The race on the Democratic side hasn't been nearly the clown show that the Republicans have offered up, mostly because it's been widely accepted that Hillary Clinton was going to end up the nominee anyway, barring a last-minute run by Vice President Joe Biden. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley dropped out early on, presumably to focus on a new world tour and album with his Irish band. Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee showed up once at a debate, which is just adorable. The only candidate to even put up a fight in this one has been Sen. Bernie Sanders, the self-proclaimed "democratic socialist" who's still technically an independent, at least as far as the Senate is concerned, and has, if nothing else, forced Clinton to try and attempt to pander to the more liberal factions in the party.
And together, they came to Flint on Sunday to
The opening statements, naturally, are all about Flint; both candidates want Rick Snyder gone, the state and feds need to help pay to replace the pipes, and Bernie went on about Wall Street and the 1% because that's what Bernie Sanders does. Anderson Cooper then brings up a single mother from Flint to ask how the candidates will restore the people's trust in their government. Clinton had great praise for Mayor Karen Weaver and her role in fixing the current situation, mentioning her program that hires Flint residents to deliver water until the pipes are replaced, as well as President Obama's role in holding the EPA accountable, and called for the work done on replacing the piping to be be double and triple-checked. Sanders pointed out that Flint residents are paying three times as much for poisoned water as he does in Burlington, called for the CDC to come in and check on Flint residents to determine the severity of the lead poisoning, and proposed a trillion-dollar program to replace crumbing infrastructure, while blaming bad trade agreements for the decline of Flint. (Meanwhile, Rick Snyder was hard at work this evening tweeting in his own defense.)
Cooper then asked both candidates whether they would fire the head of the EPA. Clinton claimed everybody that was in the wrong had been fired by the EPA, though Cooper countered by reminding her that only one person resigned and nobody was fired. She then said she'd be in favor of an investigation into who knew what and when. Sanders declared he'd "fire anybody that knew about what was happening and did not act appropriately," while wandering into more criticism of tax breaks for the wealthy and mentioned the failing Detroit schools.
Next, another Flint resident asked the candidates to commit to making it a requirement to remove all lead pipes in public water systems. Sanders said he'd have the EPA test the water at every public water system in America, while Clinton went one further and promised to remove lead from everywhere within five years, a promise that seems more than a bit impossible to fulfill. Both were then asked if those responsible for the Flint water crisis should go to jail over it, and both completely dodged the question.
Flint Journal editor Bryn Mickle then asked Clinton why the people of Flint should believe she isn't using their plight to further her own political ambitions. She responded by touting her time with the Children's Defense Fund and her past as a problem-solver and an activist. Sanders was asked why he hadn't showed up in Flint for the first time until last week, which he claimed wasn't the case, and went on to talk about the meeting he'd had in Detroit with those affected, as well as a town hall he'd held about the crisis.
Another Flint resident asked what the candidates would do to keep jobs in America. Clinton talked about infrastructure, offering incentives to manufacturers, and clean energy, while Sanders pointed out that she'd supported several trade agreements that resulted in a loss of American jobs. Clinton countered by pointing out that he was against the auto bailouts, which isn't entirely true. Sanders then turned it around on her by pointing out that she supported the Wall Street bailouts. Clinton tried to talk over Sanders, which prompted an irritated "Excuse me, I'm talking" from him, the sort of thing that has already spawned a million overblown think-pieces about how dismissive and sexist Sanders must be, because it's apparently okay to interrupt somebody mid-sentence if you're a woman. She then claimed to have voted against CAFTA and opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and defended her support of the auto bailouts. Sanders then called her out for the money she's taken from Wall Street, while Clinton pointed out that Obama had taken a record amount of money from them as well. Sanders went back to the hundreds of thousands of dollars Clinton's been paid for speeches, pointing out that he hasn't done anything similar.
Sanders would continue to point out Clinton's support for past trade agreements that cost American jobs, while he and Clinton both agreed that they would be willing to use the tools given by Dodd-Frank to break up banks that are "too big to fail." Clinton took exception to Sanders' accusations that she supported failed trade policies, and his insistence on coming back to her actions and policy positions in the '90's, while pointing out that Michigan had a 4.4% unemployment rate and had gained jobs under Bill Clinton's presidency. The candidates would differ wildly on the Export-Import Bank; Clinton was in support of it, while Sanders claims that 75% of their loans are made to large profitable corporations and denounced the idea of corporate welfare, a position that oddly puts Sanders in agreement with fellow senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz. Clinton defended her support of the Export-Import Bank by claiming that other countries support their companies in a similar way, while Sanders then argued that the middle-class shouldn't have to pay for a handout to large multinational corporations, then digressed into health care.
Cooper then brought out the father of one of the victims of the recent shooting in Kalamazoo, who asked what the candidates would do to prevent something like that from happening again. Clinton offered up closing loopholes in current gun laws and stronger background checks, as well as taking away immunity from gun manufacturers and sellers. Sanders touted his history of support for gun control, and agreed with most of Clinton's proposals, save for the aforementioned immunity, claiming it wouldn't make sense to hold gun manufacturers or sellers responsible for what people do with their weapons, and that it would put gun manufacturers out of business in America.
Next, Don Lemon asked both candidates about the 1994 crime bill that Bill Clinton signed into law and Sanders reluctantly voted for. Both candidates pointed out that there were some worthwhile provisions in the bills (in particular, the act relating to domestic violence), and Sanders expressed concerns at the time about others, but still voted yes. Both now acknowledge the bill was largely a mistake, and Sanders vowed that the U.S. would no longer lead the world in incarceration rate by the end of his first term.
