Democrats in second debate get scrappy
They fought to stand out on the stage with 10 lecterns and frequently talked over each other. Early in the debate, former Vice President
"Hey, guys. You wanna know what America does not want to witness? A food fight. They want to know how they're going to put food on the table," Harris said.
But she would later mix it up with Biden over fighting racism and discrimination, criticizing him for working with senators known for supporting segregation and even working with them to fight busing. As a young girl in
Biden accused her of misrepresenting his position, saying he never praised racists and only favored locally controlled busing rules, not national mandates. There are times when the federal government must step in, she replied, because "states fail."
Biden made frequent references to his eight years as vice president, sometimes referring to the Obama-Biden administration.
Harris talked about her experience as a prosecutor and former attorney general of
Former
Former tech executive
Swalwell emphasized the need for a new generation of leadership and called for the nation to ban and buy back the millions of semi-automatic military-style rifles in private hands.
Self-help author
They split among those who believe America should go quickly to a nationalized health care program based on Medicare to those who said it should eventually get there and those who would take a slower route that would eventually have a nationalized plan and those who thought a public health plan could coexist with private health insurance.
Biden said the way to get to universal health coverage is to expand Obamacare. Sanders countered that the nation should go immediately to a government-run system and dismissed critics who say it would be unworkable or unaffordable.
"Every other major country on Earth has figured out how to make it work," he said.
They promised to protect a woman's right to choose abortion and have access to other forms of reproductive health care.
Sanders said he would make support for Roe v. Wade a litmus test for judges he would appoint.
Gillibrand said reproductive rights are under such a serious assault that she would not compromise with
"It's time to stop playing defense and start playing offense," she said.
They criticized the Trump administration's policies on detaining asylum-seekers at the southern border.
Harris said her first act on immigration as president would be to restore DACA protections and extend freedom from deportation to their families.
Hickenlooper said he'd reform the
Williamson said separating children from their parents at the border should be treated as a government crime.
"It is kidnapping. This is collective child abuse," she said.
In discussing problems of race and the criminal justice system, Buttigieg was asked why his city, which is 26% black, has a police force that is only 6% black.
"Because we couldn't get it done," he replied. They tried many steps but couldn't "move policing out from the shadow of systemic racism," he said.
In discussing how to fight climate change, Swalwell said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation with new ideas. Williamson countered: "Just because we have old bodies doesn't mean we have old ideas."
Harris said climate change is the wrong term.
"It's a climate crisis, an existential threat to us as a species."
Biden called for 50,000 recharging stations for electric vehicles by 2030 and promised to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord.
Hickenlooper said that while carbon dioxide is a problem, methane gas is a larger one. He wants to create a network of elected officials to seek solutions.
The candidates frequently went beyond their 60-second limits for answers to questions or 30-second follow-ups. They often ignored specific questions to give general answers and seemed to take a cue from Wednesday's debate in which candidates who interrupted and talked over moderators got more time.
Even when asked for a one-word answer of which world leader they would call first to repair America's standing in the world, only Hickenlooper and Yang, who said
Biden and Harris said
Buttigieg said he couldn't say because it would depend on which country Trump will have made angry between now and then.
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Takeaways from night 2 of the Democratic debate
Rep. Rouda: Subcommittee on Environment Examined Natural Disaster Recovery, Preparedness in Wake of Climate Change
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