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The 2019-2020 Demmyctwat Debates

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  • The 2019-2020 Demmyctwat Debates

    The 2019-2020 Demmyctwat Debates

    Debate #2, Part 1a Transcript


    https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...cratic-debate/
    http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0103#post20103
    http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0103#post20103


    Democratic presidential candidates took the stage for the first night of their second set of debates on Tuesday in Detroit. Below is a transcript that will be updated throughout the evening. Part 1 for tonight
    .

    Introduction for All 10 Candidates:

    TAPPER: Welcome back to the CNN Democratic presidential debate candidates. We’re about to begin opening statements. But first, a review of the ground rules that your campaigns agreed to earlier this month to ensure a fair debate. As moderators, we will attempt to guide the discussion.

    You will each receive one minute to answer questions, 30 seconds for responses and rebuttals and 15 additional seconds if a moderator asks for a clarification. The timing lights will remind you of these limits. Please respect that and please refrain from interrupting your fellow candidates during their allotted time. A candidate infringing on another candidate's time will have his or her time reduced.

    We also want to ask our audience inside the historic Fox Theater to remain silent when the candidates are actively debating. The candidates need to be able to hear the questions and hear one another.

    BASH: Time, now, for opening statements. You'll each receive one minute.

    Governor Steve Bullock, please begin.

    BULLOCK: Thanks, Dana,

    I come from a state where a lot of people voted for Donald Trump. Let's not kid ourselves. He will be hard to beat. Yet watching that last debate, folks seemed more concerned about scoring points or outdoing each other with wish-list economics, than making sure Americans know we hear their voices and will help their lives.

    Look, I'm a pro-choice, pro-union, populist Democrat who won three elections in a red state. Not by compromising our values, but by getting stuff done. That's how we win back the places we lost: showing up, listening, focusing on the challenges of everyday Americans.

    That farmer getting hit right now by Trump's trade wars, that teacher working a second job, just to afford her insulin. They can't wait for a revolution. Their problems are in the here and now.

    I’m a progressive, emphasis on progress, and I’m running for president to get stuff done for all those Americans Washington has left behind.

    BASH: Marianne Williamson?

    WILLIAMSON: Thank you.

    In 1776 our founders brought forth on this planet an extraordinary new possibility. It was the idea that people, no matter who they were, would simply have the possibility of thriving. We have not ever totally actualized this ideal. But at the times when we have done best, we have tried. And when forces have opposed them, generations of Americans have risen up and pushed back against those forces.

    We did that with abolition and with women's suffrage and with civil rights. And now it is time for a generation of Americans to rise up again, for an amoral economic system has turned short-term profits for huge multi-national corporations into a false god. And this new false god takes precedence over the safety and the health and the well-being of we the American people and the people of the world and the planet on which we live.

    Conventional politics will not solve this problem because conventional politics is part of the problem. We the American people must rise up and do what we do best and create a new possibility, say no to what we don't want and yes to what we know can be true.

    I'm Marianne Williamson, and that's why I'm running for president.

    BASH: Congressman John Delaney?

    DELANEY: Folks, we have a choice. We can go down the road that Senator Sanders and Senator Warren want to take us, which is with bad policies like Medicare for all, free everything and impossible promises that will turn off independent voters and get Trump re-elected. That’s what happened with McGovern. That’s what happened with Mondale. That’s what happened with Dukakis. Or we can nominate someone with new ideas to create universal health care for every American with choice, someone who wants to unify our country and grow the economy and create jobs everywhere. And then we win the White House.

    I'm the product of the American dream. I believe in it. I'm the grandson of immigrants, the son of a construction worker. My wife April and I have four amazing daughters. I was the youngest CEO in the history of the New York Stock Exchange, created thousands of jobs and then served in Congress. That's the type of background -- and my platform is about real solutions, not impossible promises, that can beat Trump and govern. Thank you.

    BASH: Congressman Tim Ryan?

    RYAN: America is great, but not everyone can access America's greatness. The systems that were built to lift us up are now suffocating the American people. The economic system that used to create $30, $40, $50 an hour jobs that you can have a good, solid middle-class living now force us to have two or three jobs just to get by.

    Most families, when they go to sit at the kitchen table to do their bills, they get a pit in the middle of their stomach. We deserve better. And the political system is broken, too, because the entire conversation is about left or right, where are you at on the political system? And I'm here to say this isn't about left or right. This is about new and better. And it's not about reforming old systems. It's about building new systems.

    And tonight, I will offer solutions that are bold, that are realistic and that are a clean break from the past.

    BASH: Governor John Hickenlooper?

    HICKENLOOPER: Last year Democrats flipped 40 Republican seats in the House, and not one of those 40 Democrats supported the policies of our front-runners at center stage.

    Now, I share their progressive values, but I'm a little more pragmatic. I was out of work for two whole years until I started what became the largest brew pub in America. And I learned the small -- small business lessons of how to provide service and teamwork and became a top mayor, and as governor of Colorado created the number one economy in the country.

    We also expanded health care and reproductive rights. We attacked climate change head-on. We beat the NRA. We did not build massive government expansions.

    Now, some will promise a bill tonight or a plan for tonight. What we focused on was making sure that we got people together to get things done, to provide solutions to problems, to make sure that we -- that we worked together and created jobs. That's how we're going to beat Donald Trump. That's how we're going to win Michigan and the country.

    BASH: Senator Amy Klobuchar?

    KLOBUCHAR: Let's get real. Tonight we debate, but ultimately, we have to beat Donald Trump. My background, it's a little different than his. I stand before you today as a granddaughter of an iron ore miner, as a daughter of a union teacher and a newspaper man, as the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Minnesota and a candidate for president of the United States.

    That's because we come from a country of shared dreams, and I have had it with the racist attacks. I have had it with a president that says one thing on TV that has your back and then you get home and you see those charges for prescription drugs and cable and college.

    You're going to hear a lot of promises up here, but I'm going to tell you this. Yes, I have bold ideas, but they are grounded in reality. And, yes, I will make some simple promises. I can win this. I'm from the Midwest. And I have won every race, every place, every time. And I will govern with integrity, the integrity worthy of the extraordinary people of this nation.

    BASH: Congressman Beto O'Rourke?

    O'ROURKE: I'm running for president because I believe that America discovers its greatness at its moments of greatest need. This moment will define us forever, and I believe that in this test America will be redeemed.

    In the face of cruelty and fear from a lawless president, we will choose to be the nation that stands up for the human rights of everyone, for the rule of law for everyone, and a democracy that serves everyone. Whatever our differences, we know that, before we are anything else, we are Americans first, and we will ensure that each one of us is well enough and educated enough and paid enough to realize our full potential.

    We will meet these challenges here at home, and we will lead the world in those that we face abroad, successfully confronting endless war and climate change. At this moment of truth, let us pursue our national promise and make a more perfect union of everyone, by everyone, and for everyone.

    BASH: Mayor Pete Buttigieg?

    BUTTIGIEG: I'm running for president because our country is running out of time. It is even bigger than the emergency of the Trump presidency. Ask yourself how somebody like Donald Trump ever gets within cheating distance of the Oval Office in the first place.

    It doesn't happen unless America is already in a crisis -- an economy that's not working for everyone, endless war, climate change. We have lived this in my industrial Midwestern hometown. My generation has lived this as long as we have been alive.

    And it’s only accelerating. Science tells us we have 12 years before we reach the horizon of catastrophe when it comes to our climate. By 2030, the average house in this country will cost half a million bucks and a women’s right to choose may not even exist.

    We are not going to be able to meet this moment by recycling the same arguments, policies, and politicians that have dominated Washington for as long as I have been alive. We've got to summon the courage to walk away from the past and do something different. This is our shot. That is why I'm running for president.

    BASH: Senator Elizabeth Warren?

    WARREN: Donald Trump disgraces the office of president every single day. And anyone on this stage tonight or tomorrow night would be a far better president. I promise, no matter who our candidate is, I will work my heart out to beat Donald Trump and to elect a Democratic Congress.

    But our problems didn't start with Donald Trump. Donald Trump is part of a corrupt, rigged system that has helped the wealthy and the well-connected and kicked dirt in the faces of everyone else.

    We're not going to solve the urgent problems that we face with small ideas and spinelessness. We're going to solve them by being the Democratic Party of big structural change. We need to be the party that fights for our democracy and our economy to work for everyone.

    You know, I know what's broken in this country, I know how to fix it, and I will fight to make it happen.

    BASH: Senator Bernie Sanders?

    SANDERS: Tonight in America, as we speak, 87 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, but the health care industry made $100 billion in profits last year.

    Tonight, as we speak, right now, 500,000 Americans are sleeping out on the street, and yet companies like Amazon that made billions in profits did not pay one nickel in federal income tax.

    Tonight, half of the American people are living paycheck to paycheck, and yet 49 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent.

    SANDERS: Tonight, the fossil fuel industry continues to receive hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks while they destroy this planet. We have got to take on Trump’s racism, his sexism, xenophobia and come together in an unprecedented grassroots movement, to not only defeat Trump but to transform our economy and our government.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Sanders.

    Health Care:

    Let's start the debate with the number-one issue for Democratic voters, health care. And Senator Sanders, let's start with you. You support Medicare for all, which would eventually take private health insurance away from more than 150 million Americans, in exchange for government-sponsored health care for everyone.

    Congressman Delaney just referred to it as bad policy. And previously, he has called the idea "political suicide that will just get President Trump re-elected." What do you say to Congressman Delaney?

    SANDERS: You're wrong.

    (LAUGHTER)

    (APPLAUSE)

    Right now, we have a dysfunctional health care system: 87 million uninsured or underinsured, $500,000 -- 500,000 Americans every year, going bankrupt because of medical bills, 30,000 people dying while the health care industry makes tens of billions of dollars in profit.

    Five minutes away from me and John is a country, it's called Canada. They guarantee health care to every man, woman and child as a human right. They spend half of what we spend. And by the way, when you end up in a hospital in Canada, you come out with no bill at all. Health care is a human right, not a privilege. I believe that, I will fight for that.

    (APPLAUSE)

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Sanders.

    Congressman Delaney?

    DELANEY: Well, I'm right about this. We can create a universal health care system to give everyone basic health care for free, and I have a proposal to do it. But we don't have to go around and be the party of subtraction, and telling half the country, who has private health insurance, that their health insurance is illegal.

    My dad, the union electrician, loved the health care he got from the IBEW. He would never want someone to take that away. Half of Medicare beneficiaries now have Medicare Advantage, which is private insurance, or supplemental plans. It's also bad policy. It'll underfund the industry, many hospitals will close...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

    DELANEY: ... and it's bad policy.

    TAPPER: Senator Sanders, I want to -- I...

    WARREN (?): My name was also mentioned in this.

    TAPPER: We're going to come to you in one second, but let me go to Senator Sanders right now.

    Senator Sanders?

    SANDERS: The fact of the matter is, tens of millions of people lose their health insurance every single year when they change jobs or their employer changes that insurance. If you want stability in the health care system, if you want a system which gives you freedom of choice with regard to a doctor or a hospital, which is a system which will not bankrupt you, the answer is to get rid of the profiteering of the drug companies...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    SANDERS: ... and the insurance companies, move to Medicare for all.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: Congressman Delaney?

    DELANEY: But now he’s talking about a different issue. What I’m talking about is really simple. We should deal with the tragedy of the uninsured and give everyone health care as a right. But why do we got to be the party of taking something away from people?

    WARREN: No. No one is the party...

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: Hold on one second, Senator.

    DELANEY: That's what they're running on. They're running on...

    WARREN: No.

    DELANEY: ... telling half the country that your health insurance is illegal. It says it right in the bill.

    TAPPER: All right, thank you.

    DELANEY: We don't have to do that. We can give everyone health care...

    TAPPER (?): OK.

    DELANEY: ... and allow people to have choice. That's the American way.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

    Senator Warren?

    WARREN: So, look. Let's -- let's be clear about this. We are the Democrats. We are not about trying to take away health care from anyone. That's what the Republicans are trying to do.

    (APPLAUSE)

    And we should stop using Republican talking points in order to talk with each other about how to best provide that health care.

    Now, I want to have a chance to tell the story about my friend Ady Barkan. Ady is 35 years old. He has a wife, Rachael, he has a cute little boy named Carl. He also has ALS and it's killing him. Ady has health insurance, good health insurance...

    TAPPER: Senator?

    WARREN: ... and it's not nearly enough.

    TAPPER: Senator? I want to -- I'm coming right...

    WARREN: No, this is important.

    TAPPER: ... I'm staying with you, I'm staying with you. But you exceeded your time. So let me just stay with you on Medicare for all.

    WARREN: All right.

    TAPPER: At the last debate, you said you’re, quote, “with Bernie on Medicare for all.” Now, Senator Sanders has said that people in the middle class will pay more in taxes to help pay for Medicare for all, though that will be offset by the elimination of insurance premiums and other costs. Are you also, quote, “with Bernie” on Medicare for all when it comes to raising taxes on middle-class Americans to pay for it?

    WARREN: So giant corporations and billionaires are going to pay more. Middle-class families are going to pay less out of pocket for their health care. And I'd like to finish talking about Ady, the guy who has ALS...

    (CROSSTALK)

    WARREN: This isn’t funny. This is somebody who has health insurance and is dying. And every month, he has about $9,000 in medical bills that his insurance company won’t cover. His wife, Rachael, is on the phone for hours and hours and hours, begging the insurance company, “Please cover what the doctors say he needs.”

    He talks about what it's like to go online with thousands of other people to beg friends, family, and strangers for money so he can cover his medical expenses.

    The basic profit model of an insurance company is taking as much money as you can in premiums and pay out as little as possible in health care coverage. That is not working for Americans...

    TAPPER: Thank you.

    WARREN: ... across this country...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    WARREN: Medicare for All will fix that, and that's why I'll fight for it.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Just a point of clarification...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... in 15 extra seconds, would you raise taxes on the middle class to pay for Medicare for All, offset, obviously, by the elimination of insurance premiums, yes or no?

    WARREN: Costs will go up for billionaires and go up for corporations. For middle-class families, costs -- total costs -- will go down.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: Governor Bullock, I want to bring you in. You do not support Medicare for All. How do you respond to Senator Warren?

    BULLOCK: No, health care is so personal to all of us. Never forget when my 12-year-old son had a heart attack within 24 hours of his life. Had to be life-flighted to Salt Lake City. But because we had good insurance, he's here with me tonight.

    At the end of the day, I'm not going to support any plan that rips away quality health care from individuals. This is an example of wish list economics. It used to be just Republicans who wanted to repeal and replace. Now many Democrats do, as well. We can get there with a public option, negotiating drug prices, ending...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Governor Bullock.

    I want to bring in Mayor Buttigieg. On the topic of whether or not the middle class should pay higher taxes in exchange for guaranteed health care and the elimination of insurance premiums, how do you respond, Mayor?

    BUTTIGIEG: So we don't have to stand up here speculating about whether the public option will be better or a Medicare for All environment will be better than the corporate options. We can put it to the test.

    That's the concept of my Medicare for All Who Want It proposal. That way, if people like me are right that the public alternative is going to be not only more comprehensive, but more affordable than any of the corporate options around there, we'll see Americans walk away from the corporate options into that Medicare option, and it will become Medicare for All without us having to kick anybody off their insurance.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: Just 15 seconds on the clarification. You are willing to raise taxes on middle-class Americans in order to have universal coverage with the disappearance of insurance premiums, yes or no?

    BUTTIGIEG: I think you can buy into it. That's the idea of Medicare for All Who Want It. Look, this is a distinction without a difference, whether you're paying the same money in the form of taxes or premiums. Look, in this country, if you have health coverage -- if you don't have health coverage, you're paying too much for care, and if you do have health coverage, you're paying too much for care.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Mayor Buttigieg. I want to bring in Congressman O'Rourke on the topic of whether the middle class should pay higher taxes in exchange for universal coverage and the elimination of insurance premiums. What's your response?

    O'ROURKE: The answer is no. The middle class will not pay more in taxes in order to ensure that every American is guaranteed world-class health care. I think we're being offered a false choice, some who want to improve the Affordable Care Act at the margins, others who want a Medicare for All program that will force people off of private insurance, I have a better path.

    Medicare for America. Everyone who is uninsured is enrolled in Medicare tomorrow. Those who are insufficiently insured are enrolled...

    TAPPER: Congressman...

    O'ROURKE: ... in Medicare...

    TAPPER: Just a 15 seconds...

    O'ROURKE: And those who have employer-sponsored insurance...

    TAPPER: Who is offering -- who is offering a false choice here?

    O'ROURKE: Jake, this is important.

    TAPPER: Who's offering a false choice here?

    O’ROURKE: You have some. Governor Bullock, who’s said that we will improve the Affordable Care Act at the margins with a public option. You have others to my right who are talking about taking away people’s choice for the private insurance they have or members of unions. I was listening to Dee Taylor in Nevada...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman. Governor Bullock...

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: ... he just said you're offering a false choice, sir.

    BULLOCK: Congressman, not at all. You know, it took us decades and false starts to get the Affordable Care Act. So let's actually build on it. A public option, allowing anyone to buy in.

    You know, we pay more for prescription drugs than any place actually in the world. We got nothing to show for it. Negotiate prescription drug prices. End surprise medical billing. That's the way that we can get there without disrupting the lives of 160 million people that like their employer-sponsored health insurance.

    TAPPER: Congressman O’Rourke, you can respond. Congressman O’Rourke, you can respond.

    O'ROURKE: Every estimate that I've seen of expanding ACA even through a public option still leaves millions of people uninsured and also means that people are not guaranteed the health care that they need, as the example that Senator Warren showed us.

    Our plan ensures that everyone is enrolled in Medicare or can keep their employer-sponsored insurance. When we listen to the American people -- and this is what they want us to do -- they want everyone covered, but they want to be able to maintain choice...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

    O'ROURKE: ... and our plan does that.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman. I want to bring in Senator Klobuchar.

    Senator Warren at the beginning of the night said that Democrats cannot bring -- cannot win the White House with small ideas and spinelessness. In the last debate, she said the politicians who are not supporting Medicare for All simply lack the will to fight for it. You do not support Medicare for All. Is Senator Warren correct? Do you just not lack the will to fight for it?

    KLOBUCHAR: That is incorrect. I just have a better way to do this. And in one of my first debates, Jake, I was called a street fighter from the iron range by my opponent. And when she said it, I said thank you.

    So this is what I think we need to get done. We need the public option. That's what Barack Obama wanted, and it would bring health care costs down for everyone.

    And by the way, I just don't buy this. I've heard some of these candidates say that it's somehow not moral if you -- not moral to not have that public option. Well, Senator Sanders was actually on a public option bill last year, and that was, Bernie, the Medicaid public option bill that Senator Schatz introduced.

    Clearly, this is the easiest way to move forward quickly, and I want to get things done. People can't wait. I've got my friend, Nicole, out there whose son was actually died trying to ration his insulin as a restaurant manager. And he died because he didn't have enough money to pay for it.

    TAPPER: Senator...

    SANDERS: Jake.

    KLOBUCHAR: And Bernie and I have worked on pharmaceutical issues together.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    KLOBUCHAR: We can get less expensive drugs.

    TAPPER: Senator Sanders -- I'm going to go to Senator Sanders, then Senator Warren, because you both were mentioned. Senator Sanders?

    SANDERS: As the author -- as the author of the Medicare bill, let me clear up one thing. As people talk about having insurance, there are millions of people who have insurance, they can't go to the doctor, and when they come out of the hospital, they go bankrupt. All right?

    (APPLAUSE)

    What I am talking about and others up here are talking about is no deductibles and no co-payments. And, Jake, your question is a Republican talking point. At the end of the day...

    (APPLAUSE)

    And by the way -- and by the way -- by the way -- the health care industry will be advertising tonight on this program.

    (APPLAUSE)

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Senator Warren, it's your turn.

    SANDERS: Oh, can I complete that, please?

    TAPPER: Your time is up. Thirty seconds.

    SANDERS: They will be advertising tonight with that talking point.

    TAPPER: Senator Warren?

    WARREN: So we have to think of this in terms of the big frame. What's the problem in Washington? It works great for the wealthy. It works great for those who can hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers. And it keeps working great for the insurance companies and the drug companies.

    What it's going to take is real courage to fight back against them. These insurance companies do not have a God-given right to make $23 billion in profits and suck it out of our health care system.

    (APPLAUSE)

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    WARREN: They do not have a God-given right...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    (APPLAUSE)

    KLOBUCHAR: On page eight of the bill it says...

    WARREN: ... to put...

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: I want to let Congressman Delaney in.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. If we could all just stick to the rules of the time, that would be great. Congressman Delaney?

    DELANEY: So I was -- I'm the only one on this stage who actually has experience in the health care business. And with all due respect, I don't think my colleagues understand the business. We have the public option, which is great.

    SANDERS: It's not a business!

    (APPLAUSE)

    DELANEY: The public option is great, but it doesn't go far enough. It doesn't go far enough. I'm proposing universal health care, where everyone gets health care as a basic human right for free, but they have choices. My plan, BetterCare, is fully paid for without raising middle class tax options. So when we think about this debate...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

    DELANEY: There's Medicare for All, which is extreme...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

    DELANEY: I was interrupted.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TAPPER: I want to bring in -- I want to bring in Governor Hickenlooper. Governor Hickenlooper, I'd like to hear what you say about Senator Warren's suggestion that those people on the stage who are not in favor of Medicare for All lack the political will to fight for it.

    HICKENLOOPER: Well, obviously, I disagree with that as much as I respect both of the senators to my right. You know, it comes down to that question of Americans being used to being able to make choices, to have the right to make a decision. And I think proposing a public option that allows some form of Medicare that maybe is a combination of Medicare Advantage and Medicare, but people choose it, and if enough people choose it, it expands, the quality improves, the cost comes down, more people choose it, eventually, in 15 years, you could get there, but it would be an evolution, not a revolution.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Governor. Senator Warren?

    WARREN: You know...

    (UNKNOWN): Jake?

    WARREN: ... we have tried this experiment with the insurance companies. And what they've done is they've sucked billions of dollars out of our health care system. And they force people to have to fight to try to get the health care coverage that their doctors and nurses say that they need.

    Why does everybody -- why does every doctor, why does every hospital have to fill out so many complicated forms? It's because it gives insurance companies a chance to say no and to push that cost back on the patients.

    (APPLAUSE)

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Warren.

    WARREN: That's what we have to fight.

    TAPPER: I want to bring in Marianne Williamson. Ms. Williamson, how do you respond to the criticism from Senator Warren that you’re not willing to fight for Medicare for All?

    WILLIAMSON: I don't know if Senator Warren said that about me specifically. I admire very much what Senator Warren has said and what Bernie has said.

    But I have to say, I have -- I'm normally way over there with Bernie and Elizabeth on this one. I hear the others. And I have some concern about that, as well. And I do have concern about what the Republicans would say. And that's not just a Republican talking point. I do have concern that it will be difficult. I have concern that it will make it harder to win, and I have a concern that it'll make it harder to govern. Because if that's our big fight, then --

    TAPPER: Thank you Ms. Williamson.

    WILLIAMSON: The Republicans will so shut us down on everything else.

    TAPPER: I want to bring in Mayor Buttigieg -- Mayor Buttigieg, your response?

    BUTTIGIEG: It is time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say. Look, if --

    (APPLAUSE)

    If it's true that if we embrace a far-left agenda they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists. If we embrace a conservative agenda, you know what they're going to do? They're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists.

    So let's just stand up for the right policy, go out there and defend it. That's the policy I'm putting forward, not because I think it's the right triangulation between Republicans here and Democrats there -- because I think it's the right answer for people like my mother-in-law who is here -- whose life was saved by the ACA, but who is still far too vulnerable to the fact that the insurance industry does not care about her --

    TAPPER: Thank you Mayor Buttigieg, Senator Sanders your response?

    SANDERS: Let's be clear what this debate is about. Nobody can defend the dysfunctionality of the current system. What we are taking on is the fact that over the last 20 years the drug companies and the insurance companies have spent $4.5 billion of your health insurance money on lobbying and campaign contributions.

    That is why when I went to Canada the other day, people paid one-tenth the price in Canada for insulin that they're paying in the United States --

    TAPPER: Thank you Senator. I want to bring in Congressman Tim Ryan, Congressman Ryan your response?

    RYAN: So here we are in Detroit, home of the United Auto workers. We have all our union friends here tonight. This plan that's being offered by Senator Warren and Senator Sanders will tell those Union members who gave away wages in order to get good healthcare that they're going to lose their healthcare because Washington's going to come in and tell them they got a better plan.

    This is the left and right thing -- new and better is this, move Medicare down to 50. Allow people to buy-in, Kaiser Permanente said that if they -- those 60 million people do that, they will see --

    TAPPER: Thank you Congressman.

    RYAN: A 40 percent reduction --

    TAPPER: Thank you Congressman.

    RYAN: In their healthcare cost, let businesses buy-in, Jake --

    TAPPER: Thank you Congressman. So Senator, let's talk about that. If Medicare for all is enacted, there are more than 600,000 union members here in Michigan who would be forced to give up their private healthcare plans.

    Now, I understand that it would provide universal coverage -- but, can you guarantee those union members that the benefits under Medicare for all will be as good as the benefits that they're representatives -- their union reps fought hard to negotiate?

    SANDERS: Well two things, they will be better because Medicare for all is comprehensive -- it covers all healthcare needs. For senior citizens it will finally include dental care, hearing aids and eyeglasses.

    RYAN: But you don't know that -- you don't know that, Bernie.

    SANDERS: Second of all --

    TAPPER: I'll come to you in a second, Congressman.

    SANDERS: I do know it, I wrote the damn bill. And second of all, second of all -- many of our union brothers and sisters, nobody more pro-union than me up here, are now paying high deductibles and copayments when we do Medicare for all, instead of having the company putting money in to healthcare, they can get decent wage increases, which they're not getting today.

    TAPPER: I want to bring in Congressman Ryan to respond to what Senator Sanders just said.

    RYAN: I mean, Senator Sanders does not know all of the union contracts in the United States. I'm trying to explain that these union members are losing their jobs, their wages have been stagnant, the world is crumbling around them -- the only thing they have is possibly really good healthcare.

    And the Democratic message is going to be, we're going to go in and the only thing you have left we're going to take it and we're going to do better. I do not think that's a recipe for success for us, it's bad policy and it's certainly bad politics.

    TAPPER: Congressman Delaney.

    DELANEY: So the bill that Senator Sanders drafted, by definition will lower quality in healthcare, because it says specifically that the rates will be the same as current Medicare rates. And the data is clear, Medicare does not cover the cost of healthcare, it covers 80 percent of the costs of healthcare in this country.

    And private insurance covers 120 percent, so if you start underpaying all the healthcare providers, you're going to create a two tier market where wealthy people buy their healthcare with cash, and the people who are forced -- like my dad, the union electrician --

    TAPPER: Thank you Congressman.

    DELANEY: Will have that healthcare plan taken away from him --

    TAPPER: Thank you Congressman --

    DELANEY: They will be forced into an underfunded system.

    TAPPER: I want to give Senator Sanders -- I want to give Senator Sanders a chance to respond.

    SANDERS: On the Medicare for all, the hospitals will save substantial sums of money because they're not going to be spending a fortune doing billing and the other bureaucratic things that they have to do today.

    Second of all --

    DELANEY: I've done the math, it doesn't add up.

    SANDERS: Maybe you did that and made money off of healthcare, but our job is to run a nonprofit healthcare system. Furthermore -- furthermore, when we say $500 billion a year by ending all of the incredible complexities that are driving every American crazy trying to deal with the health insurance companies --

    TAPPER: Thank you Senator.

    SANDERS: Hospitals will be better off than they are today.

    TAPPER: Congressman Delaney, I want to let you have a chance to respond.

    DELANEY: Listen, his math is wrong. That's all I'm saying -- that his math is wrong, it's been well-documented that if all the bills were paid at Medicare rate, which is specifically -- I think it's in section 1,200 of their bill, then many hospitals in this country would close.

    I've been going around rural America, and I ask rural hospital administrators one question, "If all your bills were paid at the Medicare rate last year, what would happen?"

    And they all look at me and say, "We would close."

    But the question is, why do we have to be so extreme? Why can't we just give everyone health care as a right, and allow them to have choice?

    BASH: Thank you, Congressman.

    DELANEY: I'm starting to think this is not about health care...

    BASH: Thank you, Congressman...

    DELANEY: This is an anti-private-sector...

    BASH: Thank you Congressman. We're going to move on.

    DELANEY: ... strategy.

    Immigration:

    BASH: We're going to move on to the issue of immigration now. There is...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... widespread agreement on this stage on the need for immigration reform, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including dreamers. But there are some areas of disagreement.

    Mayor Buttigieg, you're in favor of getting rid of the law that makes it a crime to come across the U.S. border illegally. Why won't that just encourage more illegal immigration?

    BUTTIGIEG: When I am president, illegally crossing the border will still be illegal. We can argue over the finer points of which parts of this ought to be handled by civil law and which parts ought to be handled by criminal law. But we've got a crisis on our hands. And it's not just a crisis of immigration; it's a crisis of cruelty and incompetence that has created a humanitarian disaster on our southern border. It is a stain on the United States of America.

