Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders pulled no punches attacking each other, trying to prove more progressive than the other on Thursday night, at the final debate before the primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Mr. Sanders’ line of attack focused on the big vulnerability Ms. Clinton is trying to overcome — her connections with big banks and companies that have paid her millions in campaign donations and speaking fees.
The Senator from Vermont, a State that borders New Hampshire, said Ms. Clinton represented the ‘establishment’ and he represented the “ordinary Americans,” a foggy categorisation that has defined the fault lines in both parties in the current election season. New Hampshire is 95 per cent white, with blacks, Asians and Latinos combined making up the rest. The state has progressive and libertarian strands influencing its political history – it is the second least religious of all U.S. states, was one of the first states to legalise gay marriage. The State also has near absolute concepts of private property and follows an ‘open carry’ gun policy.
The gender card The cornerstone of Ms. Clinton’s strategy to fend off the allegation that she is part of the establishment is to play up the fact that she could be the first woman President of the U.S. “I am amused that the first woman running for President is being called establishment,” she shot back at Mr. Sanders. A large number of people in New Hampshire, men and women, accept that point. But the alleged Wall Street connections have eroded her ‘progressive credentials’, as Mr. Sanders raises it in every speech, but never naming her. Ms. Clinton confronted him on the issue. “If you’ve got something to say, say it directly, but you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation I ever received,” she said. Ms. Clinton did not disagree with Mr. Sanders on most issues, but offered herself as a better candidate for achieving those goals. “A progressive is someone who makes progress,” she said.
“I’m fighting for people that cannot make those changes and I’m not making promises that I cannot keep,” she said, reiterating the point that Mr. Sanders was making unrealistic promises and would never be able to build the political support for their implementation. Voting records The ‘who is more progressive contest’ also extended to their voting records as senators. Mr. Sanders said he has always been opposed to Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, while Ms. Clinton had to explain her change of mind. “I believe in trade, but in trade that works for the middle classes of this country, and not only for the multinational companies.
The trade deals we have are written by corporate America for corporate America, it has started a race to the bottom for wages,” Mr. Sanders said. His position echoes Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s on this issue.
