Clinton, Sanders Unite Over Flint Water Crisis At Debate
During the seventh Democratic debate, which was held in Flint, Mich., the candidates' focus turned to the city's public health crisis, with Hillary Clinton joining Bernie Sanders' call for Gov. Rick Snyder to resign or to face a recall election.
The New York Times:
In Democratic Debate, Bernie Sanders Pushes Hillary Clinton On Trade And Jobs
Senator Bernie Sanders, anxious that the Democratic nomination is slipping away from him, launched a series of cutting and sarcastic attacks against Hillary Clinton over trade, welfare reform and Wall Street in a debate Sunday night that often felt like a war over Bill Clinton’s legacy and the moderate Democratic policies of the 1990s. ... The focus on the economic fortunes of African-Americans had a powerful setting in Sunday’s debate: Flint, a city in the midst of a public health emergency over lead-tainted water, and a symbol of a middle class that rose to prosperity with the auto industry, but where 42 percent of the majority African-American population now lives below the poverty line. ... Mr. Sanders struck some more aggressive notes on Flint than he had in the past, embracing Mrs. Clinton’s call to have the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention evaluate the health of every adult and child in the city. “Federal government comes in, federal government acts,” Mr. Sanders said. (Chozick and Healy, 3/6)
USA Today:
Sanders, Clinton Take On Flint Water Crisis In Democratic Debate
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders tangled over trade, guns, the auto industry and the water crisis in Flint, Mich., on Sunday in their seventh Democratic presidential debate. ... The candidates came together in a city struggling for the past two years with lead-polluted water that city, state and federal officials recognized and overlooked. The two Democrats both visited Flint in recent weeks to call attention to the water crisis, criticize local officials and vow assistance. On Sunday night, Clinton for the first time joined Sanders in calling for Gov. Rick Snyder to resign or face a recall election. “It is raining lead in Flint, and the state is derelict in not coming forward with the money that is required,” Clinton said. (Wolf, 3/6)
CNN:
Bernie Sanders Says His Policies Aren't 'Fantasy'
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders defended his policy proposals Sunday, saying that "this is not fantasy -- this is reality" in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." The Vermont senator cited other nations as models: Canada, the United Kingdom and France for his Medicare-for-all health insurance proposal and Germany and Scandanavia -- a region that typically includes Norway, Sweden and Denmark -- for free public college tuition. (Bradner, 3/6)
The Washington Post Fact Checker:
Fact Checking The Seventh Democratic Debate
CNN aired the seventh Democratic presidential debate on March 6, a pre-Michigan primary showdown between former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont held in the city of Flint. Not every statement could be easily fact-checked, but here are 13 suspicious or interesting claims. ... “Five hundred thousand children today have lead in their bodies," [Hillary Clinton said]. Clinton is citing data available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data come from 2014, but the CDC continues to use the estimate for blood lead levels in children today. According to the CDC, about 500,000 children in the United States aged 1 to 5 years old have blood lead levels above 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. CDC considers this amount of lead a level of potential public health concern. (Kessler and Ye Hee Lee, 3/6)
Meanwhile, advocacy groups are calling out Sanders for "ableism," saying he belittled mental health patients with his joke about the Republican debates —
The Washington Post:
Mental Health Patients To Bernie Sanders: Don’t Compare Us To The GOP Candidates
Mental health was mentioned twice during Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate. First, in connection to mass shootings. “I don’t want to hear anything about tougher laws for mental health or criminal backgrounds, because that doesn’t work,” Gene Knopf, the father of 14-year-old shooting victim Abigail Knopf, asked in a question to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), both of whom responded with calls for gun control. Second, in a jab at the Republican presidential candidates. “You know, we are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health,” Sanders said. “And when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in that.” (Wang, 3/7)
