “systemic racism in our criminal justice system and that requires a very clear agenda for retraining police officers, looking at ways to end racial profiling, finding more ways to really bring the disparities that stalk our country into high relief. One out of three African American men may well end up going to prison. That’s the statistic.” | |
| “What we would be doing if it was one out of three white men,” she asks the crowd. | |
| The moderator tries to redirect but Sanders doesn’t let him: “we have a criminal justice system that is broken.” | |
| “Who in America is satisfied” with the criminal justice system, he asks, when it incarcerates more people than China. | |
| “Who is satisfied that 51% of African American young people are either unemployed or underemployed,” he goes on, showing off his own statistics. | |
| The he turns it into something of a stump speech, asking “who is satisfied that million of people have police records … while the CEOs of Wall Street companies who destroyed our economy have no [records]?” | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.30am GMT | |
| 2.18am GMT | |
| 02:18 | |
| Jeb Lund | |
| From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund: | |
| The trouble with Martin O’Malley opening the debate with far more specificity in his answers than either Clinton or Sanders’ vaguely aspirational openers is that it’s far more glaring when he runs back to convenient anecdotes and evasive, emotive waffling in the face of difficult questions, as he did when called on to explain what he would say to people worried that he might take away their guns. | |
| The sad thing is that there is safety and benefit in being facile. Call it the Being There quotient. | |
| 2.16am GMT | |
| 02:16 | |
| Sanders: 'gun critique is disingenuous' | |
| The candidates then get a question about gun control, and Sanders immediately says that Clinton’s attacks on him are “disingenuous”. | |
| He says that he supports a ban on assault-style and closing gunshow loopholes, and that he’s always had a D-minus rating from the NRA. He then alludes to the gunman who killed nine people in Charleston last summer. | |
| “We have seen in this city a horrendous tragedy, of a crazed person praying” and then killing people, he says. “This should not be a political issue, what we should be doing is working together.” | |
| He adds that “as a senator from a rural state” with virtually no gun control, “I believe I am in an excellent position to bring people together to fight for gun control.” | |
| Clinton doesn’t back down: “He has voted with the gun lobby, with the NRA, numerous times.” | |
| She says Sanders voted against the Brady campaign foive times, voted “for what we now call the Charleston loophole” – a rule that helped the Charleston shooter get a gun when he otherwise would have been barred one. | |
| “Let’s not forget what this is about. Ninety people a day die from gun violence in our country, that’s 33,000 people a year … one of the most horrific examples, not a block from here, where we had nine people murdered.” | |
| “I am pleased to hear that senator Sanders has reversed his position on immunity,” she continues, turning toward the gun industry. “There is no other industry in America that was given the total pass that the gun makers and dealers were and that needs to be reversed.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.29am GMT | |
| 2.11am GMT | |
| 02:11 | |
| Holtz asks the candidates what their priorities would be in the first 100 days of their presidencies. | |
| Sanders gives a variation of his stump speech, saying that he wants to do everything in his power to combat inequality, that healthcare should be available for every American, | |
| Clinton hammers her healthcare plan, a variation on what Obama and Sanders have said. She says she wants “a more stable platform that doesn’t take too much money out of the pockets of hard working Americans”. | |
| Then she says “we do have too much division” in the country, and that she would try hard to reunite the American people. | |
| O’Malley runs down a list of issues that his rivals did not mention: bargaining rights for labor unions, getting 11 million people “out of the shadow economy”, $15 minimum wage everywhere possible, and tackling climate change. | |
| 2.08am GMT | |
| 02:08 | |
| Opening statements | |
| Hillary Clinton: I remember well when my youth minister took me to hear Dr Martin Luther King when I was a teenager, his moral clarity, the message that he conveyed that evening really stayed with me. | |
| And it stayed with me that on the last day of his life in Memphis Dr King was fighting for higher pay and dignity for people. That is our fight still. We have to keep our communities and country safe. We need a president who can do all aspects of that job. | |
| Bernie Sanders: As we honor the extraordinary life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, it’s important that we remember not just what he stood for but that we continue to remmber his vision for this country. We have an economy that’s rigged: ordinary Americans are working more hours for lower wages. | |