    Americans want comprehensive immigration reform. And frankly, we've been talking about the same framework for my entire adult lifetime, protections for DREAMers; making sure that -- that we have a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented; cleaning up lawful immigration.

    We know what to do. We know that border security can be part of that package and we can still be a nation of laws. The problem is we haven't had the will to get it done in Washington. And now we have a president who could fix it in a month, because there is that bipartisan agreement, but he needs it to be a crisis rather than an achievement. That will end on my watch.

    BASH: But just a point of clarification, you did raise your hand in the last debate. You do want to decriminalize crossing the border illegally?

    BUTTIGIEG: So in my view, if fraud is involved, then that's suitable for the criminal statute. If not, then it should be handled under civil law. But these show of hands are exactly what is wrong with the way that this race is being covered.

    BASH: Well, we're not -- we're not doing that here.

    BUTTIGIEG: And we appreciate that.

    BASH: Congressman -- thank you. Congressman...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... O'Rourke, you live near the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso. You disagree with Mayor Buttigieg on decriminalizing the border crossings. Please respond.

    O'ROURKE: I do, because, in my administration, after we have waived citizenship fees for green card holders, more than 9 million of our fellow Americans; freed DREAMers from any fear of deportation; and stopped criminally prosecuting families and children for seeking asylum and refuge; end for-profit detention in this country; and then assist...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... those countries in Central America so that no family ever has to make that 2,000-mile journey, than I expect that people who come here follow our laws, and we reserve the right to criminally prosecute them if they do not.

    BASH: Thank you, Congressman.

    Senator Warren, you say the provision making illegal border crossings a crime is totally unnecessary. Please respond.

    WARREN: So the problem is that, right now, the criminalization statute is what gives Donald Trump the ability to take children away from their parents. It's what gives him the ability to lock up people at our borders.

    We need to continue to have border security, and we can do that, but what we can't do is not live our values. I've been down to the border. I have seen the mothers. I have seen the cages of babies. We must be a country that every day lives our values. And that means we cannot...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren.

    WARREN: ... make it a crime...

    BASH: Just to clarify...

    WARREN: ... when someone...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator. Just to clarify, would you decriminalize...

    WARREN: Yes.

    BASH: ... illegal border crossings?

    WARREN: The point is not about criminalization. That has given Donald Trump the tool to break families apart.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator.

    WARREN: We need...

    BASH: Governor Hickenlooper, your response?

    HICKENLOOPER: I agree that we need secure borders. There's no question about that. And the frustration with what's going on in Washington is they're kicking the ball back and forth. Secure the borders, make sure whatever law we have doesn't allow children to be snatched from their parents and put in cages. How hard can that be?

    We've got -- I don't know -- on the two debate nights, we've got 170 years of Washington experience. Somehow it seems like that should be fairly fixable.

    WARREN: Well, and one way to fix it is to decriminalize. That's the whole point. What we're...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... looking for here is a way to take away the tool that Donald Trump has used...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren.

    WARREN: ... to break up families.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren. Senator Klobuchar, your response?

    KLOBUCHAR: I would say there is the will to change this in Congress. What's missing is the right person in the White House. I believe that immigrants don't diminish America; they are America. And if you want to do something...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... about border security, you first of all change the rules so people can seek asylum in those Northern Triangle countries.

    Then, you pass the bill. And what the bill will do is, it will greatly reduce the deficit and give us some money for border security and for border processing the cases. And most of all, it will allow for a path to citizenship.

    Because this is not just about the border...

    BASH: Thank you.

    KLOBUCHAR: ... Donald Trump wants to use these people as political pawns, when we have people...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.

    KLOBUCHAR: ... all over our country that simply want to work...

    BASH: Thank you.

    KLOBUCHAR: ... and obey the law.

    BASH: Senator Sanders, you want to provide undocumented immigrants free health care and free college. Why won't this drive even more people to come to the U.S. illegally?

    SANDERS: Because we’ll have strong border protections. But the main point I want to make is that what Trump is doing through his racism and his xenophobia, is demonizing a group of people. And as president, I will end that demonization.

    If a mother and a child walk thousands of miles on a dangerous path, in my view, they are not criminals.

    (APPLAUSE)

    They are people fleeing violence. And I think the main thing that we’ve got to do -- among many others, and Beto made this point -- we’ve got to ask ourselves, “Why are people walking 2,000 miles to a strange country where they don’t know the language?”

    So what we will do, the first week we are in the White House, is bring the entire hemisphere together to talk about how we rebuild Honduras...

    BASH: Thank...

    SANDERS: ... Guatemala and El Salvador so people do not have to flee their own countries.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator.

    Governor Bullock, about two-thirds of Democratic voters and many of your rivals here for the nomination, support giving health insurance to undocumented immigrants. You haven't gone that far. Why not?

    BULLOCK: Look, I think this is the part of the discussion that shows how often these debates are detached from people's lives. We've got 100,000 people showing up at the border right now. If we decriminalize entry, if we give health care to everyone, we'll have multiples of that. Don't take my word, that was President Obama's Homeland Security secretary that said that.

    The biggest problem right now that we have with immigration, it's Donald Trump. He's using immigration to not only rip apart families, but rip apart this country. We can actually get to the point where we have safe borders, where we have a path to citizenship, where we have opportunities for Dreamers.

    And you don't have to decriminalize everything. What you have to do is have a president in there with the judgment and the decency to treat someone that comes to the border like one of our own.

    WARREN: You know, I just wanted to...

    BASH: Senator...

    WARREN: ... add on this...

    BASH: ... he just said your plan in unrealistic. How do you respond?

    WARREN: You know, I think that what we have to do, is we have to be an America that is clear about what we want to do with immigration. We need to expand legal immigration. We need to create a path for citizenship, not just for Dreamers but for grandmas and for people who have been working here in the farms and for students who have overstayed their visas...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... we need to fix the crisis at the border. And a big part of how we do that, is we do not play into Donald Trump's hands.

    BULLOCK: But...

    WARREN: He wants to stir up the crisis at the border because that's his overall message. It's -- if there's anything wrong in your life, blame them.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren.

    Governor Bullock, your response?

    BULLOCK: But you are playing into Donald Trump's hands. The challenge isn't that it's a criminal offense to cross the border. The challenge is that Donald Trump is president, and using this to rip families apart.

    A sane immigration system needs a sane leader. And we can do that without decriminalizing and providing health care for everyone.

    And it's not me saying that, that's Obama's Homeland Security secretary...

    WARREN: No.

    BULLOCK: ... that said you'll cause further problems at the border, not making it better.

    WARREN: What -- what you're saying is ignore the law. Laws matter. And it matters if we say our law is that we will lock people up who come here, seeking refuge, who come here, seeking asylum, that is not a crime. And as Americans, what we need to do is have a sane system that keeps us safe at the border, but does not criminalize the activity...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren.

    WARREN: ... of a mother fleeing here for safety.

    (CROSSTALK)

    BULLOCK: Dana, I must correct the record

    BASH: Congressman Ryan, are Senator Sanders’ proposals going to incentivize undocumented immigrants to come into this country illegally?

    RYAN: Yes. And right now, if you want to come into the country, you should at least ring the doorbell. We have asylum laws. I saw the kids up in Grand Rapids, not far from here. It is shameful what's happening. But Donald Trump is doing it.

    And even if you decriminalize, which we should not do, you still have statutory authority. The president could still use his authority to separate families. So we've got to get rid of Donald Trump. But you don't decriminalize people just walking into the United States. If they're seeking asylum, of course, we want to welcome them. We're a strong enough country to be able to welcome them.

    And as far as the healthcare goes, undocumented people can buy healthcare too. I mean everyone else in America is paying for their healthcare. I think - I don't think it's a stretch for us to ask undocumented people in the country to also pay for healthcare.

    BASH: Senator Sanders, your response?

    SANDERS: Well, I have two things. A sane immigration policy moves the comprehensive immigration reform. It moves to a humane border policy, and which, by the way, we have enough administrative judges, so that we don’t have incredible backlogs that we have right now.

    But to your answer your question, I happen to believe that when I talk about healthcare as a human right that applies to all people in this country, and under a Medicare for All single payer system, we could afford to do that.

    (APPLAUSE)

    BASH: Senator Sanders, thank you. And Ms. Williamson, your response?

    WILLIAMSON: Everything that we're talking about here tonight is what's wrong with American politics, and the Democratic Party needs to understand that we should be the party that talks, not just about symptoms, but also about causes. When it - when we're talking about healthcare, we need to talk about more than just the healthcare plan.

    We need to realize, we have a sickness care rather than a healthcare system. We need to be the party talking about why so many of our chemical policies and our food policies and our agricultural policies and our environment policies and even our economic policies are leading to people sick to begin with.

    LEMON: Thank you --

    WILLIAMSON: That's what the democratic -- but I want to say more --

    LEMON: Thank you, Ms. Williamson.

    WILLIAMSON: -- about. OK.

    LEMON: Thank you, Ms. Williamson.

    WILLIAMSON: I hope you’ll come back to me this time.



    There Can Be Only One Head ZOGtard Left

  • #2
    The 2019-2020 Demmyctwat Debates

    Debate #2, Part 1b Transcript


    http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0103#post20103
    http://christian-identity.net/forum/...106#post201036
    http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0106#post20106


    Gun Control

    LEMON: Go ahead. Thank you, Ms. Williamson. Let’s turn now to the issue of gun violence. There were three large-scale shootings this past week in America, at a park in Brooklyn, on the streets on Philadelphia and one that left three dead and 12 injured at a food festival in Gilroy, California. Governor - excuse me, Mayor Buttigieg, other than offering words of comfort, what’re you specially going to do to stop this epidemic of gun violence?

    BUTTIGIEG: Well, this epidemic of gun violence has hit my community too, far too many times. It’s the worst part of being there, getting the phone call, consoling, grieving parents. And we have a mass shooting’s worth of killings everyday in this country. What we’re doing hasn’t worked because we haven’t had a system in Washington capable of delivering what the American people have told us they want.

    Eighty, 90 percent of Republicans want universal background checks, not to mention the common sense solutions like red flag laws that disarmed domestic abusers and flag mental health risks and an end to assault weapons, things like what I carried overseas in uniform, that have no business in American neighbors in peace time, let alone anywhere near a school.

    I was at an event a few days ago, and a 13-year-old asked me what we’re going to do about school safety, and then began shaking and then began crying. And we can talk about these policies, but we already know the policies. I only thing I could think of, looking into the eyes of this child, is we’re supposed to be dealing with this so you don’t have to. High school is hard enough, without having to worry about whether you’re going to get shot.

    LEMON: Thank you.

    BUTTIGIEG: And when 90 percent of Americans want something to happen --

    LEMON: Thank you, Mayor.

    BUTTIGIEG: -- and Washington --

    (CROSSTALK)

    LEMON: Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Governor Hickenlooper, your response please?

    KLOBUCHAR: I disagree - I disagree with his diagnosis of the problem.

    LEMON: Please standby, Senator.

    KLOBUCHAR: OK.

    LEMON: Please stick to the rules. We'll get to you - we'll come to you in a just a minute. Governor Hickenlooper, please respond.

    HICKENLOOPER: Well, this is the fundamental nonsense of government, another thing - another place where, despite our best efforts, we can't seem to make any progress. You know, when I went to the - to the movie theater in Aurora in 2012, and saw that footage of what happened at that crime scene, I'll never forget it.

    And we decided, you know, that we were going to go out and take on the NRA, and we passed as a purple state. We passed universal background checks. We limited magazine capacity. We did the basic work that for whatever reason doesn't seem to be able to get done in Washington.

    LEMON: Thank you, Governor. Senator Klobuchar, please respond.

    KLOBUCHAR: Yes, this isn’t just about a system, or it’s not just about words. This is about the NRA. I sat across from the president of the United States after Parkland, because I’ve been a leader on these issues and have the will to close to a boyfriend loophole.

    And I watched and wrote down when, nine times, he said he wanted universal background checks. The next day, he goes and he meets with the NRA, and he folds. As your president, I will not fold. I will make sure that we get universal background checks passed, the assault weapon ban, that we do something about magazines, and that we understand when 6 little - little 6-year-old boy died, Stephen Romero, when his dad said he’s only 6 years old, all I can -

    LEMON: Thank you, Senator.

    KLOBUCHAR: - say is he's 6 years old.

    LEMON: Mayor Buttigieg, please respond.

    KLOBUCHAR: We have to remember that.

    BUTTIGIEG: This is the exact same conversation we’ve been having since - since I was in high school. I was a junior when the Columbine shooting happened. I was part of the first generation that saw routine school shootings. We have now produced the second school shooting generation in this country. We better not allow there to be a third. Something is broken if it is even possible for the same debate around the same solutions that we all know are the right thing to do. They won’t prevent every incident. They won’t save every life. But we know what to do, and it has not happened.

    (APPLAUSE)

    LEMON: Thank you, Mayor. Senator Klobuchar, please respond.

    KLOBUCHAR: Yes. What is broken is a political system that allows the NRA and other large, big money to come in and make things not happen when the majority of people are for. The people are with us now.

    After Parkland, those students just didn’t march. They talked to their dads and their grandpas and the hunters in their family, and they said there must be a better way. Then we elected people in the House of Representatives. And guess what? It changed, and they passed universal background checks. And now that bill is sitting on Mitch McConnell’s doorstep because of the money and the power of the NRA. As president, I will take them on.

    LEMON: Thank you, Senator.

    KLOBUCHAR: This is not about systems and words.

    LEMON: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.

    (APPLAUSE)

    Governor Bullock, how can Democrats trust you to be the leader on this fight for gun safety when you only changed your position to call for an assault weapons ban last summer?

    BULLOCK: You know, like 40 percent of American households, I’m a gun-owner. I hunt. Like far too many people in America, I’ve been personally impacted by gun violence. Had an 11-year-old nephew, Jeremy, shot and killed on a playground.

    We need to start looking at this as a public health issue, not a political issue. I agree with Senator Klobuchar. It is the NRA. And it's not just gun violence. It's when we talked about climate, when we talk about prescription drug costs, Washington, D.C., is captured by dark money, the Koch brothers, and others.

    That's been the fight of my career. Kicking the Koch brothers out of Montana, taking the first case after Citizens United up to the Supreme Court, making it so that elections are about people. That's the way we're actually going to make a change on this, Don, is by changing that system. And most of the things that folks are talking about on this stage we're not going to address until we kick dark money and the post-Citizens United corporate spending out of these elections.

    LEMON: Congressman O'Rourke, your response?

    O'ROURKE: How else can we explain that we lose nearly 40,000 people in this country to gun violence, a number that no other country comes even close to, that we know what all the solutions are, and yet nothing has changed? It is because, in this country, money buys influence, access, and, increasingly, outcomes.

