US Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton went on the attack against rival Bernie Sanders on Thursday in their most contentious presidential debate yet, questioning whether his ambitious proposals were viable and accusing him of an “artful smear” in suggesting she could be bought by political donations.
Sanders fought back repeatedly, questioning Clinton’s progressive credentials and portraying her as a creature of the political establishment in a debate that featured heated exchanges on healthcare, college tuition funding and efforts to rein in Wall Street.
The intensity reflected a race that has seen Clinton’s once prohibitive lead in polls shrivel against Sanders as the two vie for the Democratic nomination for the Nov. 8 election.
Photo: Reuters
One of Clinton’s most forceful remarks came in response to a suggestion by Sanders that she could be influenced by political donations by Wall Street.
“Enough is enough. If you’ve got something to say, say it directly,” she said. “But you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received.”
“So I think it’s time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out,” Clinton added.
Clinton charged that Sanders’ proposal for single-payer universal healthcare coverage would jeopardize Obamacare, calling it “a great mistake,” and said his plans for free college education would be too costly to be realistic.
“I can get things done. I’m not making promises I can’t keep,” Clinton said.
Sanders said he would not dismantle Obamacare, but would expand it, pointing to the many other nations that provide universal healthcare.
“I do not accept the belief that the United States of America can’t do that,” Sanders said. “By moving forward, rallying the American people, I do believe we should have healthcare for all.”
Sanders said his proposal for free tuition at public universities would be paid with a tax on Wall Street speculation.
“The middle class bailed out Wall Street in their time of need. Now, it is Wall Street’s time to help the middle class,” he said.
Five days before New Hampshire holds the second of the state-by-state presidential nominating contests, opinion polls show Sanders, a US senator from neighboring Vermont, with a double-digit lead over Clinton after surprising the front-runner by finishing just barely behind her in Iowa on Monday.
Clinton seemed energized by her underdog status in New Hampshire, delivering her most aggressive debate performance of the campaign. It was reminiscent of her 2008 run against US President Barack Obama, when she also began as the front-runner, but became a sharper and less cautious candidate as she began to lose.
The debate was the first since former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley dropped out on Monday after a poor finish in Iowa, giving the two candidates more freedom to directly engage each other.
Sanders accused Clinton of representing “the establishment,” while saying he represented “ordinary working Americans.”
He also said her super political action committee had taken contributions from Wall Street firms and that Clinton received big speaking fees from Goldman Sachs.
Clinton disputed the establishment label, saying it was “quite amusing” to accuse “a woman, running to be the first woman president, as the establishment.”
The two battled over who best represented progressive ideals.
Sanders said he would lead a “political revolution,” but Clinton questioned his ability to get his proposals through a Republican-led Congress.
“A progressive is someone who makes progress,” she said.
And she attacked Sanders’ own credentials as a progressive, bringing up his votes against the 1993 Brady bill that mandated federal background checks on gun purchases.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese