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| Democratic debate: it's painful to watch Clinton and Sanders go at each other | Democratic debate: it's painful to watch Clinton and Sanders go at each other |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| If you tuned into the debate on Wednesday night, you might be wondering whether diehard Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters regret the loss of civility that once distinguished the Democratic side of the ticket. The two candidates got into scrappy exchanges that were, at times, reminiscent of the Trump-tainted Republican primary – even when discussing issues on which both agreed. | |
| “I’m gonna call a time out here,” moderator Karen Tumulty was forced to interject about an hour and a half into the debate, when the two were finally discussing one of the most pressing issues facing Florida voters: sea level rise. And that’s an issue the two largely have the same position on. | “I’m gonna call a time out here,” moderator Karen Tumulty was forced to interject about an hour and a half into the debate, when the two were finally discussing one of the most pressing issues facing Florida voters: sea level rise. And that’s an issue the two largely have the same position on. |
| The barbed exchanges are likely to have done damage to both candidates in the eyes of viewers. | The barbed exchanges are likely to have done damage to both candidates in the eyes of viewers. |
| Clinton tried to tie Sanders to the Koch brothers because their Super Pac recently put out an ad praising the Vermont senator’s opposition to the Export Import Bank. Anyone who’s been watching Clinton tack left towards Sanders progressive populist message would surely recognize they cut the ad to undercut his support and prop her up. | Clinton tried to tie Sanders to the Koch brothers because their Super Pac recently put out an ad praising the Vermont senator’s opposition to the Export Import Bank. Anyone who’s been watching Clinton tack left towards Sanders progressive populist message would surely recognize they cut the ad to undercut his support and prop her up. |
| Related: Sanders and Clinton dig deep for fresh angles of attack at Democratic debate | Related: Sanders and Clinton dig deep for fresh angles of attack at Democratic debate |
| In the same vein, Sanders accused Clinton of being cozy with Wall Street over her career, calling her vote to save the economy – along with the US auto industry – from collapse “the bailout of the recklessness, irresponsibility and illegal behavior of Wall Street”. | In the same vein, Sanders accused Clinton of being cozy with Wall Street over her career, calling her vote to save the economy – along with the US auto industry – from collapse “the bailout of the recklessness, irresponsibility and illegal behavior of Wall Street”. |
| Then came immigration policy. Clinton basically argued that Sanders’ opposition to a 2007 immigration bill helped underpin the Obama administration’s deportation policy. For his part, Sanders accused Clinton of supporting policies to deport Honduran children to a war-torn nation and blocking undocumented workers in New York from getting drivers licenses. Mind you, these two Democrats actually support comprehensive immigration reform. | Then came immigration policy. Clinton basically argued that Sanders’ opposition to a 2007 immigration bill helped underpin the Obama administration’s deportation policy. For his part, Sanders accused Clinton of supporting policies to deport Honduran children to a war-torn nation and blocking undocumented workers in New York from getting drivers licenses. Mind you, these two Democrats actually support comprehensive immigration reform. |
| The painful thing is both Sanders and Clinton came across as senators, which isn’t very presidential. They spent the evening parsing out small little nuggets in bills that their opponent had supported or opposed in the past, which made them both come across as petty. | The painful thing is both Sanders and Clinton came across as senators, which isn’t very presidential. They spent the evening parsing out small little nuggets in bills that their opponent had supported or opposed in the past, which made them both come across as petty. |
| When the two were given the opportunity early on in the debate to call out Donald Trump for his vulgar and offensive comments against Mexicans, Muslims and black Americans, they both punted. Clinton basically told the audience to answer the question for themselves. | When the two were given the opportunity early on in the debate to call out Donald Trump for his vulgar and offensive comments against Mexicans, Muslims and black Americans, they both punted. Clinton basically told the audience to answer the question for themselves. |
| While avoiding to confront Trump head-on early, Sanders eventually lashed out at Trump’s proposal to round up 11 million undocumented workers and ship them out of the country, accusing the Republican front-runner of resorting to racism, xenophobia and bigotry. It fell flat, coming across as a campaign slogan instead of stately debunking of Trump. | While avoiding to confront Trump head-on early, Sanders eventually lashed out at Trump’s proposal to round up 11 million undocumented workers and ship them out of the country, accusing the Republican front-runner of resorting to racism, xenophobia and bigotry. It fell flat, coming across as a campaign slogan instead of stately debunking of Trump. |
| Clinton did mock Trump and his proposal to build a wall along the span of the US-Mexican border, labeling it “just fantasy”. While also brushing aside a question on whether she’ll drop out of the race if indicted for her email scandal, telling a moderator: “Oh for goodness – that’s not going to happen. I’m not even going to answer that question.” | |
| Sanders also refused to discuss something: “Oh I’m not gonna comment on the Benghazi tragedy.” It seems odd that after all these debates, the Democratic frontrunners are giving each other a pass on the issues where Republicans see weakness but are more than willing to lash out at each other over the areas where they agree. | |
| This topsy-turvy election is taking its toll on politicians and voters alike. One can only hope that Wednesday’s Democratic debate doesn’t give people yet another reason to lose faith in politics. |