    The Centers for Disease Control prevented from actually studying the issue in the first place. As president, we will make sure that we ban political action committee contributions to any member of Congress or any candidate for federal office. We will listen to people, not PACs, people, not corporations, people, not special interests.

    (APPLAUSE)

    LEMON: Congressman, thank you very much.

    Senator Sanders, you said this in 2013, just months after the Sandy Hook massacre, and I quote here: "If you pass the strongest gun control legislation tomorrow, I don't think it will have a profound effect on the tragedies we have seen." Do you still agree with that statement today?

    SANDERS: I think we have got to do -- I think what I meant is what President Obama said, in that nobody up here is going to tell you that we have a magical solution to the crisis.

    Now, I come from one of the most rural states in America. I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA. And as president I suspect it will be an F record. What I believe we have got to do is have the guts to finally take on the NRA.

    You asked me about my record. Back in 1988, coming from a state that had no gun control, I called for the ban of the sale and distribution of assault weapons. I lost that election. I will do everything I can not only to take on the NRA, but to expand and create universal background checks, do away with the strawman provision, do away with the gun show loophole, and do away with the loopholes that now exist for gun manufacturers who are selling large amounts of weapons into communities that are going to gangs.

    LEMON: Yeah. Mayor Buttigieg, your response.

    BUTTIGIEG: Still the conversation that we've been having for the last 20 years. Of course we need to get money out of politics. But when I propose the actual structural democratic reforms that might make a difference, end the Electoral College, amend the Constitution, if necessary, to clear up Citizens United, have D.C. actually be a state, and depoliticize the Supreme Court with structural reform, people look at me funny, as if this country were incapable of structural reform.

    Does anybody really think we're going to overtake Citizens United without constitutional action? This is a country that once changed its Constitution so you couldn't drink and then changed it back because we changed our minds about that.

    LEMON: Thank you. Thank you, Mayor.

    BUTTIGIEG: And you're telling me we can't reform our democracy in our time?

    LEMON: Thank you, Mayor.

    BUTTIGIEG: We have to or we'll be having the same argument 20 years from now.

    (CROSSTALK)

    LEMON: Please respond, Governor Bullock.

    BULLOCK: You can make changes. Even in Montana, with a two-thirds Republican legislature, we passed a law that said, if you're going to spend money in our elections, I don't care if you call yourselves Americans for America for America, you're going to have to disclose every one of those dollars in the last 90 days.

    I'll never forget running for re-election in 2016. Even we stopped the Koch brothers from spending it that time. If we can kick the Koch brothers out of Montana, we can do it in D.C., we can do it everywhere.

    And we're also taking steps, additional steps that we've taken -- I passed an executive order. If you're even going to contract with the state...

    LEMON: Governor Bullock, thank you very much.

    WARREN: I'd like to have a chance on this.

    LEMON: Ms. Williamson, how do you respond to this issue of gun safety?

    WILLIAMSON: The issue of gun safety, of course, is that the NRA has us in a chokehold, but so do the pharmaceutical companies, so do the health insurance companies, so do the fossil fuel companies, and so do the defense contractors, and none of this will change until we either pass a constitutional amendment or pass legislation that establishes public funding for federal campaigns.

    But for politicians, including my fellow candidates, who themselves have taken tens of thousands -- and in some cases, hundreds of thousands -- of dollars from these same corporate donors to think that they now have the moral authority to say we're going to take them on, I don't think the Democratic Party should be surprised that so many Americans believe yada, yada, yada.

    (APPLAUSE)

    It is time for us to start over with people who have not taken donations from any of those corporations and can say with real moral authority: That is over. We are going to establish public funding for federal campaigns. That's what we need to stand up to.

    We need to have a constitutional amendment. We need to have -- we need to have legislation to do it.

    LEMON: Thank you.

    WILLIAMSON: And until we do it, it's just the same old, same old.

    (CROSSTALK)

    LEMON: Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Williamson. The debate will be right back right after this short break.

    Gun Control

    TAPPER: Presidential Debate, we are live from Detroit, Michigan. In poll after poll Democratic voters say that they want a candidate who can beat President Trump, more than they want a candidate who agrees with them on major issues.

    Governor Hickenlooper, you ran a Facebook ad that warned "socialism is not the answer." The ad also said, "don't let extremes give Trump four more years," are you saying that Senator Sanders is too extreme to beat President Trump?

    HICKENLOOPER: I'm saying the policies of -- this notion that you're going to take private insurance away from 180 million Americans who, many of them don't want to give -- many of them do want to get rid of it, but some don't -- many don't.

    Or you're going to -- the Green New Deal make sure that every American's guaranteed a government job if they want, that is a disaster at the ballot box, you might as well FedEx the election to Donald Trump.

    I think we've got to focus on where Donald Trump is failing, you know, the world malpractice, and this is interesting -- I always thought it was doctors or lawyers, it's -- you know negligent, improper, illegal professional activity for doctors, lawyers or public officials, Google it, check it out.

    Donald Trump is malpractice personified, we've got to point that out. Why is it soybean farmers in Iowa need 10 good years to get back to where they were 2 years ago? Where's the small manufacturing jobs that are supposed to come back?

    Why are we lurching from one international crisis to another? All things that he promised American voters, we've got to focus on that -- and the economy, and jobs, and training, so that we can promise a future for America that everybody wants to invest it.

    TAPPER: Thank you Governor. Senator Sanders you are a proud Democratic-Socialist, how do you respond to Governor Hickenlooper?

    SANDERS: Well the truth is that every credible poll that I have seen has me beating Donald Trump -- including the battleground states of Michigan, where I won the Democratic primary -- Wisconsin where I won the Democratic primary, and Pennsylvania.

    And the reason we are going to defeat Trump, and beat him badly is that he is a fraud and a phony and we’re going to expose him for what he is. The American people want to have a minimum wage which is a living wage, $15 an hour. I’ve helped lead that effort.

    The American people want to pay reasonable prices for prescription drugs, not the highest prices in the world --

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    SANDERS: I've helped lead the effort for that as well.

    TAPPER: Thank you Senator. Governor Hickenlooper, I want to bring you back to respond?

    HICKENLOOPER: So again, I think if we're going to force Americans to make these radical changes, they're not going to go along -- throw your hands up --

    SANDERS: All right --

    HICKENLOOPER: Oh-ho, I can do it. But you haven’t implemented the plans, us governors and mayors are the ones, we have to pick up all the pieces when suddenly the government’s supposed to take over all these responsibilities, and there’s no preparation, the details aren’t worked. You can’t just spring a plan on the world and expect it to succeed --

    SANDERS: John --

    TAPPER: Senator Sanders?

    SANDERS: John, I was a mayor and I helped transform my city -- I have some practical experience. Second of all, interestingly enough today is the anniversary of Medicare -- 54 years ago under Linda Johnson of the Democratic Congress they started a new program after one year 19 million elderly people in it.

    Please don’t tell me that in a four year period we cannot go from 65 down to 55, to 45, to 35 -- this is not radical. This is what virtually every other country on Earth runs --

    TAPPER: Thank you Senator.

    SANDERS: We are the odd dog out.

    TAPPER: I want to bring in -- I want to bring in Congressman Ryan. You're from the state of Ohio, it's a state that voted twice for Obama and then went to President Trump in 2016, please respond to Senator Sanders.

    RYAN: Well I would just say Hillary Clinton was winning in the polls too, to take a snapshot in the polls today and apply it 16 months from now or whenever it is, I don't think is accurate.

    Now in this discussion already tonight we've talked about taking private health insurance away from union members in the industrial Midwest, we've talked about decriminalizing the border, and we've talked about giving free healthcare to undocumented workers when so many Americans are struggling to pay for their healthcare.

    I quite frankly don't think that that is an agenda that we can move forward on and win. We've got to talk about the working class issues, the people that take a shower after work, who haven't had a raise in 30 years --

    TAPPER: Thank you -- thank you Congressman --

    RYAN: If we focus on that, we'll win the election.

    TAPPER: Thank you Congressman, I want to bring Congressman O'Rourke, your response, sir?

    O'ROURKE: Bernie was talking about some of the battleground states in which we compete -- there is a new battleground state, Texas and it has 38 electoral college votes. And the way that we put it in play was by going to each one of those 254 counties. No matter how red or rural, we did not write you off. No matter how blue, or urban -- we did not take you for granted.

    And we didn't trim our sails, either. We had the courage of our convictions, talking about universal health care, comprehensive immigration reform, and confronting the challenge of climate before it is too late. We brought everyone in...

    TAPPER: Thank you.

    O'ROURKE: ... and now we have a chance to beat Donald Trump with Texas.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman. I want to bring in Governor Bullock. We're talking about whether Democrats are moving too far to the left to win the White House. President Trump won your home state of Montana by 20 points. How do you respond, sir?

    BULLOCK: Yeah, as the only one of the field of 37 that actually won a Trump state -- 25 percent to 30 percent of my voters voted for Donald Trump -- I know that we do have to win back some of those places we lost and get those Trump voters back if we’re ever going to win.

    But this isn't just a choice between the left and the center. It's not a choice just between sort of these wish list economics or thinking that we have to sacrifice our values to actually win. What folks want is a fair shot. The way I won, the way we can win is to actually focus on the economy and the democracy aren't working for most people.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Governor.

    BULLOCK: That's how I win. That's how we can take back the office.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Governor. Senator Warren, you make it a point to say that you're a capitalist. Is that your way of convincing voters that you might be a safer choice than Senator Sanders?

    WARREN: No. It is my way of talking about I know how to fight and I know how to win. I took on giant banks, and I beat them. I took on Wall Street, and CEOs, and their lobbyists, and their lawyers, and I beat them. I took on a popular Republican incumbent senator, and I beat him.

    I remember when people said Barack Obama couldn't get elected. Shoot, I remember when people said Donald Trump couldn't get elected. But here's where we are.

    I get it. There is a lot at stake, and people are scared. But we can't choose a candidate we don't believe in just because we're too scared to do anything else. And we can't ask other people to vote for a candidate we don't believe in.

    Democrats win when we figure out what is right and we get out there and fight for it. I am not afraid. And for Democrats to win, you can't be afraid, either.

    (APPLAUSE)

    TAPPER: Congressman Delaney, your response?

    DELANEY: So -- so I think Democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises, when we run on things that are workable, not fairy tale economics.

    Look at the story of Detroit, this amazing city that we're in. This city is turning around because the government and the private sector are working well together. That has to be our model going forward. We need to encourage collaboration between the government, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector, and focus on those kitchen table, pocketbook issues that matter to hard-working Americans: building infrastructure, creating jobs, improving their pay...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

    DELANEY: ... creating universal health care, and lowering drug prices.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman. Senator Warren?

    DELANEY: We can do it.

    WARREN: You know, I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for.

    (APPLAUSE)

    I don't get it.

    (APPLAUSE)

    Our biggest problem in Washington is corruption. It is giant corporations that have taken our government and that are holding it by the throat. And we need to have the courage to fight back against that. And until we're ready to do that, it's just more of the same.

    Well, I'm ready to get in this fight. I'm ready to win this fight.

    (APPLAUSE)

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Congressman Delaney?

    DELANEY: When we created Social Security, we didn't say pensions were illegal, right? We can have big ideas to transform the lives. I mean, I started two companies and took them public before I was 40. I'm as big of a dreamer and an entrepreneur as anyone.

    But I also believe we need to have solutions that are workable. Can you imagine if we tried to start Social Security now but said private pensions are illegal? That's the equivalent of what Senator Sanders and Senator Warren are proposing with health care. That's not a big idea. That's an idea that's dead on arrival. That will never happen. So why don't we actually talk about things, big ideas that we can get done? The stakes are too high.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman. Senator Warren?

    WARREN: So, look, he talks...

    SANDERS: He just mentioned my name.

    TAPPER: We'll come to you right after that.

    TAPPER: Senator Warren?

    WARREN: He talks about solutions that are workable. We have tried the solution of Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance. And what have the private insurance companies done? They've sucked billions of dollars out of our health care system. They've made everybody fill out dozens and dozens of forms. Why? Not because they're trying to track your health care. They just want one more excuse to say no. Insurance companies do not have a God-given right to suck money out of our health care system.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    WARREN: And 2020 is our chance to stop it.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Senator Sanders?

    SANDERS: Detroit was mentioned. And I'm delighted that Detroit is rebounding. But let us understand, Detroit was nearly destroyed because of awful trade policy which allowed corporations to throw workers in this community out on the streets as they moved to low-wage countries.

    To win this election, and to defeat Donald Trump -- which, by the way, in my view, is not going to be easy -- we need to have a campaign of energy and excitement and of vision. We need to bring millions of young people into the political process in a way that we have never seen by, among other things, making public colleges...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

    SANDERS: ... and universities tuition-free and canceling student debt.

    (APPLAUSE)

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator.

    (APPLAUSE)

    I want to bring in -- I want to bring in Senator Klobuchar. At the beginning of the night, you said you're going to hear a lot of promises on the stage. And previously you have said, when asked about your primary opponents, quote, "A lot of people are making promises, and I'm not going to make promises just to get elected." Who on this stage is making promises just to get elected?

    KLOBUCHAR: Everyone wants to get elected. But my point is this: I think when we have a guy in the White House that has now told over 10,000 lies, that we'd better be very straightforward with the American people.

    And, no, do I think that we are going to end up voting for a plan that kicks half of America off of their current insurance in four years? No, I don't think we're going to do that. I think there is a better way to get what we all want to see, which is lower costs for health care.

    Do I think that we're going to vote to give free college to the wealthiest kids? No, I don't think we're going to do that. So that's what I'm talking about.

    But what I don't like about this argument right now, what I don't like about it at all, is that we are more worried about winning an argument than winning an election.

    (APPLAUSE)

    And I think how we win an election is to bring everyone with us. And, yes, I have won in a state every single time statewide. I have won those congressional districts that Donald Trump won by over 20 points. He just targeted Minnesota last week. And I have done it by getting out there and talking to people, by knowing rural issues and farm issues...

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.

    KLOBUCHAR: ... and bringing metro people with me in the state that had the highest voter turnout in the country.

    TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. Thank you, Senator.

    KLOBUCHAR: That's what we want.

    TAPPER: I want to bring in Congressman O'Rourke. Congressman O'Rourke, please respond.

    O'ROURKE: You know, I think a big part of leadership and showing our commitment to the American people is delivering on our commitments. As a member of Congress, when I learned that the El Paso V.A. had the worst wait times for mental health care in the country, meaning that care delayed functionally became care denied, and was related to the suicide epidemic, we made it our priority and we turned around the V.A. in El Paso.