| And to make a bad situation worse we have a corrupt campaign finance system where billionaires are spending extraordinary amounts of money to buy Americans. This is about a political revolution not only for president but to transform the country. | |
| Martin O’Malley: I’m Martin O’Malley. I was born when Dr King delivered his ‘I have a dream speech’. And I remember when there was a tragic shooting here in Charleston last year, and that the struggle is not over. Our country’s doing better and we’re creating jobs again, compared to eight years ago. But in order to do more for equal opportunity, we have to defeat the voices of anger and fear and division, we need new leadership. We need to build on the accomplishments of President Obama. | |
| 2.06am GMT | |
| 02:06 | |
| Jeb Lund | |
| From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund, live in Tampa, Florida: | |
| Welcome to the last Democratic debate before the Iowa caucus, for some reason scheduled at the very first hour of the average American’s Sunday when he or she will feel obligated to spend time with the kids after ignoring them for seven straight hours in favor of some of the most important football of the year. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.07am GMT | |
| 2.03am GMT | |
| 02:03 | |
| The trio of Democratic candidates takes the stage, welcomed by moderator Lester Holtz for NBC News. | |
| There’s applause, and even a little bit of excited whooping. Clinton stands center stage. | |
| Holtz gives each 45 seconds to open. | |
| 1.54am GMT | 1.54am GMT |
| 01:54 | 01:54 |
| It's Carolina debate time! | It's Carolina debate time! |
| To those who’re tuning in now, welcome to our live coverage of the fourth Democratic presidential debate. The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington and Dan Roberts are in attendance at the debate in Charleston, South Carolina, where Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are about to take the stage. | To those who’re tuning in now, welcome to our live coverage of the fourth Democratic presidential debate. The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington and Dan Roberts are in attendance at the debate in Charleston, South Carolina, where Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are about to take the stage. |
| With only two weeks before caucus time in the great state of Iowa, the camaraderie among the Democratic candidates – nobody cares about any emails over here! – has finally soured. Allies of the Clinton camp have maligned Sanders’ health and healthcare plan, Clinton accused Sanders of “making [it] up as he goes along”, and the Vermont senator has fought back by suggesting Clinton gets along a little too well with Wall Street. | With only two weeks before caucus time in the great state of Iowa, the camaraderie among the Democratic candidates – nobody cares about any emails over here! – has finally soured. Allies of the Clinton camp have maligned Sanders’ health and healthcare plan, Clinton accused Sanders of “making [it] up as he goes along”, and the Vermont senator has fought back by suggesting Clinton gets along a little too well with Wall Street. |
| O’Malley said the whole debate thing itself hasn’t been fair. But he’s shown up anyway, polls be damned. | O’Malley said the whole debate thing itself hasn’t been fair. But he’s shown up anyway, polls be damned. |
| Tonight’s 9pm debate will be a less crowded affair than the opposing party’s debate on Thursday – though Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz will be sure to make an appearance in angry, Twitter-embodied spirit. | Tonight’s 9pm debate will be a less crowded affair than the opposing party’s debate on Thursday – though Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz will be sure to make an appearance in angry, Twitter-embodied spirit. |
| The candidates are: | The candidates are: |
| We’ve got a cast of political reporters, columnists here and across the US. You can watch a livestream here, but it’s the Sunday before a holiday and there’s no football on. Why not hang out with us instead? | We’ve got a cast of political reporters, columnists here and across the US. You can watch a livestream here, but it’s the Sunday before a holiday and there’s no football on. Why not hang out with us instead? |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.57am GMT | at 1.57am GMT |
| 1.49am GMT | 1.49am GMT |
| 01:49 | 01:49 |
| Bernie Sanders has unexpectedly bowed to pressure about his proposed healthcare plan, releasing a white paper just an hour before the debate. Dan Roberts and Ed Pilkington report from Charleston. | Bernie Sanders has unexpectedly bowed to pressure about his proposed healthcare plan, releasing a white paper just an hour before the debate. Dan Roberts and Ed Pilkington report from Charleston. |
