Democratic Debate Overview: What the Candidates Said on the Issues

The two candidates at the Democratic Debate Thursday spent the most time discussing prevalent issues such as keeping Americans safe, reforming the criminal justice system, improving race relations, and foreign policy in the Middle East.

The Democratic Debate brought Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to UW-Milwaukee to square off in the Zelazo Center, intensified by Sanders’ win in New Hampshire. Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff served as debate moderators.

Clinton and Sanders performed noticeably more aggressively toward each other compared to previous debates, mostly through pointing out contradictions in their policies in the Senate compared to now.

Both Democratic candidates had assertive nights, defending themselves confidently against each other’s remarks. Prominent campaign ideals, such as Sanders’ free college tuition and Clinton’s cease fire proposal with Russia, remained in place as frequent references throughout the night.

Clinton’s opening statement consisted of her mentioning that many Americans are angry at the economy, as well as racial disparities in jobs and criminal justice being a major problem. During his opening statement, Sanders cited a corrupt finance system, broken criminal justice, and establishment politics as the areas in which he was working most to fix.

One of the first topics asked about was government expansion. The moderators questioned Sanders’ plan to fund his reform of infrastructure and free education, which he responded to with his proposed taxation on Wall Street. Clinton described her governmental reform as costing $100 billion a year, with debt-free tuition included as part of her plan.

The moderators particularly asked Clinton about her appeal toward women voters, which her campaign has made a significant impact upon. Clinton also bashed Gov. Scott Walker for his actions against education expansion, described the shooting of Dontre Hamilton as an example of police brutality, and acknowledged Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela as her two strongest influences in her run for President. In one dramatic moment, she criticized Sanders for his criticism of Obama.

“I have spent my entire adult life working toward making sure that women are empowered to make their own choices, even if that choice is not to vote for me,” said Clinton. “I have no argument with anyone making up her mind about who to support. I just hope by the end of this campaign there will be a lot more supporting me.”

Among Sanders’ most notable moments throughout the night were his comments that Republican government is guilty of hypocrisy regarding abortion laws, his strong opposition to Henry Kissinger, and his acknowledgement of both President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill as influential figures in his run for President.

“When we have more African American and Latino people in jail than China does, an authoritarian Communist state four times our size,” Sanders said, “by the end of my first term, we will be investing in education and jobs for our kids, not incarcerations.”

Sanders continued to be particularly critical of Wall Street, blaming it for destabilizing the economy and for being corrupt. Clinton geared most of her criticisms towards Sanders and his relationship with Obama, accusing him of questioning the President’s actions.

“Secretary, that is a low blow,” Sanders said after Clinton’s comments toward him about not supporting Obama’s administration. “One of us ran against Barack Obama; I was not that candidate.”

Homeland safety and foreign policy became the focus nearing the end of the debate. Clinton preached cutting off ISIS from resources and collaborating with the Iraqi army in counteracting ISIS’s activity in the Middle East. Sanders stressed working with allies of America to protect democratic values around the world to avoid unintended consequences in not only the Middle East, but across the globe.

During his closing statement, Sanders said that no campaign can be led by the candidate alone and that it is more than just running for president; it is a political revolution. Clinton closed with an extended statement about breaking down the many barriers that set apart Americans from working together to build a stronger nation.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett attended the debate. While in the spin room, he appeared confident that bringing the event to campus and exposing more students to Democratic ideals would expand the base of students voting to the left.

“More than anything I want students to vote,” said Barrett after the debate. “But I want them to vote Democratic.”

The next debate is scheduled for March 6 in Flint, Michigan, the site of the ongoing Flint water crisis.