    We took that lesson nationally and I worked with Republican and Democratic colleagues to expand medical health care to veterans, and we got it signed into law by the one person with whom I agree on almost nothing -- Donald Trump -- to show that, at the end of the day, we will put the American people first...

    BASH: Thank you.

    O'ROURKE: ... before party, before any other concern.

    BASH: Thank you, Congressman O'Rourke.

    We've been asking voters to weigh in on what they'd most like to hear Democrats debate. Among the topics they told us they're most interested in, the climate crisis.

    Congressman Delaney, I’ll start with you. You say the Green New Deal is about as realistic as Trump saying Mexico is going to pay for the wall. But scientists say we need essentially to eliminate fossil fuel pollution by 2050 to avoid the most catastrophic consequences. Why isn’t this sweeping plan to fight the climate crisis realistic?

    DELANEY: Well, first of all, because it ties its progress to other things that are completely unrelated to climate, like universal health care, guaranteed government jobs, and universal basic income. So that only makes it harder to do.

    My plan, which gets us to net zero by 2050, which we absolutely have to do for our kids and our grandkids, will get us there. I put a price on carbon, take all the money, give it back to the American people in a dividend. That was introduced by me on a bipartisan basis. It's the only significant bipartisan climate bill in the Congress.

    I’m going to increase the Department of Energy research budget by fivefold, because we fundamentally have to innovate our way out of this problem. I’m going to create a market for something called direct air capture, which are machines that actually take carbon out of the atmosphere, because I don’t think we’ll get to net zero by 2050 unless we have those things. I’m going to increase investment in renewables and I’m going to create something called the Climate Corps.

    That is a plan that's realistic. It's a bet on the U.S. private innovation economy and creates the incentives to get us to net zero by 2050 for our kids.

    BASH: Thank you. Thank you, Congressman. Senator Warren, you’re a cosponsor of the Green New Deal. Your response to Congressman Delaney?

    WARREN: So, climate crisis is the existential crisis for our world. It puts every living thing on this planet at risk. I have a plan for a green industrial policy that takes advantage of the fact that we do what we do best, and that is innovate and create.

    So I've proposed putting $2 trillion in so we do the research. We then say anyone in the world can use it, so long as you build it right here in America. That will produce about 1.2 million manufacturing jobs right here in Michigan, right here in Ohio, right here in the industrial Midwest.

    And the second thing we will do is we will then sell those products all around the world. Right now, for every $1 the United States...

    BASH: Thank you.

    WARREN: ... spends trying to market around the world...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren.

    WARREN: ... China is spending $100.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren.

    Governor Hickenlooper, you take issue with the green new deal. Please respond.

    HICKENLOOPER: Well, I think the guarantee for a public job for everyone who wants one is a classic part of the problem. It's a distraction.

    I share the urgency of everyone up here. We have to recognize -- I mean, everyone's got good ideas. What we do in this country is no better than just a best practice, right? It's what we do here is a best practice and a template, but it's got to be done all over the world.

    So we’ve got to be building bridges right now with people like China, who were cheating on international agreements and stealing intellectual property. We need to work on that, but not with a tariff system. We need every country working together if we’re going to really deal with climate change in a realistic way.

    BASH: Thank you. Senator Warren, your response?

    WARREN: Look, I put a real policy on the table to create 1.2 million new jobs in green manufacturing. There's going to be a $23 trillion worldwide market for this. This could revitalize huge cities across this country. And no one wants to talk about it. What you want to do instead is find the Republican talking point of a made-up piece of some other part and say, "Oh, we don't really have to do anything."

    That’s the problem we’ve got in Washington right now.

    (APPLAUSE)

    It continues to be a Washington that works great for oil companies, just not for people worried about climate change.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Warren. Congressman Ryan, we are here in Michigan, where there are about 180,000 workers in auto manufacturing. Your state of Ohio has around 96,000 workers in that industry.

    Senator Sanders is co-sponsoring a bill that would eliminate new gas-powered car sales by 2040. Given the number of auto manufacturing workers in your state, how concerned are you about Senator Sanders' plan?

    RYAN: Well, if we get our act together, we won't have to worry about it. I -- my plan is to create a chief manufacturing officer so we could actually start making things in the United States again, that would pull the government, the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, work with the private sector, work with investors, emerging tech companies, to dominate the electric vehicle market.

    China dominates it now, 50 percent to 60 percent. I want us to dominate the battery market, make those here in the United States and cut the workers in on the deal. The charging stations, solar panels, same thing; China dominates 60 percent of the solar panel market.

    So this person will work in the White House, report directly to me, and we're going to start making things again.

    But you cannot get there on climate unless we talk about agriculture. We need to convert our industrial agriculture system over to a sustainable and regenerative agriculture system...

    KLOBUCHAR (?): I agree.

    RYAN: ... that actually sequesters carbon...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... into the soil. And you can go ask -- you can go ask Gabe Brown and Allen Williams, who actually make money off of regenerative agriculture. So we can move away...

    (APPLAUSE)

    ... from all the subsidies that we're giving the farmers. They haven't made a profit in five years. And we could start getting good food into our schools and into our communities. And that's going to drive health care down. That's another part of the health care conversation...

    BASH: Thank you.

    RYAN: ... that we didn't even have. How do we start talking about health...

    BASH: Thank you, Congressman Ryan.

    RYAN: ... instead of just disease care?

    BASH: Thank you. Senator Sanders, your response?

    (APPLAUSE)

    SANDERS: I get a little bit tired of Democrats afraid of big ideas. Republicans are not afraid of big ideas. They could give $1 trillion in tax breaks to billionaires and profitable corporations. They could bail out the crooks on Wall Street. So please don't tell me that we cannot take on the fossil fuel industry. And nothing happens unless we do that.

    (APPLAUSE)

    Here is the bottom line. We've got to ask ourselves a simple question, "What do you do with an industry that knowingly, for billions of dollars in short-term profits, is destroying this planet?" I say that is criminal activity that cannot be allowed to continue.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Sanders.

    (APPLAUSE)

    Congressman, your response?

    RYAN: Well, I would just say -- I didn't say we couldn't get there until 2040, Bernie. You don't have to yell. I mean, all I'm saying is...

    (LAUGHTER)

    All I'm saying is we have to invent our way out of this thing. And if we're waiting for 2040 for a ban to come in on gasoline vehicles, we're screwed. So we better get busy now. And that's why I'm saying get a chief manufacturing officer, align the environmental incentives with the financial incentives, and make sure that people can actually make money off of the new technologies that are moving forward.

    And then here's what I'll do as president...

    BASH: Thank you, Congressman.

    RYAN: ... cut the worker in on the deal. Make sure these are union jobs. And I will double union membership to make sure these new jobs pay what the old fossil fuel jobs pay.

    BASH: Senator Sanders, your response?

    SANDERS: On this issue, my friends, there is no choice. We have got to be super aggressive if we love our children and if we want to leave them a planet that is healthy and is habitable, so I don’t disagree with Tim. What that means is we got to, A, take on the fossil fuel industry, B, it means we have to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy, at a hell of a lot of good union jobs, as we do that. We got to transform our transportation ...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator ...

    SANDERS: ... system, and we have to lead the world ...

    BASH: Thank you, Senator Sanders.

    SANDERS: ... because this is not just an American issue.

    BASH: Governor Bullock, your response?

    BULLOCK: You know, all of us agree that we have address climate change. No one on this stage is talking about it. The Republicans won’t even acknowledge that climate change is real, Dana, and that’s because of the corrupting influence and money. That has been the fight of my career.

    And second of which, as we transition to this clean energy economy, you’ve got to recognize, there are folks that have spent their whole life powering our country, and far too often, Democrats sound like they’re part of the problem. We got to make sure to aid in those transition as we get to a carbon neutral world, which I think we can do by 2020.

    BASH: Thank you, Governor. Just to clarify, who is part of the problem?

    BULLOCK: Who - oh, no, I - I think Democrats often, when they're saying, oh, these fossil fuel industries, these workers, those coal miner workers. Look, the world's changing. We got to make a change, but I think Democrats often sound like the people that, as Congressman Ryan would say, shower at the end of the day, that they're part of the problem. And far too many communities are being left behind, as we make this transition.

    BASH: Thank you.

    BULLOCK: Look, we’re having this discussion, and we can talk about competing plans...

    BASH: Thank you, Governor. I want to give Senator Sanders a chance to respond.

    SANDERS: Look, Steve, there ain't nobody in the Congress who's more strongly pro-worker than I am. So when I talk about taking on the fossil fuel industry, what I am also talking about is a just transition. All right. We can create what the Green New Deal is about. It's a bold idea. We can create millions of good-paying jobs. We can rebuild communities in rural America that have been devastated. So we are not anti-worker. We are going to provide and make sure that those workers have a transition, new jobs, healthcare and education.

    BASH: Thank you, Senator.

    BULLOCK: And look ...

    BASH: Governor Bullock, your response?

    BULLOCK: And look, Bernie, I was a union side labor lawyer. I fought day after day, and I know - but we've set this is a false choice far too often. Are we going to actually address climate change? Fire seasons are 80 days longer in the west now. Or are we going to give people a better shot at a better life?

    You can do both, but let's actually have the scientists drive this. Let's not just talk about plans that are written for press releases that will go nowhere else if we can't get a Republican to acknowledge ...

    BASH: Thank you, Governor.

    BULLOCK: ... that the climate's changing.

    BASH: Congressman O'Rourke, your response?

    O'ROURKE: I've listen to the sciences on this, and they're very clear. We don't have more than 10 years to get this right, and we won't meet that challenge with half-steps or half-measures or only half the country. We've got to bring everyone in. The people of Detroit and those that I listened to in Flint last week, they want the challenge. They want those jobs. They want to create the future for this country and the world.

    Those community college students that I met in Tucumcari, New Mexico understand that wind and solar jobs are the fastest-growing jobs in the country. And those farmers in Iowa say pay me for the environmental services of planting cover crops and keeping more land in conservation easements. That's how we meet the challenge. We do it with everyone in this country. We bring everyone in to the solution.

    BASH: Thank you, Congressman. Mayor Buttigieg, your response?

    BUTTIGIEG: We have all put out highly similar visions on climate. It is all theoretical. We will deal with climate, if and only if we win the presidency, if and only if we beat Donald Trump. Nominate me, and you get to see the president of the United States stand next to an American war veteran and explain why he chose to pretend to be disabled when it was chance to serve.

    Nominate me, and we will have a different conversation with American voters about why the president of the United States thinks you're a sucker, when the problem in your life is your paycheck is not going up nearly as fast as the cost of housing or the cost of education ...

    BASH: Thank you.

    BUTTIGIEG: ... or the cost of prescription drugs. And he has done nothing about it except ...

    BASH: Thank you, Mayor Buttigieg.

    BUTTIGIEG: ... the tax cuts for the corporations.

    BASH: Hi, Senator Klobuchar. I want to ask you about something that CNN heard from a Michigan Democratic primary voter, but we’re reaching out and getting their questions.

    Kimber from Birmingham, Michigan has this question, “what is your plan to address infrastructure, including the water issue so another Flint, Michigan does not happen again?”

    KLOBUCHAR: Thank you Dana, and I was just in Flint. And they are still drinking bottled water in that town and that is outrageous. So my plan, and I am the first one that came out with an infrastructure plan and I did that because this is a bread and butter issue. It's a bread and butter issue for people that are caught in traffic jams.

    I think the Governor here in Michigan smartly ran on the slogan, “fix the damn roads,” and it is an issue for union jobs. And so I think what we need to do is not have a president that’s promised he was going to do that on election night, if anyone remembers. And then he hasn’t followed through -- he has done nothing, he blew up a meeting at the White House.

    I would put $1 trillion in to this, and I would pay for it by first of all changing the capital gains rate by doing something when it comes to that regressive tax bill that left everyone behind, but really made his Mar-a-Lago friends richer as he promised.

    And I would take that money and put it in to rural broadband and green infrastructure so you won't have what you just saw in Detroit with the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood, the African neighborhood -- that was African-American neighborhood that was most-hit when you had those recent rainstorms.

    And I truly believe that if we're going to move on infrastructure --

    BASH: Thank you --

    KLOBUCHAR: And climate change, you need a voice from the Heartlands.

    BASH: Is this -- thank you Senator Klobuchar, Ms. Williamson, what's your response on the Flint water crisis?

    WILLIAMSON: My response on the Flint water crisis is that Flint is just the tip of the iceberg. I was recently in Denmark, South Carolina where it is -- there is a lot of talk about it being the next Flint.

    We have an administration that has gutted the Clean Water Act. We have communities, particularly communities of color and disadvantaged communities all over this country who are suffering from environmental injustice.

    I assure you, I lived Grosse Pointe -- what happened in Flint would not have happened in Grosse Pointe. This is part of the dark underbelly of American society. The racism, the bigotry, and the entire conversation that we’re having here tonight -- if you think any of this wonkiness is going to deal with this dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred that this president is bringing up in this country, then I’m afraid that the Democrats are going to see some very dark days.

    We need to say it like it is, it's bigger than Flint -- it's all over this country, it's particularly people of color -- it's particularly people who do not have the money to fight back. And if the Democrats don't start saying it, then why would those people feel that they're there for us and if those people don't feel it, they won't vote for us, and Donald Trump will win.

    LEMON: Thank you very much Ms. Williamson.

    WILLIAMSON: Thank you.



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    • #3
      The 2019-2020 Demmyctwat Debates

      Debate #2, Part 1c Transcript


      https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...cratic-debate/
      http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0107#post20107
      http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0107#post20107


      Race Issues:

      LEMON: We want to turn now to the issue of race in America. Congressman O'Rourke, President Trump is pursuing a reelection strategy based in part, on racial division. How do you convince primary voters that you'd be the best nominee to take on President Trump and heal the racial divide in America?

      O'ROURKE: We'll call his racism out for what it is, and also talk about its consequences. It doesn't just offend our sensibilities to hear him say "send her back," about a member of Congress, because she's a woman color, because she's a Muslim-American doesn't just offend our sensibilities when he calls Mexican immigrants "rapists and criminals," or seeks to ban all Muslims from the shores of a country that's comprised of people from the world over, from every tradition of faith.

      It is also changing this country. Hate crimes are in the rise -- every single one of the last three years, on the day that he signed his executive order attempting to ban Muslim travel, the mosque in Victoria, Texas was burned to the ground.

      So we must not only stand up against Donald Trump and defeat him in this next election, but we must also ensure that we don't just tolerate or respect our differences, but we embrace them. That's what we've learned in El Passo, Texas -- my hometown. One of the safest cities in the United States of America, not despite, but because it's a city of immigrants and asylum seekers, and refugees.

      We will show that our diversity --

      LEMON: Thank you.