| The so-called “single-payer” insurance model is employed successfully in a number of industrialised countries such as Canada, but several practical questions over how to move from the current US system had overshadowed Sander’s ambitious promise. | The so-called “single-payer” insurance model is employed successfully in a number of industrialised countries such as Canada, but several practical questions over how to move from the current US system had overshadowed Sander’s ambitious promise. |
| Sanders has always argued the efficiency benefits from having a single government purchaser of healthcare would more than compensate for the extra taxes used to pay for it – estimating there would be overall savings of $6tn over the next 10 years compared to the current system. | Sanders has always argued the efficiency benefits from having a single government purchaser of healthcare would more than compensate for the extra taxes used to pay for it – estimating there would be overall savings of $6tn over the next 10 years compared to the current system. |
| But it remained unclear whether employers would necessarily pass on their savings from not having to provide medical insurance, or leave taxpayers facing a huge hike in their payments to the government in the interim. | But it remained unclear whether employers would necessarily pass on their savings from not having to provide medical insurance, or leave taxpayers facing a huge hike in their payments to the government in the interim. |
| Economist Gerald Friedman estimated in the plan the average working family now pays $4,955 in premiums for private insurance and spends another $1,318 on deductibles for care that isn’t covered. The Sanders campaign claim that under his plan, a family of four earning $50,000 would pay just $466 per year to the Medicare-for-all program. | Economist Gerald Friedman estimated in the plan the average working family now pays $4,955 in premiums for private insurance and spends another $1,318 on deductibles for care that isn’t covered. The Sanders campaign claim that under his plan, a family of four earning $50,000 would pay just $466 per year to the Medicare-for-all program. |
| Hillary Clinton has been stepping up her attacks on Sanders’ single-payer healthcare scheme, mindful no doubt of tightening polls in Iowa and her rival’s enduring lead in New Hampshire. She has claimed that the impact of the plan would be to return control over health insurance to the governors of individual states, and slap an additional 9% tax on middle-class families to pay for it. | Hillary Clinton has been stepping up her attacks on Sanders’ single-payer healthcare scheme, mindful no doubt of tightening polls in Iowa and her rival’s enduring lead in New Hampshire. She has claimed that the impact of the plan would be to return control over health insurance to the governors of individual states, and slap an additional 9% tax on middle-class families to pay for it. |
| She released a statement almost immediately Sunday night, accusing Sanders of having “backpedaled” on guns and now healthcare. “When you’re running for president and you’re serious about getting results for the American people, details matter,” she said. “Senator Sanders is making them up as he goes along.” | She released a statement almost immediately Sunday night, accusing Sanders of having “backpedaled” on guns and now healthcare. “When you’re running for president and you’re serious about getting results for the American people, details matter,” she said. “Senator Sanders is making them up as he goes along.” |
| Funding 'single payer' health with payroll tax not income tax seems smart move by Sanders - gives employers no choice but to pass on savings | Funding 'single payer' health with payroll tax not income tax seems smart move by Sanders - gives employers no choice but to pass on savings |
| 1.43am GMT | 1.43am GMT |
| 01:43 | 01:43 |
| Musician endorsement rankings, Democrats 2016 edition. | Musician endorsement rankings, Democrats 2016 edition. |
| Hillary Clinton: Bon Jovi, Ne-Yo, Ja Rule, Ariana Grande, Snoop Dogg, Ellie Goulding (5) | Hillary Clinton: Bon Jovi, Ne-Yo, Ja Rule, Ariana Grande, Snoop Dogg, Ellie Goulding (5) |
| Bernie Sanders: Neil Young, Killer Mike, Lil B the Based God, Dave Matthews, the Red Hot Chili Peppers (5) | Bernie Sanders: Neil Young, Killer Mike, Lil B the Based God, Dave Matthews, the Red Hot Chili Peppers (5) |
| Martin O’Malley: Martin O’Malley (1) | Martin O’Malley: Martin O’Malley (1) |
| By your blogger’s inclinations, Sanders has the slight edge: the co-creator of Run the Jewels is in the Charleston spin room tonight to campaign for the senator. | By your blogger’s inclinations, Sanders has the slight edge: the co-creator of Run the Jewels is in the Charleston spin room tonight to campaign for the senator. |
| Then again, Clinton has a somewhat famous saxophonist on the trail for her. | Then again, Clinton has a somewhat famous saxophonist on the trail for her. |
| Jason Winter for Best Dressed! #ImWithHer https://t.co/ZUXeZvA16h | Jason Winter for Best Dressed! #ImWithHer https://t.co/ZUXeZvA16h |
