Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called out Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during Thursday’s Democratic Party debate over his accusation that she is part of the political establishment.
“You know, Senator Sanders has said he wants to run a positive campaign. I’ve tried to keep my disagreements over issues, as it should be,” she said. “But time and time again, by innuendo, by insinuation, there is this attack that he is putting forth, which really comes down to — you know, anybody who ever took donations or speaking fees from any interest group has to be bought.”
Sanders had criticized Clinton for having a super PAC that raised $15 million thanks to Wall Street donations.
She went on to respond that those “attacks by insinuation” were unworthy of Sanders, adding, “If you’ve got something to say, say it directly.”
As Sanders attempted to reply, Clinton continued, saying, “I think it’s time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks,” prompting boos from some audience members, before saying that both candidates agreed regarding reforming campaign finance laws.
“Let’s talk about issues, all right?” the senator responded. “Let’s talk about why, in the 1990s, Wall Street got deregulated. Did it have anything to do with the fact that Wall Street spent billions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions? Well, some people might think, yeah, that had some influence.”
Sanders went on to cite the pharmaceutical and fossil fuel industries as examples of outside interests that stifle government reforms.
“Do you think there’s a reason why not one Republican has the guts to recognize that climate change is real, and that we need to transform our energy system?” he asked. “Do you think it has anything to do with the Koch brothers and ExxonMobil pouring huge amounts of money into the political system? That is what goes on in America.”
16 Comments
eric3579Fuck off Hillary *promote
siftbotPromoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Saturday, February 6th, 2016 8:09am PST - promote requested by eric3579.
RedSkyI'm glad he's bringing up campaign reform, especially since Lawrence Lessig's campaign went absolutely nowhere. Odds are still that by the general election this will all be forgotten since my guess is it will be Clinton vs. Rubio and neither will want to bring it up.
VoodooVIt cracks me up that she calls that an "attack."
Sure in a very literal sense, it is. But after decades of crazy negative ads where candidates will make some of the most ludicrous claims against their opponent, her attempt to cry foul at Bernie's criticism rings a bit hollow for me.
It just doesn't have the same weight as being accused of being muslim or not being born in America, etc.
gorillamanIf she doesn't change her policies in response to donations then what are these people paying for?
Look, if Hillary Clinton says she sucks dick for campaign contributions, then I guess the generous thing would be to take her at her word.
VoodooVwell even if she could demonstrate that big donations don't affect her policies. It doesn't really change the argument that money in politics are fundamentally bad. MAYBE she isn't swayed by big donations, but plenty of politicians are. These big donations wouldn't exist if they didn't have the desired effect.
newtboyCampaign finance reform IS a major political issue of the day, not a personal attack.
Hillary can't defend her actions on this issue, so she's attempting to deflect the focus back at Bernie for simply bringing up her public record/actions as related to this serious political issue.
That Hillary wants to characterize it as a personal attack shows clearly which side of the issue she's on and how deeply she's invested in that side, and it's the wrong side. There's absolutely no way to think she'll do anything meaningful about campaign finance reform when she benefits so much from the status quo.
If addressing this issue, one that dramatically effects ALL other issues and candidates, is meaningful to you, there's only one candidate for you, and it's certainly not Hillary or any Republican.
moonsammy"You will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received."
Bullshit.
TheFreakSimple observation.
If campaign contributions don't sway politics then why would there be so much money in pilitics? You could argue that weathy donors are supporting politicians whose preconcieved policies will benefit them...but then they wouldn't be donating to multiple campaigns for individuals who take conflicting positions? Which they're clearly doing.
They'll keep telling you red is yellow until the claim seems reasonable.
dandymansays...Hillary Clinton "I don't think... I don't think." Says it all really.
dannym3141I know this isn't going to change the world (almost certainly), but it moved me a little bit to see that point made on such a prominent stage and so bluntly. If this doesn't happen soon, i don't see how our species can thrive. There is currently so little regard for the consequences of our actions.. and Hilary probably believes what she says, that it never affected her. But subtle changes to priorities here and there add up over the years. As smart as she must be to be a presidential candidate, lobbyists can buy 'experts' to sound convincing and come up with selective ways to show data, or just buy more access to a politician and get more time to put their point across.
newtboyThis is why she's characterizing the bringing up her record as an "artful smear". She must make examining her record an 'attack' in order to deflect scrutiny by attacking the 'attacker' instead of addressing the point.....because IF you examine her record it's clear that she's just another politician willing to be bought off on any issue by the party with the deepest pockets.
"You will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received."
Bullshit.
shagen454When he was telling it the truth and people started applauding for some reason I saw a huge cartoon cock and balls come out of Sanders mouth and give Hillary the finger (not that I don't think that we need a female pres, we do! It's just what I saw!).
kingmobsays...What are you taking?
When he was telling it the truth and people started applauding for some reason I saw a huge cartoon cock and balls come out of Sanders mouth and give Hillary the finger (not that I don't think that we need a female pres, we do! It's just what I saw!).
newtboyDMT...I'm pretty sure he's taking DMT. ;-)
What are you taking?
kingmobsays...They really have to change the flavor of these politicians. Maybe they should have forced private sector time.
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