      O'ROURKE Is our strength in my administration.

      LEMON: Congressman O'Rourke, thank you very much. Governor Hickenlooper, why are you the best nominee to heal the racial divide in America, please respond.

      HICKENLOOPER: Well the core value behind this entire country's history is working towards a more perfect union, that all people are created equal. And we've fallen far away from that. I think the job is incumbent on any one of us to make the convincing case that we can deliver an urban agenda that represents progress in schools.

      In Colorado when I was Mayor we got universal pre-K for every kid in the urban city. We did major police reform 10 years before Ferguson -- why is it now that five years after Ferguson we still don't have anything?

      How do we get affordable housing? We created a scholarship fund for every kid -- you've got to deliver a vision like that for the whole country.

      LEMON: Thank you Governor. Senator Warren, I’m coming to you now. Last week the FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the majority of domestic terrorism cases this year have been motivated by white supremacy. In fact, the alleged shooter in this weekend’s attack in Gilroy, California referenced a well-known white supremacist book on social media. How are you going to combat the rise of white supremacy?

      WARREN: We need to call out white supremacy for what it is: domestic terrorism. And it poses a threat to the United States of America.

      (APPLAUSE)

      We live in a country now where the president is advancing environmental racism, economic racism, criminal justice racism, health care racism. The way we do better is to fight back and show something better.

      So I have a plan, for example, on education that says we have to build a better education system for all our kids, but we've got to acknowledge what's happened on race. So my plan has universal, tuition-free college for all of our kids, but also increases the Pell Grants and levels the playing field by putting $50 billion into historically black colleges and universities.

      (APPLAUSE)

      It cancels student loan debt for 95 percent of the kids with student loan debt and helps close the black-white wealth gap in America.

      (APPLAUSE)

      LEMON: Thank you, Senator, very much.

      Mayor Buttigieg, you have been criticized for your handling of racial issues in your home city of South Bend, from diversity in the police force to housing policy. Given your record, how can you convince African-Americans that you should be the Democratic nominee?

      BUTTIGIEG: As an urban mayor serving a diverse community, the racial divide lives within me. I'm not saying that I became mayor and racism or crime or poverty ended on my watch.

      But in our city, we have come together repeatedly to tackle challenges, like the fact that far too many people were not getting the help they needed in their housing and so we directed it to a historically underinvested African-American neighborhood.

      Right now, in the wake of a police-involved shooting, our community is moving from hurting to healing by making sure that the community can participate in things like revising the use of force policy and making sure there are community voices on the board of safety that handles police matters.

      I've proposed a Douglass plan to tackle this issue nationally, because mayors have hit the limits of what you can do unless there is national action.

      Systemic racism has touched every part of American life, from housing to health to homeownership. If you walk into an emergency room and you are black, your reports of pain will be taken less seriously. If you apply for a job and you are black, you are less likely to be called just because of the name on the resume.

      It's why I've proposed that we do everything from investing in historically red-lined neighborhoods...

      LEMON: Mayor...

      BUTTIGIEG: ... to build black wealth in homeownership...

      LEMON: Thank you, Mayor.

      BUTTIGIEG: ... to supporting entrepreneurship for black Americans.

      LEMON: Thank you very much.

      (APPLAUSE)

      Senator Klobuchar, what do you say to those Trump voters who prioritize the economy over the president's bigotry?

      KLOBUCHAR: Well, first of all, there are people that voted for Donald Trump before that aren't racist; they just wanted a better shake in the economy. And so I would appeal to them.

      But I don't think anyone can justify what this president is doing. Little kids literally woke up this weekend, turned on the TV, and saw their president calling their city, the town of Baltimore, nothing more than a home for rats. And I can tell you, as your president, that will stop.

      The second thing I would say is that economic opportunity means economic opportunity for everyone in this country. I know that because I have lived it. And that means when we put out there better childcare and better education, and we pay teachers more, and we make sure there's a decent retirement system in place, yes, we help the African-American community and we must, because they have been the ones that have been most hurt by what we've seen in the last decades, but we help everyone.

      So what I say to the people in my rural parts of my state, just like I say to them in the city and bring them together, is that economic opportunity must be there for everyone.

      LEMON: Senator Klobuchar, thank you very much.

      Congressman O'Rourke, please respond.

      O'ROURKE: I want to acknowledge something that we're all touching on, which is the very foundation of this country, the wealth that we have built, the way we became the greatest country on the face of the planet was literally on the backs of those who were kidnapped and brought here by force.

      (APPLAUSE)

      The legacy of slavery and segregation and Jim Crow and suppression is alive and well in every aspect of the economy and in the country.

      Today, as president, I will sign into law a new Voting Rights Act. I will focus on education, address health care disparities, but I will also sign into law Sheila Jackson Lee's reparations bill so that we can have the national conversation we've waited too long in this country to have.

      (APPLAUSE)

      LEMON: Thank you, Congressman O'Rourke. Speaking of reparations, Ms. Williamson, many of your opponents support a commission to study the issue of reparations for slavery. But you are calling for up to $500 billion in financial assistance. What makes you qualified to determine how much is owed in reparations?

      WILLIAMSON: Well, first of all, it's not $500 billion in financial assistance. It's $500 billion, $200 billion to $500 billion payment of a debt that is owed. That is what reparations is.

      (APPLAUSE)

      We need some deep truth-telling when it comes. We don't need another commission to look at evidence. I appreciate what Congressman O'Rourke has said. It is time for us to simply realize that this country will not heal.

      All that a country is, is a collection of people. People heal when there's some deep truth-telling. We need to recognize that when it comes to the economic gap between blacks and whites in America, it does come from a great injustice that has never been dealt with.

      (APPLAUSE)

      That great injustice has had to do with the fact that there was 250 years of slavery followed by another hundred years of domestic terrorism.

      What makes me qualified to say $200 billion to $500 billion? I’ll tell you what makes me qualified. If you did the math of the 40 acres and a mule, given that there was 4 million to 5 million slaves at the end of the Civil War, four to five -- and they were all promised 40 acres and a mule for every family of four, if you did the math today, it would be trillions of dollars. And I believe that anything less than $100 billion is an insult.

      And I believe that $200 billion to $500 billion is politically feasible today, because so many Americans realize there is an injustice that continues to form a toxicity underneath the surface, an emotional turbulence that only reparations will heal.

      LEMON: Thank you very much.

      (APPLAUSE)

      Senator Sanders -- Senator Sanders, you don't think cash payments are the best way to address this issue, but according to a new Gallup poll, 73 percent of African-Americans are in favor of cash payments to black Americans who are descendants of slaves. How do you respond to them?

      SANDERS: Well, I respond to that by saying that I am supportive of Jim Clyburn's legislation, which is called 10-20-30. And what that understands is that as a result of slavery, and segregation, and the institutional racism we see now in health care, in education, in financial services, we are going to have to focus big time on rebuilding distressed communities in America, including African-American communities.

      In terms of education, I also have a plan. It's called the Thurgood Marshall Plan. And it would focus on ending the growth of segregated schools in America. It would triple funding for Title I schools. It would make sure that teachers in this country earned at least $60,000 a year.

      (APPLAUSE)

      LEMON: Senator Sanders, thank you very much. The debate continues right after this short break.

      (APPLAUSE)

      LEMON: Welcome back to the CNN Democratic presidential debate, live from Detroit.

      Let's turn now to the economy.

      Congressman Ryan, President Trump's tariffs have boosted the U.S. steel industry but hurt auto manufacturers like those here in Michigan, which could drive up the cost of cars. As president, would you continue President Trump's steel tariffs?

      RYAN: Look, I think President Trump was onto something when he talked about China. China has been abusing the economic system for a long time. They steal intellectual property. They subsidize goods coming into this country. They've displaced steel workers, auto workers, across the board, eroded our manufacturing. And we basically transferred our wealth of our middle class either up to the top 1 percent or to China for them to build their military.

      So I think we need some targeted response against China. But you know how you beat China? You out-compete 'em. And that's why I'd put a chief manufacturing officer in place to make sure that we rebuild the manufacturing base.

      We've got to fill these factories that -- in Detroit, in Youngstown, that used to make cars and steel. We've got to fill them with workers who are making electric vehicles, batteries, charging stations, make sure they're making solar panels.

      As I said earlier, China dominates 60 percent of the solar panel market. They dominate 50 percent to 60 percent of the electric vehicle market. We're going to make 10 million electric vehicle somewhere in the world in the next 10 years. I want them made in the United States. That's why I have a chief manufacturing officer that will sit in the White House and help drive this agenda.

      LEMON: Congressman, thank you. Just as a point of clarification, as president, would you consider President Trump's steel tariffs, yes or no?

      RYAN: Well, I would have to re-evaluate. I think some of them are effective. But he's bungled the whole thing, obviously. He has -- see, here's the problem with President Trump. He has a tactical move -- one of many -- he has a tactical move. What's the grand strategy for the United States? China has 100-year plan, a 50-year plan, a 30-year plan, a 20-year plan. We live in a 24-hour news cycle. That spells disaster for our economy and disaster for our global politics.

      LEMON: Thank you, Congressman. Congressman Delaney, your response?

      (APPLAUSE)

      DELANEY: So, listen. This is what I don’t understand. President Trump wants to build physical walls and beats up on immigrants. Most of the folks running for president want to build economic walls to free trade and beat up on President Obama. I’m the only one running for president who actually supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership. President Obama was right about that. We should be getting back in that.

      Senator Warren just issued a trade plan...

      WARREN: You bet I did.

      DELANEY: ... that would prevent the United States from trading with its allies. We can't go and -- we can't isolate ourselves from the world. We have to engage...

      LEMON: Thank you.

      DELANEY: ... with fair, rules-based trade.

      LEMON: Thank you, Congressman Delaney. Senator Warren, please respond.

      WARREN: You know, for decades, we have had a trade policy that has been written by giant multi-national corporations to help giant multi-national corporations. They have no loyalty to America. They have no patriotism. If they can save a nickel by moving a job to Mexico, they'll do it in a heartbeat. If they can continue a polluting plant by moving it to Vietnam, they'll do it in a heartbeat.

      I have put out a new comprehensive plan that says we're not going to do it that way. We're going to negotiate our deals with unions at the table, with small businesses at the table, with small farmers at the table, with environmentalists at the table, with human rights activists at the table. And then, we're going to use the fact that everybody in the world wants to get to America's markets. They want to sell to you...

      DELANEY: That was the TPP.

      WARREN: I'll finish.

      LEMON: Congressman Delaney...

      WARREN: ... is everyone wants to get to America's markets.

      LEMON: Thank you, Senator.

      WARREN: No. So the question is...

      LEMON: Senator, thank you. Please abide by the rules.

      WARREN: ... how we need to raise our standards.

      LEMON: Congressman Delaney, it's your turn. Thank you, Senator. Congressman Delaney?

      DELANEY: So that was the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I think President Obama was right. He did include environmental standards. He did include labor standards. We would be in an entirely different position with China if we had entered the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

      We can't isolate ourselves from the world. We can't isolate ourselves from Asia. Senator Warren's plan, basically, that she put out, we would not be able to trade with the United Kingdom.

      WARREN: No, what this is about...

      DELANEY: We would not be able to trade with the E.U. It is so extreme that it will isolate...

      LEMON: Thank you, Congressman Delaney. Thank you, Congressman.

      DELANEY: ... the American economy from the world.

      LEMON: Senator? Senator Warren. Senator Warren.

      SANDERS: I was...

      WARREN: I think he said...

      (CROSSTALK)

      LEMON: Senator Sanders, please let Senator Warren respond.

      SANDERS: Oh, I'm sorry.

      (LAUGHTER)

      WARREN: What the congressman is describing as extreme is having deals that are negotiated by American workers for American workers. American workers want those jobs, and we can build the trade deals that do it.

      People want access to our markets all around the world. Then the answer is, let's make them raise their standards. Make them pay workers more. Let their workers unionize. Raise their environmental standards before they come to us and say they want to be able to sell their products.

      Right now, the whole game is working for the big multinationals. It's just not working for the people here in the United States, and we can change that.

      LEMON: Senator, thank you very much. Congressman O'Rourke, your response?

      (APPLAUSE)

      O'ROURKE: You know, the question was about tariffs. And they're a huge mistake. They constitute the largest tax increase on the American consumer, hitting the middle class and the working poor especially hard, and farmers in Iowa and across the country are bearing the brunt of the consequences.

      When have we ever gone to war, including a trade war, without allies and friends and partners? As president, we will hold China accountable, but we will bring our allies and friends, like the European Union, to bear, and we'll also negotiate trade deals that favor farmers and American workers and protect human rights and the environment and labor, not just here in the United States...

      LEMON: Congressman O'Rourke, thank you so much. Senator Sanders, please respond to Congressman O'Rourke.

      WARREN: I'd like to respond to this.

      SANDERS: Yeah, OK. You're looking, I believe, at the only member of Congress who not only voted against these disastrous trade agreements, NAFTA, PNTR with China, which cost us over 4 million jobs, but also helped lead the effort against these agreements.

      Now, Elizabeth is absolutely right. If anybody here thinks that corporate America gives one damn about the average American worker, you're mistaken. If they can save five cents by going to China, Mexico, or Vietnam, or anyplace else, that's exactly what they will do.

      As president, let me tell you what I will do. These guys line up at the federal trough. They want military contracts. They want all kinds of contracts. Well, under my administration, you ain't going to get those contracts if you're throwing American workers out on the street.

      LEMON: Senator Sanders, thank you very much. Governor Hickenlooper, your response?

      WARREN: I'd like a chance to respond.

      HICKENLOOPER: So -- so I think -- again, I think Congressman Delaney has got a point here. And there is a way of looking at trade that is therapeutic.

      The bottom line is, you talk to any economist, there is not a single example in history where a trade war had a winner. Trade wars are for losers. And the bottom line is we've got to recognize, let's negotiate a better trade deal. But you're not going to win against China in a trade war when they've got 25 percent of our total debt.

      And step back and look it. Here's Trump gives a giant tax cut and at the same time -- so we're paying in tariffs about $800 to $1,200 per household and then we give this incredible tax cut to the rich. Essentially what's happening is now he's transferred that tax obligation onto the middle class. That's what's outrageous. But tariffs are not the solution.

      LEMON: Governor, thank you. Senator Warren?

      WARREN: Anyone who thinks that these trade deals are mostly about tariffs just doesn’t understand what’s going on. Look at the new NAFTA 2.0. What’s the central feature? It’s to help pharmaceutical companies get longer periods of exclusivity so they can charge Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans more money and make more profits.

      That's what trade deals have become. They have become a way for giant multinationals to change the regulatory environment so they can suck more profits out for themselves and to leave the American people behind. We have to have the courage to fight back against that corruption.