| *Update: reporter Lauren Gambino points out that HRC has a huge roster of music celebrities in her camp. Beyoncé, Kanye, Cristina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez. She may have the edge. Or we’ll need some kind of reality show or music critic showdown to decide. | |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.01am GMT | |
| 1.35am GMT | 1.35am GMT |
| 01:35 | 01:35 |
| Need to catch up on the intrigue and bickering of the 2016 election? Don’t miss the weekend’s main political events: | Need to catch up on the intrigue and bickering of the 2016 election? Don’t miss the weekend’s main political events: |
| And on the other side of the aisle … | And on the other side of the aisle … |
| 1.25am GMT | 1.25am GMT |
| 01:25 | 01:25 |
| Meanwhile, Ed Pilkington and Dan Roberts are meeting the men and women who believe the Clinton and Sanders camps shall overcome … each other. They write in: | Meanwhile, Ed Pilkington and Dan Roberts are meeting the men and women who believe the Clinton and Sanders camps shall overcome … each other. They write in: |
| There’s a pretty lively protest going on outside the Gaillard Centerwhere tonight’s Democratic presidential debate is being held. Supporters of Bernie Sanders are lined up on one side of Calhoun Street, chanting “no more flip-flopping” and “Grassroots not Superpacs” – not the snappiest of jingles. | There’s a pretty lively protest going on outside the Gaillard Centerwhere tonight’s Democratic presidential debate is being held. Supporters of Bernie Sanders are lined up on one side of Calhoun Street, chanting “no more flip-flopping” and “Grassroots not Superpacs” – not the snappiest of jingles. |
| Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton troupers are lined up on the other side of the road, producing a noisy though placid face-off. | Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton troupers are lined up on the other side of the road, producing a noisy though placid face-off. |
| The Bernie supporters definitely have the edge on decibel levels, though I’m not sure that shouting volume necessarily translates into votes, Donald Trump’s strategy notwithstanding. In other ways, the protesters seemed fairly identical to me. | The Bernie supporters definitely have the edge on decibel levels, though I’m not sure that shouting volume necessarily translates into votes, Donald Trump’s strategy notwithstanding. In other ways, the protesters seemed fairly identical to me. |
| “I’m with Bernie because he actually cares about us - he’s been working for women and equal rights for 30 years without changing positions once,” said Melissa McKenzie, 32, on one side of the street. | “I’m with Bernie because he actually cares about us - he’s been working for women and equal rights for 30 years without changing positions once,” said Melissa McKenzie, 32, on one side of the street. |
| “I’m excited to see a woman in the White House, and I’m insanely proud I get to elect the first female president in my first election ,” said Abby Beauregard, 18, on the other. | “I’m excited to see a woman in the White House, and I’m insanely proud I get to elect the first female president in my first election ,” said Abby Beauregard, 18, on the other. |
| Lively protest feeling the Bern outside tonight's televised debate in Charleston https://t.co/zFQdKrWSRR | Lively protest feeling the Bern outside tonight's televised debate in Charleston https://t.co/zFQdKrWSRR |
| But scratch beneath the surface and Bernie fans are worried, they continue. | But scratch beneath the surface and Bernie fans are worried, they continue. |
| The lack of organisation in South Carolina concerns many of the supporters, especially compared with Iowa, where Sanders has invested in a formidable ground operation. | The lack of organisation in South Carolina concerns many of the supporters, especially compared with Iowa, where Sanders has invested in a formidable ground operation. |
| “I’m not sure how hard he is trying in South Carolina,” said one supporter trudging away from the battle of the banners. “I had two calls this week from Clinton campaign people trying to get me to turn out for her and nothing from his people. I just don’t think they have the money.” | “I’m not sure how hard he is trying in South Carolina,” said one supporter trudging away from the battle of the banners. “I had two calls this week from Clinton campaign people trying to get me to turn out for her and nothing from his people. I just don’t think they have the money.” |
| 1.16am GMT | 1.16am GMT |
| 01:16 | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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”. | 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. | 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. | 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.” | “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 | 1.08am GMT |
| 01:08 | 01:08 |
| It’s the battle of the banners in Charleston, where DC bureau chief Dan Roberts is mingling with the partisans. | 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! |