Clinton, Sanders spar over influence of money in politics

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sparred over the influence of money in politics and the price of their costly proposals in Thursday’s debate as the Democratic candidates for president battled over the future of their party.

The debate was less aggressive than their last one, though Clinton and Sanders still bickered over healthcare, immigration and war as they find themselves locked in a surprisingly close race for the nomination.

Both went out of their way to appeal to the diverse populations of the next two nominating states — Nevada and South Carolina — where Clinton has the edge, as well as Texas and other states with large black populations that vote on Super Tuesday, March 1.

Clinton, the one-time clear front-runner, altered her message since her landslide loss in New Hampshire on Tuesday, looking to appeal to the many Americans, especially the young, who are disillusioned by Washington and are searching for something different.

In doing so, she took a play out of Sanders’ playbook, even using the same exact words he does, focusing on the economy, Wall Street and campaign finance.

“I know a lot of Americans are angry about the economy. And for good cause.” Clinton said. “Americans haven’t had a raise in 15 years. There aren’t enough good-paying jobs, especially for young people. And yes, the economy is rigged in favor of those at the top.”

Sanders stuck to his same message, that he could rid the country of the so-called billionaire class better than an establishment politician with ties to Wall Street while focusing the brunt of his criticism on Republicans.

Minority voters

With the next two states far more diverse than the first two, both candidates gave a not-so-subtle nod to black and Hispanic voters.

Sanders railed against a “broken criminal justice system” that results in more Americans in jail than any other country. Clinton insisted that she would tackle discrimination that African-Americans face, including in the job market, education, housing, and the criminal justice system.

Both candidates both vowed to pursue comprehensive immigration reform, using the emotional issue to draw a contrast with Republicans who oppose allowing many of the millions of people in the United States illegally to stay.

“We have got to stand up to the Trumps of the world who are trying to divide us up,” said Sanders, referring to Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who has called for deporting everyone in the country illegally and constructing a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Both Clinton and Sanders also disagreed with raids authorized by President Obama to arrest and deport some people from Central America who recently came to the country illegally.

“We should be deporting criminals, not hardworking immigrant families who do the very best they can,” Clinton said.

She pledged to aid “hardworking immigrant families living in fear, who should be brought out of the shadows so they and their children can have a better future. “

Sanders turned to link the challenges of the underclass to his criticism of Wall Street. “When you give low income kids … the opportunities to get their lives together, they are not going to end up in jail,” he said.

He called for “fundamental police reform,” and said Americans are “sick and tired” of seeing unarmed African Americans killed by police officers. He called for demilitarizing police departments and said they need to look like the communities they serve.

Women voters

Clinton worked to improve her support among women after a poor showing in New Hampshire as Sanders argued that his record on women’s issues was sound.

Clinton said she’d spent her “entire adult life” working to make sure that women can make their own choices, even if that choice is not to vote for her. “I’m not asking people to support me because I’m a woman,” she said. “I’m asking people to support me because I think I’m the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be the president and the commander in chief.”

She said she’d continue to make her case.

She brushed off the controversial remark made by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that there was a “special place in hell for women who don’t support other women,” saying that Albright had been saying it for years.

Sanders said he had a lifetime 100 percent voting record supporting abortion rights and that he backs equal pay legislation.

Asked if he worried about thwarting Clinton’s bid to become the first woman president, he suggested that electing “somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big money interests,” would be significant too.

And he charged Republicans with hypocrisy.

“All over this country we have Republican candidates for president saying we hate the government,” he said. “When it comes to a woman having to make a very personal choice, ah, in that case, my Republican colleagues love the government and want the government to make that choice for every woman in America.”

Wall Street money

Sanders renewed his criticism of Clinton’s campaign benefiting from a super political action committee and from Wall Street. “What we are talking about is a corrupt campaign finance system,” he said.

In response to a question from a moderator, Clinton said she could not comment about the wealthy donors to the super PAC, Priorities USA. “You are referring to a super PAC I don’t coordinate with,” she said.

Clinton said she is proud that she has received 700,000 donations, the majority of them small contributions. She said she, Sanders and President Barack Obama have received more contributions than any other Democrats who have run for president.

“We both have a lot of small donors,” she said. “They set us apart from the Republican side.”

But Sanders, who has received an astonishing 3.5 million donations, stressed that his campaign made the decision that it would not benefit from a super PAC.

Clinton also questioned some of Sanders’ recent attacks on her candidacy.

“The kind of criticism I hear from Senator Sanders, I expect from Republicans. I do not expect it from someone seeking the Democratic nomination,” Clinton said in a sharp exchange at the close of the two-hour debate.

This report includes material from The Washington Post and The Associated Press.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Clinton, Sanders spar over influence of money in politics."