The African-American and minority voters will be crucial for both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders as their close contest for the Democratic presidential nomination move to new arenas, and this was evident in their debate on Thursday night in Wisconsin. Ms. Clinton has a traditional advantage among these voters; Mr. Sanders has to break new ground to remain in the race. Both candidates spent considerable time spelling out how their policies would help the African-Americans and the Latinos.
That the national discussion in the Democratic field is now being led by Mr. Sanders was evident throughout the debate, as Ms. Clinton’s counterpunches were mostly prefaced with a qualifier: “I agree with Senator Sanders, but…”. Ms. Clinton sought to question Mr. Sanders only on the feasibility of his proposals, and rarely on their desirability. Ms. Sanders agreed with Ms. Clinton on a couple of occasions, but repeatedly asserted her campaign was funded by big corporations, and she cannot be true to the wishes of the people.
Ms. Clinton invoked President Barack Obama to rescue herself — something that she did several times through the course of the debate. “…The super-PAC... set up to support President Obama …Has now decided they want to support me...,” she said, claiming that her campaign did not coordinate with it. Super PAC, or Political Action Committees can receive unlimited money from corporations, which candidates cannot directly take as per American laws. Ms. Clinton also pointed out that she had 750,000 individual donors who were contributing to her campaign. Mr. Sanders boasts of his 1.5 million individual donors. When Ms. Clinton claimed that donors cannot influence presidential decisions and there was no quid pro quo involved in these donations, Mr. Sanders said: “Why does the pharmaceutical industry make huge campaign contributions? Any connection maybe to the fact that our people pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs?”
Ms. Clinton’s attack on Mr. Sanders considerably focused on his administrative inexperience and his earlier criticism of President Obama. “The kind of criticism that we heard from Sen. Sanders about our President, I expect from Republicans. I do not expect (it) from someone running for the Democratic nomination to succeed President Obama,” she said, recalling old statements by her opponents. “Madam Secretary, that is a low blow,” he replied. Mr. Sanders admitted that he and Mr. Obama has had disagreements but he considered the president a friend and an effective administrator. In a moment that highlighted the importance of Mr. Obama in the current election, Mr. Sanders said in his concluding remarks. “One of us ran against President Obama. And I was not that candidate.”
Debating in Wisconsin, a state where racial relations are particularly fraught and black incarceration is one of the worst in the country, Ms. Clinton and Mr. Sanders presented themselves as more sensitive to their concerns.
While Ms. Clinton alluded to Mr. Sanders’ lack of experience, he questioned her judgment. Yet again, Ms. Clinton cited Mr. Obama — this time, the fact that he trusted her judgment and made her the Secretary of State. Mr. Sanders sniped at her for admitting that she was advised and mentored by Henry Kissinger, a figure reviled by American progressives. “Well, I know journalists have asked who you do listen to on foreign policy, and we have yet to know who that is,” said Ms. Clinton. “Well it ain't Henry Kissinger,” Mr. Sanders retorted.
