{"id":27678,"date":"2020-01-21T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=27678"},"modified":"2020-01-20T15:30:34","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T20:30:34","slug":"2020s-first-democratic-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/featured\/2020\/01\/21\/2020s-first-democratic-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"2020’s First Democratic Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first Democratic debate of 2020 premiered Tuesday night, tackling everything from healthcare, trade, climate change, foreign policy, electability and President Trump. 
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CNN and The Des Moines Register served as the hosts of the seventh Democratic debate, which took place at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Qualifying for this bout were former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Sen. Amy Klobouchar (D-MN) and businessman Tom Steyer.
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Unlike the previous debates from last year, this one had a noticeable difference diversity-wise. Not only had the lineup shrank in size, but the stage was limited to just two women and no people of color, which many were quick to point out. Due to businessman Andrew Yang not meeting the requirements to appear onstage and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) choosing to end his campaign the weekend prior to the debate, the sole \u201cminority\u201d onstage Tuesday night was Steyer\u2014the billionaire.
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In the weeks leading up to debate night, Warren had fallen from her perch at second place down to third, trailing Sanders. Sanders himself surged in the polls and the unspoken non-aggression pact between the two senators looks to have been broken due to Warren\u2019s recent accusation against the Vermont senator.
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The accusation, which Warren asserts as fact, is that during a private discussion the pair had in 2018, Sanders told her that he didn\u2019t believe a woman could be president of the United States, leading some to brand him as a sexist.
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Mirroring last month\u2019s debate, President Trump was the first topic discussed and the biggest elephant in the room after the drone strike assassination<\/a> of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani left many people concerned that war with Iran was imminent.
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CNN\u2019s Wolf Blitzer fired off the first question of the night, asking Sanders why he considers himself to be best qualified to assume the role of commander-in-chief in light of the Iran conflict.
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\u201cWhen Congress was debating whether or not we go into a war in Iraq, invade Iraq, I got up on the floor of the House and I said that would be a disaster,\u201d said Sanders.  \u201cAnd I not only voted against the war, I helped lead the effort against that war.\u201d
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During his first statement of the night, Sanders presented himself as a skilled negotiator willing to work across political lines in D.C. (Washington Post \/ YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sanders continued, stressing that he can negotiate with those in Congress.
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\u201cLast year, I helped\u2014for the first time in the modern history of this country\u2014pass a War Powers Act resolution, working with a conservative Republican, Mike Lee of Utah…We got a majority vote in the Senate. We got a majority vote in the House. Unfortunately, Bush vetoed that and that horrific war continues. I am able to work with Republicans. I am able to bring people together to try to create a world where we solve conflicts over the negotiating table, not through military efforts.\u201d
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For his answer, Biden chose to point towards his tenure as vice president.
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\u201cThe man who also argued against that war (the war in Iraq), Barack Obama, picked me to be his vice president..I know what it’s like to send a son or daughter, like our colleague [Buttigieg] has gone to war in Afghanistan, my son for a year in Iraq, and that’s why I do it very, very reluctantly,\u201d said Biden.
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\u201cWe should not send anyone anywhere unless the overwhelming vital interests of the United States are at stake. They were not at stake there. They were not at stake in Iraq. And it was a mistaken vote.\u201d
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Reminiscent to last month’s debate, Biden spoke little and kept his responses short. Though this strategy has so far kept the gaffe-prone former vice president from making any eyebrow-raising comments, will it prove to be effective in the long run? (Washington Post \/ YouTube) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Klobuchar asserted that her decade of experience has prepared her to take on the role, saying \u201cI’ve been in the U.S. Senate for over 12 years. And I think what you want in a president is someone who has dealt with these life-and-death issues and who has made decisions.\u201d
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In his answer, Buttigieg leaned on his military experience as a U.S. naval intelligence officer in Afghanistan.
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\u201cThe next president is going to be confronted with national security challenges different in scope and in kind from anything we’ve seen before, not just conventional military challenges, not just stateless terrorism, but cybersecurity challenges, climate security challenges, foreign interference in our elections,\u201d said the South Bend mayor. \u201cIt’s going to take a view to the future, as well as the readiness, to learn from the lessons of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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