      LEMON: Senator, thank you. Governor Bullock, your response?

      BULLOCK: You know, a farmer in Rippy said to me, every time that Trump tweets, we lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. If Montana had to eat all the wheat that we produce, every Montanan would have to eat 40 loaves of bread a day.

      But by the same token, what we have is -- I actually agree with Senator Warren on this in part. Corporations can move capital easy. Workers can't move. So going forward, we need to make sure that our trade deals actually are protecting -- thinking about the workers. They can't be the stepchild. But the way to do it, with this blunt instrument of tariffs that the president is doing, that's not how we get a fair deal for farmers anywhere or the manufacturers here in Detroit.

      LEMON: Governor, thank you very much.

      (CROSSTALK)

      Mayor -- standby, please. Standby, please. Please abide by the rules. Mayor Buttigieg, on Thursday of this week, a GM plant in Michigan will stop production, the latest auto plant to cease operations in the industrial Midwest. This comes as part of the company's modernization plans, which will eventually result in 6,000 hourly workers losing their jobs or being reassigned to other plants.

      What is your plan for retraining workers whose jobs are at risk?

      BUTTIGIEG: Well, this happened in my community 20 years before I was born. And when I was growing up, we were still picking up the pieces. Empty factories, empty houses, poverty. I know exactly what happens to a community when these closures take place. And there will be more.

      It's why we actually need to put the interests of workers first. Of course we need to do retraining. We're doing it now in South Bend. We should continue to do it. But this is so much bigger than a trade fight. This is about a moment when the economy is changing before our eyes.

      There are people in the gig economy who go through more jobs in a week than my parents went through in their lifetime. It's why I've proposed that we allow gig workers to unionize, because a gig is a job and a worker is a worker.

      (APPLAUSE)

      LEMON: Thank you, Mayor.

      BUTTIGIEG: We have to respond to all of these changes. And, you know, in addition to confronting tech, in addition to supporting workers by double unionization, as I propose to do, some of this is low-tech, too, like the minimum wage is just too low. And so-called conservative Christian senators right now in the Senate are blocking a bill to raise the minimum wage, when scripture says that whoever oppresses the poor taunts their maker.

      (APPLAUSE)

      LEMON: Mayor, thank you very much.

      Congressman Delaney, I'm coming to you now. Your estimated net worth is more than $65 million. That would make you subject to Senator Warren's proposed wealth tax on the assets of the richest 75,000 homes, households, or so, in the United States. Do you think Senator Warren's wealth tax is a fair way to fund child care and education?

      DELANEY: I think wealthy Americans have to pay more. Listen, I grew up in a blue-collar family. First in my family to go to college. Became a successful entrepreneur. Created thousands of jobs. Supported thousands of entrepreneurs all around this country. And I've done well financially. I think I should pay more in tax. I think wealthy Americans should pay more in tax. But we have to have a real solution.

      The real solution is to raise the capital gains rates. There is no reason why people who invest for a living should pay less than people who work for a living. That’s ridiculous. It’s the biggest loophole in our tax code.

      (APPLAUSE)

      We act like wealthy individuals are endangered species and if we don't raise -- if we raise their taxes, they won't invest. That's crazy. That's how we get more revenues from wealthy individuals, we roll back the Trump tax cuts to wealthy individuals.

      I think the wealth tax will be fought in court forever. It's arguably unconstitutional. And the countries that have had it have largely abandoned it because it's impossible to implement. But here again, real solutions, not impossible promises.

      LEMON: Congressman, thank you very much.

      DELANEY: Raise the capital gains tax. Roll back the taxes on wealthy Americans.

      LEMON: Thank you, Congressman.

      DELANEY: That we can do in our first few months as president.

      LEMON: Senator Warren, please respond.

      WARREN: So I have proposed a wealth tax. It's now time to do that. It's time to tax the top one tenth of one percent of fortunes in this country. Your first $50 million, you can keep free and clear. But your 50 millionth and first dollar, you got to pitch in two cents. Two cents.

      What can America do with two cents? We can provide universal childcare from zero to five. We can provide universal pre-K for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old. We can raise the wages of every childcare worker and preschool teacher in this country. We can provide universal tuition-free college. We can expand Pell. We can put $50 billion into our historically black colleges and universities. And we can cancel student loan debt for 95 percent of the people who have it and start to close the wealth gap in America.

      It tells you how badly broken this economy is...

      LEMON: Senator, thank you very much. Congressman Delaney...

      WARREN: ... that two cents from the wealthiest in this country...

      LEMON: Thank you, Senator.

      WARREN: ... would let us invest in the rest of America.

      LEMON: Senator, please. Congressman, please respond.

      (APPLAUSE)

      DELANEY: This is not about whether wealthy -- this is not about whether wealthy Americans should pay more. I think we're all in agreement on that. It's a question of, do you have a real solution to make it happen?

      We can raise the capital gains rate to match the ordinary income. You know the last president to do that was actually Ronald Reagan. We can do that in our first year. I've called for that to be done (inaudible). I've called for the expansion of universal pre-K so that every American has pre-K. And I do it through a -- through an additional tax on high net worth individuals.

      BASH: Thank you.

      But we don't need to come up with new taxes that are arguably unconstitutional...

      BASH: Thank you, Congressman Delaney.

      DELANEY: ... will be fought in court for years.

      BASH: Thank you, Congressman. I want to turn to the issue of student debt.

      WARREN: This is...

      (CROSSTALK)

      SANDERS: Can I just respond to that?

      BASH: I'm going to turn to the issue of student debt now. Mayor Buttigieg, you've talked about how you and your husband are...

      (APPLAUSE)

      ... paying down six figures of student loan debt. Under Senator Sanders' proposal to cancel all student loan debt, yours would immediately be wiped away. Why wouldn't you support that?

      BUTTIGIEG: That would be great for us. And then the next day, there would be a student loan program and people would be out taking student loans wondering they weren't -- why they weren't lucky enough in timing to get theirs wiped away completely, too.

      We can have debt-free college for low and middle-income students by expanding Pell Grants and compelling states to pick up more of the burden. And on the back end, for those of us who do have a lot of debt, we can make it more affordable and we can expand a public service loan forgiveness program, which is an excellent program that is almost impossible to actually get access to right now.

      We can take these steps and have an approach that is actually fair. If we want to start wiping away student debt, here's where I would start. I would start with the for-profit colleges that took advantage of people, especially veterans, by the way. The moment I redeployed, my Facebook add feed started filling with ads from these for-profit colleges. Under President Obama, they were held accountable for whether they delivered results. President Trump, under a secretary of education who regrettably is from this state, did away with those rules. There's no accountability.

      On my watch, those colleges that turned the Department of Education into a predatory lender, that's where we would begin when it came to getting rid of loans.

      BASH: Thank you, Mayor Buttigieg.

      Senator Sanders, you want to forgive all student loan debt. Your response?

      SANDERS: Matter of fact, I do. But before I get into that, the major issue that we don't talk about in Congress; you don't talk about in the media, is the massive level of income and wealth inequality in America.

      You’ve got three people who own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. You have a top 1 percent that owns more wealth than the bottom 92 percent. Forty-nine percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent. Companies like Amazon and billionaires out there do not pay one nickel in federal income tax. And we’ve got 500,000 people sleeping out on the street.

      What we need is a political revolution that tells these billionaires and corporate America that they are Americans; they'll participate in our society, but they have got to start paying their fair share of taxes, period.

      (APPLAUSE)

      BASH: Thank you, Senator Sanders. Ms. Williamson?

      WILLIAMSON: I'd like to respond.

      BASH: You are proposing to make college free for all qualified students. Should the government pay for children from wealthier families to go to college?

      WILLIAMSON: I think that all domestic and international policy should be based on the idea that anything we do to help people thrive is a stimulation to our economy. That’s how you stimulate your economy. So if a few people take advantage, but there are four or five people who were going to take the money that they then have in the bank -- when you look at this $1.5 trillion college debt -- this is why I agree with Bernie, or I would be -- OK, why don’t we swap it? We had a $2 trillion tax cut, where 83 cents of every dollar goes to the very, very richest among us, that does not stimulate the economy.

      If we get rid of this college debt, think of all the young people who will have the discretionary spending; they'll be able to start their business. The best thing you could do to stimulate the U.S. economy is to get rid of this debt.

      (APPLAUSE)

      This is not just about a plan to to do it. It’s about a philosophy of governing. And I’ve heard some people here tonight, I almost wonder why you’re Democrats. You seem to think there’s something wrong about using...

      (APPLAUSE)

      ... about using the instruments of government to help people. That is what government should do. It should -- all policies should help people thrive. That is how we will have peace...

      BASH: Thank you.

      WILLIAMSON: ... and that is how we will have prosperity.

      BASH: Thank you, Ms. Williamson. Congressman O'Rourke, you don't support free four-year college. Your response to Ms. Williamson?

      O'ROURKE: I support free two-year college, earn that associate's degree, realize your full potential, debt-free four-year college. But unlike some of the other candidates on the stage, that's not just for tuition. That is room and books and board, the full cost of being able to better yourself so that you can better this country, and then for that schoolteacher who, in many places like Texas, is working a second or a third job, full forgiveness for her outstanding student loan debt, forgiveness for that person willing to work at the V.A. and serve our former service members.

      And we do not do that at the expense of unions. We elevate them as well and make it easier to join an apprenticeship to learn a skill or a trade that you can command for the rest of your life.

      BASH: Thank you. Thank you, Congressman. Senator Klobuchar, your response?

      (APPLAUSE)

      KLOBUCHAR: I want to make it easier for kids to go to college. And I think we do it by focusing our resources on the people that need it most. And my problem with some of these plans is they literally would pay for wealthy kids, for Wall Street kids to go to college. There's no difference. It says everyone is free.

      I don't think that makes sense. And I'm very concerned if we do things like that, the debt we're going to pass on to the next generation and the next generation. So what I would do about student loan debt is that I would allow people to refinance it at a better rate and I would make sure that we improve those student loan repayment programs for our teachers and expand them so that you literally -- over 5, 10 years -- can get it paid for if you go into occupations where we don't have enough workers.

      I think we need to mesh what we were just talking about with the economy with our education policy.

      Foreign Policy:

      TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator. I want to turn to foreign policy now.

      Senator Sanders, President Trump has argued that the United States cannot continue to be the, quote, "policeman of the world." You said the exact same thing on a debate stage in 2016. If voters are hearing the same message from you and President Trump on the issue of military intervention, how should they expect that you will be any different from him?

      SANDERS: Trump is a pathological liar. I tell the truth.

      (APPLAUSE)

      We have been in Afghanistan I think 18 years, in Iraq 16 or 17 years. We have spent $5 trillion on the war on terror. And there are probably more terrorists out there now than before it began. We're going to spend -- the Congress passed -- and I will not vote for -- a $715 billion military budget, more than the 10 next countries combined.

      What we need is a foreign policy that focuses on diplomacy, ending conflicts by people sitting at a table, not by killing each other. As president of the United States, I will go to the United Nations and not denigrate it, not attack the U.N., but bring countries together in the Middle East and all over the world to come to terms with their differences and solve those problems peacefully.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

      SANDERS: The United States cannot be the policeman of the world.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Governor Hickenlooper, how do you respond to Senator Sanders' vision for America's role in the world?

      HICKENLOOPER: Well, we share the recognition of the incredible costs. People don't realize that half the soldiers that fought in Iraq and Afghanistan were National Guard. And so I went and sent them off on their deployments, big, you know, noisy hangers, but I also mourned with their families when they didn't come back.

      We are able now to -- I call it constant engagement. But we should have an international diplomatic approach where we're talking to everybody, because if we're going to deal with climate change and cyber security and nuclear proliferation, we've got to be talking to everybody. And tariff wars don't work.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Governor.

      HICKENLOOPER: They're for losers.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Governor.

      I want to go to Congressman Ryan and I want to turn to the subject of North Korea, which just hours ago launched two short-range ballistic missiles for the second time in less than a week. Congressman, you've said that you would not meet with North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un unless you were at least close to a deal. Now, Senator Klobuchar says that she would, quote, "always be willing to meet with leaders to discuss policies." Is that view wrong?

      RYAN: Yeah, I think so. I love Amy Klobuchar, but I think she's wrong on this one. I don't think presidents of the United States meet with dictators.

      We saw what just happened with President Trump. He goes to the demilitarized zone with the leader of North Korea, gives him a huge photo op, gives him global credibility, because the most powerful person in the world is sitting there meeting with him, and weeks later, he’s lobbing more missiles. That doesn’t make any sense.

      We've got to demilitarize our foreign policy. We've got to make sure that we are engaging these countries all the time. This is very difficult work. I've been in Congress 17 years. I've sat on the Defense Appropriations Committee. I've sat on the Armed Services Committee. This is long, tedious work, much of it done outside of the eye of the TV camera.

      And as president, you've got to monitor that and be very disciplined every day. Don't go give a dictator a huge win. Sit down and do your job.

      And the same thing with what's happening in Central America. He's cutting the State Department budget, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, where the migrants are coming from.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman.

      RYAN: Go fix the problem at its source and use diplomacy to do it.

      TAPPER: Senator Klobuchar, your response?

      KLOBUCHAR: I think we agree. I just think you have to leave open the possibility of meeting with anyone at any place. What I don't like is how this president has handled it. You've heard of the Truman doctrine, the Monroe doctrine. He's done the go-it-alone doctrine with the rest of the world.

      He's taking us out of the climate change agreement, out of the Iran nuclear agreement, out of the Russian nuclear agreement, and I don't agree with that.

      And when he was just with Vladimir Putin at the G20, when he was asked about invading our democracy, he made a joke. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their lives on the battlefield to protect our democracy and our right to vote.

      TAPPER: Thank you.

      KLOBUCHAR: Four little girls in Birmingham, Alabama, lost their life in a church at the height of the civil rights amendment.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

      KLOBUCHAR: So I do believe you meet with people, but you'd better have an agenda...

      TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

      KLOBUCHAR: ... and you better put our interests of our country first, not the Russians'.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.

      Mayor Buttigieg, you served in Afghanistan where just yesterday two U.S. servicemembers were killed. There are currently about 14,000 U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan. You've said, quote, "One thing everybody can agree on is that we're getting out of Afghanistan." Will you withdraw all U.S. servicemembers by the end of your first year in office?

      BUTTIGIEG: We will withdraw. We have to.

      TAPPER: In your first year?

      BUTTIGIEG: Yes. Look, around the world, we will do whatever it takes to keep America safe. But I thought I was one of the last troops leaving Afghanistan when I thought I was turning out the lights years ago.

      Every time I see news about somebody being killed in Afghanistan, I think about what it was like to hear an explosion over there and wonder whether it was somebody that I served with, somebody that I knew, a friend, roommate, colleague.

