Just a little preface, I'm writing this review of the debate as I watch it. It's order will follow the debate chronologically.
Goddamn Clinton is smug. Every valid point Sanders made during this debate, she laughed in his face as if she were royalty. I was blown the fuck away when she said that she has been the leader of the "fight for 15" movement. This is an absurdity, go to any "fight for 15" rally and count the Clinton stickers and signs. What a ridiculous statement. The part where was called her out on her false claim that (x) number of guns involved in violence came from Vermont was priceless, how quickly she changed the subject to politicize Sandy Hook.
The whole gun manufacturer/retailer liability nonsense is getting very tiresome. You sue a manufacturer when the product malfunctions. You don't sue Toyota when a mad man runs over 25 people, you sue Toyota when it's brake system fails and runs over 25 people.. However, I think Sanders makes a valid point that if a gun dealer knowingly sells weapons and ammunition to people who are using them for nefarious reasons, that shop should be held liable.
I thought it was a great moment during the debate when Clinton made her statements about clean energy, with Sanders' retort being the fact that 47 fossil fuel lobbyists placed their bets on Clinton. Why would they do such a thing? Also, the statement from Bernie about Clinton's continued support for fracking was just beautiful. "Natural gas is a bridge" she says. Tell that to farmers in North Dakota and Iowa who have had their lands decimated by the impact of fracking. This topic on climate change was most certainly a Sanders landslide. Sanders - "The short term profits of the fossil fuel industry is not more important than the future of the planet." How do you argue against this? Ad hominems, and that was exactly how she responded. Also, I get the feeling that Clinton has been using President Obama as a crutch all throughout the debate. This speaks volumes. If you want to continue the Obama administration, Clinton seems to be the correct choice.
I literally laughed out loud as Clinton layed out her plan to reform the payroll income tax in order to preserve social security, with Sanders' retort being that she essentially laid out HIS plan to reform social security. It's also telling that Clinton gave a very ambiguous answer to Wolf's question as to whether or not she would lift the payroll tax to strengthen the stability of SS. Wolf's questions was literally "Yes, or no, would you lift the payroll tax", Clinton failed to deliver that yes or no. In fact it was Sanders who prodded her into giving a slightly less ambiguous answer to the question.
I think it's an excellent point that Sanders makes regarding whether or not he is a Democrat. He's spent his political career as an independent, and the Democratic party needs not only registered Democrats on board, but millions of independents as well. Very impressive answer to this question, I thought.
Clinton's statements around 9/11 are pure opportunism, as far as I can see. She claimed to put first responders front and center, yet many of them are not here today unnecessarily. Jon Stewart recently made an appearance on the daily show to highlight this. He showed a clip from years earlier, of a round table of several first responders, who were vastly under cared for under Clintons tenure as senator, and during this most recent appearance remained one man. The rest were dead. Gone, unnecessarily. There have been suits and complaints against the city of New York during Clinton's time as senator, respoders pleading for assistance. Stewart's appearance was a stark reminder of New York priorities and a clear example of Clinton's commitment to them. Don't politicize 9/11, Secretary Clinton, especially if you don't have the record to back up your claims.
Summery: I think it was a fair debate on CNN's part. Both candidates were absolutely hammered on their issues and missteps. I must say that Clinton dodged many of the more controversial questions while falling back on "hey, I know the president!". The crowd, despite being the state that Clinton represented for years, was clearly on the side of Sanders. Hilary was booed so many times that I lost count. Chants of "Bernie! Bernie!" echoed the venue as Clinton stood there looking sullen. As for their closing arguments, Clinton might have well received a golf clap compared to the roaring applause for Sanders. I wish Bernie had pushed the trade agreement issues a little harder. He certainly could have. He could have brought up the Panama Papers, he didn't.
All in all, I have to give this one to Sanders. Clinton got crushed tonight. From my perspective, let's just hope that this translates into a landslide victory for Sanders, allowing him to continue his long winning streak. As he said, he was clocked in the deep south, but we're not in the south anymore.
), MSNBC, etc etc. These people are grossly misinformed and I feel like even if sanders wins the popular vote the DNC will still force Clinton through.
