Democratic White House hopeful US Senator Bernie Sanders walked into Sunday night’s debate in Flint after weekend victories that kept his candidacy alive while his formidable opponent, the front-runner Hillary Clinton was eager to look ahead to the other primaries ahead. The stage was set for things to get tense, and they did, quickly. Here are few most notable moments from the debate--
The heated ‘trade’ exchange
The fighting really took off during a tense exchange on trade. Clinton started it off by vowing to fight companies trying to buck taxes by moving overseas when Sanders swung back, criticising Clinton for supporting previous trade deals. “When a company decides to leave like Nabisco is leaving, they have gotten tax benefits from Chicago and Illinois to stay there, I will claw back the benefits. They will have to pay them back if they are leaving a place that actually invested in them. I am also going to go after companies like Johnson Controls in Wisconsin,” Clinton said. “They came and got part of the bailout because they were an auto parts supplier and now they want to move headquarters to Europe.” Sanders responded sarcastically. “I am very glad, Anderson, that Secretary Clinton discovered religion on this issue. But it’s a little bit too late,” Sanders said, going on to say that “Nafta supported by the secretary cost us 800,000 jobs nationwide.”
‘Excuse me, I’m talking’
Clinton put the spotlight on Sanders’ position against the auto industry bailout. “In 2009, President-elect Obama asked everybody in the Congress to vote for the bailout. The money was there and had to be released in order to save the auto industry and 4m jobs and to begin the restructuring.” Clinton continued: “I voted to save the auto industry. He voted against the money to save the auto industry. I think that was a pretty big difference.” Sanders began to respond: “If you are talking about the Wall Street bailout where some of your friends destroyed this economy.” “You know —,” Clinton began to interject. “Excuse me, I’m talking,” Sanders shot back. “If you’re going to talk, tell the whole story,” Clinton said. “Let me tell my story; you tell yours,” Sanders said.
Sanders’ Wall Street transcripts: ‘There ain’t nothing!’
Sanders again called on Clinton to release the transcripts of all her paid Wall Street speeches.
Clinton responded: “I will be happy to release anything I have as long as everybody else does too. What really is behind that question, Republicans and Democrats, is whether I can stand up to Wall Street.” But Sanders didn’t let that one go. “While I am your opponent, I release it. Here it is. There ain’t nothing!” Sanders said.
Clinton and Sanders and racial ‘blind spots’
Clinton and Sanders were both asked whether they understand what it’s like to be a person of colour in the the US. “Being a white person in the United States of America, I know that I have never had the experience that so many people in this audience have had,” Clinton said. “I think it’s incumbent upon me and what I have been trying to talk about is to urge white people about what it is like to have the talk with your kids, scared that your sons or daughters even could get in trouble for no good reason whatsoever.” Sanders gave a similar response. “To answer your question, I would say and I think it’s what the secretary said, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto and to be poor. You don’t know what it’s like to be hassled when you walk down the street or get dragged out of a car,” Sanders said. “I believe as a nation in the year 2016, we must be firm in making it clear.”