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IT WAS THE last debate before the first vote and it showed.
Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went at it last night, clashing over big issues including gun control and healthcare ahead of a vote in Iowa in a fortnight’s time.
The pair were also joined on the NBC stage by Maryland governor Martin O’Malley.
Clinton, although still the clear frontrunner, is coming under some pressure from Sanders so the exchanges became heated throughout the live broadcast.
All three seemed very aware that their performances were an important opportunity to reshape the race ahead of Iowa, which votes two weeks from today.
Here were the three most-talked-about moments from the evening’s fighting:
Guns, guns, guns
Ahead of Sunday night’s debate, Clinton had labelled her rival Sanders as a supporter of the NRA.
She reiterated the point on stage.
“He has voted with the NRA, with the gun lobby, numerous times,” she said.
“He voted against the Brady Bill five times. He voted for what we call the ‘Charleston loophole’. He voted for immunity from gun makers and sellers, which the NRA said was the most important piece of gun legislation in 20 years. He voted to let guns go on the Amtrak, go into national parks. He voted against doing research to figure out how we can save lives.”
Sanders hit back at her, calling the statement disingenuous and claiming he has a D- voting record with the gun lobby.
Obamacare
Since being introduced, Obama’s healthcare reforms have led to 19 million US residents getting health insurance.
“To tear it up and start over again… I think is the wrong direction,” Clinton said last night in relation to Sanders’ just-released ‘Medicare for All’ proposal.
We finally have a path to universal healthcare. I don’t want to see the Republicans repeal it and I don’t want to see us start over again with a contentious debate.
His plan would raise taxes across the board and require a 6.2% health care payroll tax on businesses, while slapping taxpayers with a 2.2% “premium” based on income.
Sanders defended his programme, calling Clinton’s arguments against it ‘nonsense’.
“What a Medicare for all programme does is finally provide in this country healthcare for every man, woman and child, as a right.
“No one is tearing this up. “We’re not going to tear up the Affordable Care Act. I helped write it. But we are going to move on top of that to build a Medicare-for-all system.”
The elephant in the room
When you’re hoping to become the next president of the United States, it is probably fair enough that your husband – who was once the President of the United States – comes up once or twice.
Last night, Clinton used questions about Bill to her advantage – pointing out how she was his right-hand woman during his healthcare reform efforts, for one – while Sanders refused to be drawn into dirty debating.
When asked what her husband’s possible role in her administration would be, she said to much applause:
It will start at the kitchen table. We will see how it goes from there…
However, she did hint that it might go further than just a “kitchen table role”.
“I’m going to have the very best advisers that I can possibly have,” she added.
And when it comes to the economy and what was accomplished under my husband’s leadership in the ’90s, especially when it came to raising incomes for everybody and lifting people out of poverty more than any time in history, you bet I’m going to ask for his ideas, I’m going to ask for his advice, and I’m going to use him as a goodwill emissary to go around the country and find the best ideas we’ve got.
Meanwhile, Sanders was asked about previous remarks he made about Clinton’s husband. Commenting on the Monica Lewinsky affair, he had described the past transgression as “totally, totally, totally disgraceful and unacceptable”.
However, he would not be drawn on the issue again – something that pleased Clinton immensely.
Sanders said:
I was asked a question… You know, one of things Andrea, that question annoys me. I cannot walk down the street – Secretary Clinton knows this – without being told how much I have to attack Secretary Clinton. Want to get me on the front pages of the newspaper? I [have] to make some vicious attack. I have avoided doing that, trying to run an issue-oriented campaign.
He continued:
Yes, and I mean this serious… [turning to Clinton] You know that, we’ve been through this. Yes, his behaviour was deplorable. Have I ever once said a word about that issue? No I haven’t. I am going to debate Secretary Clinton and Governor O’Malley on the issue facing the American people, not Bill Clinton’s personal behaviour.
It has to come down at some point. The trends historically go up and down. Never permanently in one direction. All this talk of no recession, if one happens in the USA, there’s one here too. Economy is boiling over, costs of living are ridiculously high.
@Michael Mc Gee: GDP growth is just a relative measure compared to the previous year. We grew at over 10% in both 2021 & 2022, so it’s inevitable we will experience a “recession” unless we keep growing at those unsustainable rates. Just a technical recession.
@Michael Mc Gee: and a massive housing crisis to add to it all fueled by a tick government asleep at the wheel,get used to sofa surfing more is yet to come
Cost of living out of control in some sectors, price of fuel going up in a few days, the push to get people back to offices 5 days a week despite promised to make wfh or hybrid work which would help reduce costs on taxpayers and also take extra traffic off the roads, all going down where most of the promises of FFG go. The over reliance on FDI’s and the insanity of allowing this current government to giveaway surplus to win votes and then ride off into the sunset with their fat accounts and massive pensions for the next saps who get voted in, and laugh from the opposition benches when all their giveaways are having to be taken back cos they have helped cook this economy and drive the country closer to an actual full blown recession…..sure its all grand lads
@Tom Newell: I WFH full time since 2020. You just have to put your foot down – refuse long commutes, refuse to return to offices, quit your job. I did, twice, so that I could remain working from home. I live 1.5 hrs from my employers office, so returning to the office is never going to happen.
@MTB Mayo: If I was your employer I’d have sacked you.
@MTB Mayo: You are so lucky to be able to decide for yourself…if just a few become unemployed that could change. If you are based in Mayo thank your deity for the great turnaround in that lovely county. It’s really a short time ago when there was nothing in it except it’s beauty…then along came a certain James Horan and his band of volunteers.
@MTB Mayo: Great advice.
@Tom Newell: Over reliance of FDI? Ireland has few natural resources & is therefore reliant on an active workforce. No government policy can change this, unless we return to the 70s/80s when many people had nothing.
Investment is needed in order to make a workforce productive. As a (relatively) small economy, there is a need for international companies to bring this productivity.
Wouldn’t want to work for you anyway
@: I doubt you’d have the cop on to run a business
What happened in 2015 when the Irish economy “grew” by 25% was simply that Apple transferred all iPhone-related IP to Ireland. There was absolutely no increase in delivering products or services. Leprechaun economics indeed!
@Corey Dalton: Such is the opaque nature of these tax-related shenanigans that this fact did not become clear until a few years later.
@Corey Dalton: Gross = made up
We need a good recession to drive down the cost of everything. Completely gone out of hand.
@Lonely Are the Brave.: That would be great, except deflation is even worse than inflation. If people knew that the price of, let’s say building materials was going to get cheaper every month, sure then why bother doing anything, just sit tight, don’t spend anything and wait until the price hits the right level. That is how economic depressions start.
The lies are getting smaller
Funny how all this govt income is going down just before budget day
We all partied…
@brian o’leary: not that kind of recession
The government are laughing at us, with major international distractions and the egregious left agenda. Martin & side kick are screaming about the UN while our own victims are being trampled upon. Now they’re giving poor folk a Christmas present hoping it will shut them up while the economy is shrinking even though the multinationals are paying the wages for a majority in services and related economy and employment. The games are about to begin for Leprechaun economics and it’s not going to be pretty. We voted them in. We’ll pay the price because the fundamentals were ever only about one thing. Them.
It used to be called a recession.
If there was honest reporting of the state of the economy in the first place there’d be a much clearer picture, the manipulation of figures to create a positive image fools nobody involved in International Economics, we’re a laughing stock in the EU for the manner of unreliable and inaccurate economic reports issued by the government
The fundamentals are sound
I’m sure it’ll be a “soft landing”.
have your say