Race would be the subject of a few questions to follow. Sanders related a story about getting arrested in Chicago trying to de-segregate the public school system there, and taking part in Martin Luther King Jr.'s march on Washington, while Clinton shared her story of working for the first African-American woman to pass the Mississippi bar exam. Both were then asked what racial blind spots they had; Clinton gave a pretty standard answer about not knowing what it's like as a black person to worry that something like the Sandra Bland incident could happen to them. Sanders came back with somewhat of an off-putting line: "When you are white, you don't know what it's like to be living in a ghetto, what it's like to be poor, you don't know what it's like to be hassled when you are walking down the street or dragged out of a car," which somehow managed to come across as oblivious, if not outright insensitive, towards non-white people and poor white people.
Sanders then called Clinton out on a welfare reform bill she fought for in '96 he claimed only increased poverty, which Clinton shot back by claiming that many provisions of the bill were stripped by the Bush administration, then defended her record in the '90's by pointing out the increase in new jobs and median income during that time. Sanders countered by reminding Clinton that during that time several unfavorable trade agreements were passed, as were bills that effectively deregulated Wall Street. Essentially, to sum up half of tonight's debate: Bill Clinton was president for most of the '90's, and much time has been spent arguing about his record.
Sanders was then asked how he'd do better than President Obama at improving race relations, to which he said he would end militarization of local police departments, have the Department of Justice investigate every death that occurs under police custody, end mandatory minimum sentences on drug charges, and make police departments more reflective of the communities they serve.
Next, the parent of a Detroit Public Schools student asked what the candidates would do to fix the current plight of DPS and districts like it. Sanders, as he often does, went back to the wealthy and the tax breaks they receive, asking why there's money for them, but not to fix crumbling school systems. Clinton called for an end to emergency financial management and more federal funding to repair and modernize school buildings. She was then asked about her support from the two biggest teachers' unions in the country, and whether unions protect bad teachers, which she kind of side-stepped, referring to a need to "eliminate the criticism." Sanders called for tuition-free college and investing more in child care, mentioning that his family didn't have any money growing up, the kind of difference between him and Clinton that you'd expect him to refer back to more often, if only for the idea that it should theoretically make him more able to relate to lower-income voters in a way Hillary cannot.
Infrastructure was the next topic, and Clinton proposed to add another $250 billion to fund road and infrastructure repairs in addition to the Highway Transportation Bill by starting a National Infrastructure Bank, which would be funded with $25 billion in capital. When pressed for how he'd fund his own trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, Sanders explained he'd eliminate the loophole that allows for offshore tax havens, and that would account for the $1 trillion and create 13 million jobs.
Next, a University of Michigan student asked if the candidates support hydraulic fracking, despite it's effects on the environment. Clinton went on to dance around the question with talk of regulation, while Sanders got straight to the point: "My answer is a lot shorter: No, I do not support fracking." Sometimes it's nice to see a direct, simple answer to a question after a string of answers that go on well past their allotted time and often raise more questions than they answer. Cooper counted by pointing out that some Democratic governors believe it can be done safely. "Are they wrong?" Sanders: "Yes." Cooper then pressed him about comments he'd made implying that Clinton is bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry, which Sanders used as a springboard to go off about the influence of big money in politics and point out that his campaign is not bought and paid for by any special interests. Clinton then talked about her own climate change plan, including a proposed half-billion more solar panels deployed by the end of her first term. Cooper countered by asking about a Clinton fundraiser held by executives at a firm that does hydraulic fracking, on which she refused to comment. After that came one of Bernie's better lines of the night: "We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot more money into mental health. And when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest into that." He then talked about making it a top priority to overturn the Citizens United decision.
The candidates were both asked about the possibility of running against
Finally, the most pointless questions of the night, a Flint resident asking Sanders "Do you think God is relevant" and asking Clinton "To whom and for whom do you pray?" Questions that seem more at home in the GOP debates than here, though it's hard to see how any god could help that field. Sanders brushed off accusations that he was downplaying his Jewish heritage, while Clinton spoke of humility and empathy, most likely because her handlers told her that people are into that sort of thing.
It seems fair to say that both candidate had their struggles on Sunday. Sanders clearly was knocked off his game early on after being blindsided by the auto bailout argument, and Clinton found herself having to answer for more than a few contradictions in her policy stances. Luckily for Bernie, in contrast to Thursday's GOP debate, not a single question was asked about foreign policy, an area in which Sanders isn't particularly strong, mostly because he can't blame anything on Wall Street there.
All in all, this one can probably be chalked up as a win for Hillary, who still enjoys an advantage as front-runner going into tomorrow's vote here in Michigan. That said, even if he does end up losing the race, Sanders has succeeded in one regard. By the virtue of having lasted in this race as a legitimate contender for as long as he has, he's forced Clinton to really engage the liberal base in her party and take their concerns into consideration far more than she would have otherwise. Doesn't necessarily mean much after the election, but the conversation has undoubtedly shifted leftward at any rate as a result of Sanders' growing following.
But between some rather unfeasible proposals from Hillary and some that she's rather unlikely to act on given her associations with various special interests, and Bernie's often one-dimensional campaign that remains convinced that closing tax loopholes will solve everything and then some, I'm left with one question in regards to the presidential primary race.
Is it too late to get a do-over on this one?
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