Tonight from 9:00 to 11:00 PM EST (6:00 – 8:00 PST) the three contenders for the Democratic nomination will debate at Drake University in Des Moines, IA. CBS will televise the event, and I plan to watch. If you don’t have access to a TV, you can stream it at CBSNews.com. Several issues are likely to come up.
With just three candidates left, the Democratic presidential race isn’t nearly as contentious as the Republicans’. Polls indicate Democratic voters are lining up behind Hillary Clinton, who had a strong performance in the party’s first debate in October and followed it up with an affirmative showing at the 11-hour Benghazi hearing.
That doesn’t mean Clinton’s two challengers, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, are giving up. Expect them to challenge Clinton in the party’s second debate, hosted Saturday night by CBS in Des Moines, Iowa. They will likely try to draw comparisons between their lengthy liberal records and Clinton’s more-moderate stances from the last time she ran for president.
On matters of both politics and policy, the three candidates clearly have a lot to talk about. Here are the top 13 issues likely to be discussed at Saturday’s Democratic debate:
1. Terrorism and the Islamic State
The tragic events in Paris on Friday night will surely be heavy on everyone’s minds when the Democratic candidates take to the debate stage. And CBS has assured some of the questioning will focus on how to combat terrorism.
“Last night’s attacks are a tragic example of the kind of challenges American presidents face in today’s world and we intend to ask the candidates how they would confront the evolving threat of terrorism,” CBS News vice president and Washington bureau chief Christopher Isham said in a statement.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks, which French President Francois Hollande said amount to an act of war from the terrorist group. France is a U.S. ally in launching air strikes over Iraq and Syria to disrupt the terrorist group, which came to rise amid leadership vacuums in the Middle East in 2013 and 2014.
But the battle recently got more complicated with Russia’s sudden intervention this fall in Syria to attempt to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Not coincidentally, Obama announced he’s putting 50 Special Ops commandos on the ground in Syria, appearing to go back on his past statements he wouldn’t commit ground troops to Syria.r
Republicans have tried to link Clinton’s time as secretary of state to the rise of the Islamic State; Clinton has said the long-running civil war in Syria led to the terrorist group’s outgrowth. She has advocated for “doing more to help the rebels” and instituting a no-fly zone in Syria, a notable departure from Obama and her main challenger, Sanders. Clinton has not said whether she would dedicate U.S. troops to creating the no-fly zone.
Whatever has been said before though, the events of Friday night certainly make the issue much more salient and could change things for everyone involved…
Inserted from <Washington Post>
Hillary’s experience combatting terrorism, as Secretary of State, should give her a huge advantage on this issue, and I have no doubt that this weekend’s terrorist attack in Paris is likely to shift the focus of the debate toward this topic. That will not help Bernie.
However, the article has a list of thirteen topics, and I only shared one. Click through for the other twelve. Go, Bernie, Go!!
11 Responses to “Democratic Debate Issues”
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The biggest divide actually may be Hillary's ties to Pentagon contractors whose profits depend on war when the other two have no such ties.Thanks TC.
As much as I like Hillary – and love seeing her devour idiot RepubliCONs – I think Bernie is the only Liberal who has the will to do what Needs to be done in the most areas. Fighting "terrorists" (other than domestic right-wing nutpuppies) is really NOT something we can do…They don't wear uniforms or badges or sign up in political forums as "Terrorists" as if they were Parties. Though the RepubliCON Party might try that to encourage more of those open-carry, conceal-bomb types. I'm afraid that FIGHTING terrorism is pushing terrorism into the fantasy realm – like gangsters, and ex-gang rappers, and James Bond bull$hit. Idealizing the "under-dogs" is very dangerous. Not many rich kids become brainwashed Patty Hearst style, but I can imagine very many poor, disgruntled children deciding to DO Something because of conditions they Have to live in. Killing them with Kindness would resolve more than simply Killing to eradicate "problems" – it didn't work for the Nazis, and no civilized nation should even consider it. But people can be vicious, and scared people are as bad as scared animals (we see that in every RepubliCON campaign).. So I'm afraid that these "terrorist" attacks may be encouraged this coming political year.
Wow, Yvonne, profound. I hope you will copy it to Care2.
I agree and am glad she did.
Amen!
Spot on comments.
Thanks, TomCat for this.
Am running the debate and noted that after the ISIS issue finished the Sanders and O'Malley percents increased. Seems she never thought of the systemic and infrastructure of Pentagon budget needs to be reformed to address current threats.
When she said she had a good plan reigning in Wall St. the audience laughed…tells me she blew it
Part of an email mid debate from Bernie's campaign:
"There’s still a bit of time left to go before the end of the debate, but Bernie just delivered the defining moment of the evening.
The moderator asked about the Affordable Care Act, and Senator Sanders talked about how the legislation was a step in the right direction, but that we must go further. Bernie said, “I want to end the international embarrassment of the United States being the only country in the industrialized world that does not guarantee health care as a right and not a privilege.”
The crowd went nuts — one of the only times in this debate that happened.
If you believe, like Bernie does, that this is not the time to think small — that what is required in this moment is a political revolution that takes our democracy back from establishment politicians and the billionaire class buying our elections and profiting off our health"
I didn't get to watch the debate tonight, but read the Washington Post article. I will vote for Hillary if she is nominated, but I much prefer Bernie. Yvonne White, your comments were spot on, and I agree with you.
Thanks all. I have a debate report coming shortly.