Good evening, and welcome to NPI’s live coverage of the ninth Democratic presidential debate of the 2016 cycle. I will be watching and sharing impressions of the debate as it progresses. This debate is being held in Brooklyn, New York and is being broadcast by CNN. You can livestream the debate from CNN’s website.
There are two candidates left seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Tonight’s debate will be the first debate in about a month.
The moderators are Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash.
We will begin our live coverage at 6 PM, when the candidates take the stage.
UPDATE, 6:10 PM: We’re off and running, and it didn’t take long at all for this debate to get feisty.
UPDATE, 6:22 PM: Dana Bash wants to know… why doesn’t Clinton release the transcripts of her speeches to Goldman Sachs and put the issue to rest?
Clinton is really, really struggling with her answer to this. She keeps trying to change the subject, and it isn’t working.
Bernie Sanders says he’s going to release his tax returns from 2014 tomorrow.
UPDATE, 6:25 PM: Wolf Blitzer throws a hostile question Bernie Sanders’ way, asking how Sanders could promote American business around the world, given his “contempt for large U.S. corporations”. Sanders rejects the premise of the question, noting that not all companies disrespect their workers.
Asked how he would bring jobs back to the U.S. without causing the cost of goods to increase, Sanders spoke of rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector and raising the minimum wage. Clinton says she has a plan to do just that.
UPDATE, 6:30 PM: Staying on the topic of raising the minimum wage, Wolf Blitzer asks: “If a Democratic Congress put a $15-an-hour minimum wage bill on your desk, would you sign it?” Clinton says she absolutely would.
Sanders, reacting with surprise, began giving his response, while Clinton tried to interrupt. The candidates are really talking over each other here.
Given a chance to explain her more nuanced position, Clinton says she supported the fight for $15 in cities like Los Angeles and Seattle.
“I have taken my cue from senators like Patty Murray,” she added, name-checking Washington’s senior senator.
“Of course, if we have a Democratic Congress, we will go to $15.”
“Patty Murray has introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage to $12, that’s good. I’ve introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15; that’s better,” Sanders said in response.
UPDATE, 6:37 PM: We’ve moved on to the topic of gun safety and gun responsibility. Bernie Sanders is defending his record on this subject, saying in 1988 he lost his congressional bid in part because he supported banning assault weapons. Clinton scoffed at that, and repeated her claims that Sanders was in the wrong for voting against the Brady Bill five times, and wrong for supporting legislation that gave the gun lobby immunity from lawsuits.
UPDATE, 6:46 PM: Now talking about the 1994 crime bill. Was it a net positive, or in retrospect, what was it mistake?
Clinton says she’s sorry for the adverse consequences the legislation has had, but pointedly noted it was her husband who signed the bill.
Sanders reminded viewers that the 1994 crime bill included the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and banned assault weapons… so it wasn’t all bad.
“We’ve got to have the guts to rethink the War on Drugs,” Sanders added.
UPDATE, 6:50 PM: Sanders was just asked a follow-up question about ending mass incarceration; he said his plan is to bring progressives and conservatives together in the states to reduce the nation’s overall prison population.
UPDATE, 6:59 PM: We’re back and talking about the climate crisis. Sanders is aggressively going after Clinton over fracking.
UPDATE, 7:01 PM: Defending her advocacy of fracking, Clinton calls natural gas “a bridge” to the future (meaning, a transitory energy source that’s better than coal or oil but not as good as wind and solar.)
UPDATE, 7:03 PM: “Little steps are not enough,” Sanders declared in response. “We’ve got to tell the fossil fuel industry: their short term profits are not more important than the health of this planet.”
He asks Clinton if she’d support a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.
UPDATE, 7:07 PM: Pressed on whether his energy proposal would “drive this country back to coal and undermine his fight against global warming”, Sanders talked about the need to ambitiously build rooftop solar, weatherize buildings, and protect jobs as the country transitions to a renewable energy future.
UPDATE, 7:16 PM: We’re talking about U.S. support for NATO now. Sanders says European countries should be paying more of the defense budget. Clinton agrees, and says there are obligations that are not being met, and those requirements need to be enforced. Clinton goes on to call NATO the most successful military alliance in history, and it would be strengthened, not dissolved.
UPDATE, 7:21 PM: For the first time in these Democratic debates, we’re having a lengthy, in-depth discussion about Israel and Palestine. Bernie Sanders, who says he’s “100% pro-Israel”, also maintains that the Palestinian people need to be treated with respect and dignity, or there will not be peace.
UPDATE, 7:29 PM: Bernie Sanders has given some of the best answers of the night in response to these questions about Israel and Palestine. He’s correct: There are most certainly two sides to this conflict. Israel may have the right to defend itself, but we should not have a one-sided approach to addressing this conflict.
UPDATE, 7:34 PM: Now back from the break.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer immediately trotted out another hostile “gotcha” question for Sanders about the costs of his proposals. Sanders disputed the data used as the premise of the question, and pointed out that many other developed countries provide access to healthcare and a tuition-free college education to their people.
UPDATE, 7:40 PM: We’ve now moved on to talking about Social Security. Wolf Blitzer asks Clinton (yes or no), would you scrap the cap?
Clinton did not immediately say yes, but gave a more lengthy answer detailing her support for asking wealthy families to pay more into Social Security.
“I think we are in vigorous agreement here,” Clinton told Sanders, at one point during the testy back and forth between the two.
Clinton did contribute one very important point to the discussion: no matter who gets the nomination, they’re going to need a cooperative Democratic Congress to work with in order to accomplish key priorities like expanding Social Security or making college more affordable or tuition-free.
UPDATE, 7:48 PM: Clinton just called out the moderators of this and eight previous debates for failing to ask any questions about reproductive rights. The audience responded with rousing applause.
UPDATE, 7:52 PM: The candidates are now talking about Democratic politics and the future of the Democratic Party. Bernie Sanders touted polls showing that he does better than Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump; Clinton pointed out she’s received more votes so far this nominating season.
Sanders fielded a hostile question from CNN about his participation in Democratic Party politics, noting that he has helped raise money for the DSCC, to help Democrats get elected to the United State Senate.
Thanks for keeping a running commentary going. Gives those of us with unreliable streams a way to follow.