Two days removed from the New Hampshire primary, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, went head to head again at the Facebook and PBS Democratic debate at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Sanders sought to keep his momentum rolling fresh off his primary win, while Clinton aimed to sell her presidential goals as more achievable than her competitor’s.
Clinton made an effort to connect to the debate’s home state by calling out Gov. Scott Walker’s cuts to the UW System, referencing Milwaukee’s high incarceration rates and the death of Dontre Hamilton at the hands of a police officer. Sanders encouraged citizens to engage in the political process in order to help him decrease Wall Street’s role in government and promoted his goal of free public higher education for everyone.
Making higher education affordable
Clinton and Sanders shared the goal of making college more affordable for students, but disagreed on how to accomplish it.
Sanders said tuition for public universities and colleges should be free for all Americans.
In light of Walker’s $250 million budget cut to the UW System, Clinton said Sanders’ plan would be difficult to execute since it depends on state cooperation.
“Senator Sanders’s plan really rests on making sure that governors like Scott Walker contribute $23 billion on the first day to make college free,” Clinton said. “I am a little skeptical about your governor actually caring enough about higher education to make any kind of commitment like that.”
.@HillaryClinton, while you took big speaking fees, we froze tuition 4 years in a row to make college affordable. #DemDebate
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) February 12, 2016
After the debate, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, a Clinton supporter, called Walker’s College Affordability Package “nibbling around the edge of a crisis.”
With 40 million Americans carrying student debts right now, there needs to be a bold response, she told reporters.
“This is night and day between Democrats and Republicans. I am so proud that both of our candidates are supportive of making a greater commitment to public education beyond high school,” Baldwin said.
Walker meets with College Republicans, talks tuition freeze, student loan debt
Addressing incarceration and over-policing
Sanders and Clinton both agreed the criminal justice system needs to be reformed to decrease national incarceration rates.
Clinton said she finds Wisconsin’s black incarceration rate especially upsetting because not only is it the highest in America, it is also twice the national average.
Sanders said to reduce incarceration, law enforcement has to stop over-policing black communities. He cited the fact that while white people and black people use marijuana at equal rates, black people are about four times more likely to get arrested for the drug.
Sanders said he hopes everyone is tired of seeing unarmed people, often black, shot by police officers. Clinton referred to the death of unarmed Hamilton at the hands of a Milwaukee officer in 2014 as an example of a young man who should still be alive. She advocated for restoring policing that actually protects communities.
.@HillaryClinton on death of MKE's Dontre Hamilton: "a young man, unarmed who should still be with us" #DemDebate @BadgerHerald
— Hayley ✨ (@hksperl) February 12, 2016
Clinton and Sanders agreed that to end mass incarceration, there must be a discussion about jobs, education and housing.
“We will invest in education, and jobs for our kids, not incarceration and more jails,” Sanders said.
Challenges to employment after imprisonment incite movement to change application process
After the debate former Ohio Sen. Nina Turner, D-Cleveland, a Sanders supporter, said to have both candidates agree on the topic and call for reform was a powerful statement.
Looking to make history
Clinton responded to former Secretary of State Madeline Albright’s assertion that “there is a special place in hell” for women who do not support other women and losing 55 percent of New Hampshire women voters to Sanders.
#ImWithHer pic.twitter.com/sAx6HeTZHU
— Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) February 7, 2016
Clinton said she has spent her entire adult life working to empower women to make their own choices, even if it does not fall in her favor.
Referring to PBS co-anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, who moderated the event, and herself, Clinton noted historical progress for women’s rights on the primary stage.
“Somebody told me earlier today we’ve had like 200 presidential primary debates, and this is the first time there have been a majority of women on the stage,” Clinton said. “So, you know, we’ll take our progress wherever we can find it.”
Sanders said he is fighting for every vote he can get from every demographic because his goal is to bring America together around an agenda that works for working families and the middle class.
While Clinton would be the first woman in the White House, Sanders argued that for somebody who has spent his life opposing big money interests, a Sanders’ victory would also be a historical accomplishment.
.@BernieSanders: "I think a Sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as well" #DemDebate @BadgerHerald
— Hayley ✨ (@hksperl) February 12, 2016
Discussing race relations and poverty
Under President Barack Obama’s administration, Clinton said progress was made on race relations in the country, but there was still room for improvement.
Race relations would be better under a Sanders presidency than in the past, he said, because instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires, his administration will create millions of jobs for low-income people.
Would race relations be better under a Sanders presidency?
"Absolutely" — @BernieSanders #DemDebate @BadgerHerald— Hayley ✨ (@hksperl) February 12, 2016
While poverty is a general economic issue, Sanders said race plays a role that makes low-income status even harder for black people and Latinos. He said when speaking just to the economic issue, though, the wages high school graduates receive today are significantly less than they used to be.
Prior to the debate, Fight for 15 protestors made their way inside the press room demanding a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour.
Closing statements
Sanders ended the debate by saying no president has the power to take on Wall Street and big money interests alone. He said his campaign is meant to draw young people and low-income people back into the political process and spark a “political revolution.”
.@SenSanders "Don’t give up on the political process. Don’t let the Donald Trumps of the world divide us." #DemDebate
— Margaret Duffey (@duffey_margaret) February 12, 2016
Clinton said she agrees with Sanders that “Wall Street should never be allowed to wreck Main Street again,” but she believes there is more than one issue in the country.
To fix the issues, she said the government has to help break down the barriers holding people back, like racism, sexism and discrimination.
.@HillaryClinton "I am not a single issue candidate and I do not believe we live in a single issue country." #DemDebate
— Margaret Duffey (@duffey_margaret) February 12, 2016