      We're pretty close to the day when we will wake up to the news of a casualty in Afghanistan who was not born on 9/11.

      I was sent into that war by a congressional authorization, as well as a president. And we need to talk not only about the need for a president committed to ending endless war, but the fact that Congress has been asleep at the switch.

      And on my watch, I will propose that any authorization for the use of military force have a three-year sunset and have to be renewed, because if men and women in the military have the courage to go serve, members of Congress ought to have to summon the courage to vote on whether they ought to be there.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor.

      (APPLAUSE)

      I want to bring in Congressman O'Rourke. Congressman O'Rourke, responding -- returning, rather, to the question of whether you would withdraw all U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan during your first year in office as president, how do you respond, sir?

      O'ROURKE: I would in my first term in office. Agree that there is nothing about perpetuating this war, already in its 18th year, that will make it any better. We've satisfied the reasons for our involvement in Afghanistan in the first place. And it's time to bring those servicemembers back home from Afghanistan, but also from Iraq, also from Yemen, and Somalia, and Libya, and Syria.

      There is no reason for us to be at war all over the world tonight. As president, I will end those wars, and we will not start new wars. We will not send more U.S. servicemembers overseas to sacrifice their lives and to take the lives of others in our name. We can resolve these challenges peacefully and diplomatically.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Congressman. Thank you, Congressman.

      Governor Hickenlooper, you disagree. You've said that you're open to keeping some servicemembers in Afghanistan beyond your first term.

      HICKENLOOPER: I look at it as a...

      TAPPER: Please respond.

      HICKENLOOPER: ... humanitarian issue. And with all due respect, you're looking at the condition of women...

      WILLIAMSON: Thank you.

      HICKENLOOPER: ... if we completely pull our troops out of there, you're going to see a humanitarian disaster that will startle and frighten every man, woman, and child in this country. And I don't think -- I mean, we have troops in over 400 different locations around the world. Most of them are small, they're peacekeeping, they're not greatly at risk.

      We’re going to have to be in Afghanistan. Look at the progress that’s happened in that country. We’re going to turn our backs and walk away from people that have risked their lives to help us and build a different future for Afghanistan and that part of the world?

      TAPPER: Thank you, Governor. Thank you, Governor.

      Senator Warren, you want to make it U.S. policy that the U.S. will never use a nuclear weapon unless another country uses one first. Now, President Obama reportedly considered that policy, but ultimately decided against it. Why should the U.S. tie its own hands with that policy?

      WARREN: Because it makes the world safer. The United States is not going to use nuclear weapons preemptively, and we need to say so to the entire world. It reduces the likelihood that someone miscalculates, someone misunderstands.

      Our first responsibility is to keep ourselves safe. And what's happening right now with Donald Trump is they keep expanding the different ways that we have nuclear weapons, the different ways that they could be used puts us all at risk.

      You know, we talk about what’s happening around the world. I have three older brothers who served in the military. I see that they would do anything. Our military is the best on Earth. But we should not be asking our military to take on jobs that do not have a military solution. We need to use our diplomatic tools, our economic tools, and if we’re going to send someone into war, we better have a plan for how we’re going to get them out on the other end.

      TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

      Governor Bullock, your response to Senator Warren's proposal to the U.S. never use a nuclear weapon first?

      BULLOCK: I wouldn't want to take that off the table. I think America's strength -- we have to be able to say that. Look, never, I hope, certainly in my term or anyone else, would we really even get close to pulling that trigger.

      But by the same token, America's strength -- and, look, this president has made America first as America alone. Our allies no longer trust us. Our adversaries are with us. But going from the position of strength, we should be negotiating down so there aren't nuclear weapons. But drawing those lines in the sand, at this point I wouldn't do.

      LEMON: Thank you, Governor. Senator Warren. your response?

      WARREN: Look, we don't expand trust around the world by saying, "You know, we might be the first ones to use a nuclear weapon." That puts the entire world at risk and puts us at risk, right in the middle of this. At a time when Donald Trump is pulling out of our nuclear negotiations, expanding the opportunities for nuclear proliferation around the world, has pulled us out of the deal in Iran, and Iran is now working on its nuclear weapon, the world gets closer and closer to nuclear warfare.

      BULLOCK: Senator, that...

      WARREN: We have to have an announced policy that is one the entire world can live with. We need to make that clear. We will respond if someone else does, but not first.

      LEMON: Governor Bullock, please respond.

      BULLOCK: Part, I agree with. But by the same token, like, we need to get back to nuclear proliferation.

      WARREN: Why?

      BULLOCK: But when you have folks -- de-proliferation, reducing it. But at the same time, when you actually have Korea; when you have others, I don't want to turn around and say, "Well, Detroit has to be gone before we would ever use that." When so many crazy folks are getting closer to having a nuclear weapon, I don't want them to think I could strike this country and I and we as the United States of America wouldn't do a thing.

      Part of the strength really is the ability to deter.

      LEMON: Governor Bullock...

      WARREN: So...

      LEMON: Governor, thank you very much.

      Moving on now...

      SANDERS: Could I add something to that...

      (CROSSTALK)

      LEMON: Senator, please -- moving on now. As you know, to serve as president of the United States -- all of you know this -- you have to be at least 35 years old.

      So Mayor Buttigieg, you just qualified. You're 37, the youngest candidate in this field. Standing next to you is the oldest candidate, Bernie Sanders, at age 77. Should voters take into consideration age when choosing a presidential candidate?

      BUTTIGIEG: I don't care how old you are. I care about your vision. But I do think it matters that we have a new generation of leaders stepping up around the world, leaders like the...

      (APPLAUSE)

      I actually think it's good that the prime minister of New Zealand's gotten a lot of attention in Democratic debates. She's masterful. She is younger than I would be when I take office.

      This is the kind of trend America might be leading, instead of following, but only if it's actually backed by the right vision. And we can have great presidents at any age. What I will say is we need the kind of vision that's going to win. We cannot have a vision that amounts to back to normal. Because the only reason we got this president is that normal didn't work. We have to be ready to take on this president and, by the way, something that hasn't been talked about as much tonight, take on his enablers in Congress.

      You know, when...

      (APPLAUSE)

      ... when David Duke -- when David Duke ran for Congress -- ran for governor, the Republican Party, 20 years ago, ran away from him. Today they are supporting naked racism in the White House, or at best silent about it. And if you are watching this at home and you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that, when the sun sets on your career and they are writing your story, of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you will be remembered for is whether, in this moment, with this president, you found the courage to stand up to him or you continued to put party over country.

      (APPLAUSE)

      LEMON: Thank you, Mayor.

      Senator Sanders, as the senior statesman of the group, please respond to Mayor Buttigieg.

      SANDERS: Well, Pete is right. It's a question of vision. That's what it is, whether you're young, whether you're old, whether you're in between. And my vision, among other things, says that if we're going to fight for health care, we don't take money from the drug companies or the insurance companies.

      And I have asked all of the candidates who are running to say they will not accept money from those entities who, in my view, are going to war against the American people in terms of health care. That's a new vision.

      A new vision says that we must cancel completely student debt because the younger generation in this country today, for the first time in modern American history, will have a lower standard of living than their parents.

      LEMON: Thank you, Senator Sanders.

      WARREN: I'd like to respond on that, too.

      LEMON: The debate continues right after this -- please.

      (CROSSTALK)

      LEMON: Thank you. The debate continues right after this short break.

      (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

      TAPPER: Welcome back to the CNN Democratic presidential debates. We have covered a lot of ground tonight. Now it is time for closing statements. You will each receive one minute.

      Governor Bullock, we're going to begin with you.

      BULLOCK: Thanks, Jake.

      I was raised in a single-parent household, at times paycheck to paycheck. Only knew there was a governor's house in town because I delivered newspapers to it, so I've made it about four blocks in life. Worked my way through college, paid my way through law school.

      But, you know, I had a chance to actually go from delivering newspapers to the governor's house as a kid to now raising our three kids in it. We got to recognize for far too many people now in America that shot no longer exists. And for far too many in this country, it never has.

      I'm running for president to beat Donald Trump, win back the places we lost, and make sure that Americans know that where Washington has left them behind in the economy, in the political system, I'll be there.

      This isn't a choice just between center and left or about -- we don't have to choose between what we don't want and what we can't afford. Folks want a different way. They want to believe the economy and our democracy can work for us. That's why I'm running for president.

      TAPPER: Thank you. Ms. Williamson?

      WILLIAMSON: Yes, our problem is not just that we need to defeat Donald Trump. We need a plan to solve institutionalized hatred, collectivized hatred, and white nationalism.

      And in order to do that, we need more than political insider game and wonkiness and intellectual argument. Those things will not defeat Donald Trump. We need some radical truth-telling, not just to talk about health care, but talk about why are we so sick all the time. We need to have a serious conversation about race and what is truly owed.

      Even on the subject of foreign policy, it's all about symptoms and not about cause. We need to talk about the fact that the United States has sacrificed our moral leadership. The fact that countries see us, not only domestically but internationally, with policies that simply support our corporate overlords. The fact that our national defense agenda is driven more by short-term profits for defense contractors than by genuine peace-building.

      There's some corruption that is so deep, ladies and gentlemen. And until the Democratic Party is ready to speak to the deeper corruption, knowing that we ourselves sometimes because of our own corporate donations have participated, than I'm afraid those who vote for Trump will continue to vote for Trump and those who might not like Donald Trump will continue to stay home.

      I want a politics that goes much deeper. I want a politics that speaks to the heart, because the only way to fight -- you keep talking about how we're going to fight Donald Trump. You can't fight dog whistles. You have to override them.

      And the only way you can override them is with new voices, voices of energy that only come from the fact that America has been willing to live up to our own mistakes, atone for our mistakes, make amends for our own mistakes, love each other, love our democracy, love future generations, something emotional and psychological that will not be -- be emerging from anything on this stage. It will emerge from something I'm the one who's qualified to bring forth.

      TAPPER: Congressman Delaney?

      DELANEY: Thank you, Jake.

      John F. Kennedy famously said we should not seek the Republican answer, we should not seek the Democratic answer, we should seek the right answer. He was right when he said it and he's right today, as well.

      Donald Trump is the symptom of a disease. And the disease is divisiveness. And I'm the only one on the stage talking about curing that disease, which -- with big ideas like national service, by focusing on actually solving problems.

      If we work together, we can fix health care and build infrastructure. We can invest in not just technology, but people and entrepreneurs, whether they be in Storm Lake, Iowa, or Detroit, Michigan, or Baltimore, Maryland. We can fight climate change and reimagine our education system. But we have to do it with real solutions, not impossible promises.

      Isn't it time we had a president who was a leader in both the private sector and in government, to lead us into the future? I promise, as president, I will restore vision, unity, and leadership, and decency to this country. And that's why I'm running for president.

      Thank you.

      TAPPER: Congressman Ryan?

      RYAN: So in a few minutes, all of the pundits are going to be looking at this debate and saying, well, who captured the left lane and who captured the center lane and who captured the moderate lane?

      I hope tonight at some level I captured your imagination, your imagination about what this country could be like if we united, if we put together real policy that weren't left or right, but new and better. That's how we win the future. It's new and better.

      A new and better economy, a new and better education system, a new and better health care system that focuses on prevention, an education system that focuses on the trauma of our kids.

      There's not going to be a savior. Not going to be a superstar that's going to fix all this. It's going to be you and me. It's going to be us. That's how we fix this country, you and I coming together to do big things, to imagine the new country that we want by coming together, not left or right. New and better.

      TAPPER: Governor Hickenlooper?

      HICKENLOOPER: Thank you. And what a night. I've loved it.

      I'd like to ask every American to imagine that you are facing life-threatening surgery tomorrow. Would you choose a doctor who had a track record of proven success, who'd actually done the work, or someone who had just talked about it? That's the question we're facing in this primary.

      I've actually got a track record as small-business owner, as a mayor, and as a governor. We expanded health care in Colorado. We got near universal coverage. We fought climate change directly. We beat the NRA. And for the last three years, we've been the number-one economy in the country. We can wrap all that out.

      I'm as progressive as anybody up on this stage, but I'm also pragmatic. And I've done the things that most of these other people are just talking about. And I know I can get results. And I can lead the people of this country towards a stronger, a healthier, and a more secure future, and defeat Donald Trump and return this country to its glory.

      Thank you.

      TAPPER: Senator Klobuchar?

      KLOBUCHAR: Well, thank you, Detroit. To win, we have to listen to people. And out there today is Casey Jo's mom. Casey Jo was a champion high school swimmer from a small town. She got sick, went to the emergency room, and got hooked on opioids. The last thing that she said to her mom was, "Mama, it's not my fault." And she died.

      A lot of Americans say the same thing every day. And that is what I will stand up for and what I will stand up against are companies like those pharma companies that got her hooked on those opioids and didn't tell the doctors or the patients what was going to happen.

      We need someone that has people's back. We also need someone that can win. And I have won in these red districts. I win in the Midwest. I can win in states like Wisconsin and Michigan and Iowa.

      I also will do my job without fear or favor, just like I did as a prosecutor, and get through the gridlock like I've done as a senator, where I've passed over 100 bills where I've been the lead Democrat.

      And last, yes, I will govern with integrity. We have a president where people turn off their TV when they see him. Not me. I will make you proud as your president.

      TAPPER: Congressman O'Rourke?

      O'ROURKE: We are as divided and polarized as a country as we have ever been. And right now we have a president who uses fear to try to drive us further apart. To meet this challenge, we have to have hope in one another and a faith in a future of the country that includes everyone.

      My whole life, I've been including people in the success of this country, starting a small business with high-value, high-wage, high-skilled jobs in the third poorest urban county in America, serving on City Council and holding town hall meetings every single week to remind myself who it is that I serve at the end of the day, and in Congress, being in the minority but working with Democrats and Republicans alike to deliver for my constituents and this country.

      And then in Texas, this last year, traveling to every county, not writing anybody off, not taking anyone for granted, and at the end of the day, winning more votes than any Democrat had in the history of the state, winning independents for the first time in decades, and winning nearly half-a-million Republicans, and those 38 Electoral College votes in Texas are now in play and I can win them.

      That is how we defeat Donald Trump in November of 2020 and how we bring this divided country together again in January of 2021. Thank you.

      (APPLAUSE)

      TAPPER: Mayor Buttigieg?

      BULLOCK: There's good news and bad news. I'm going to start with the bad news. Our country is in trouble. GDP is going up and life expectancy is going down. Think about what that means. And it's only getting tougher.

      By 2030, we will have passed the point of no return on climate, there are going to be 130 million more guns on our streets. I'll be in my forties then. If you have kids, think about how old they will be then.

      But here's the good news: It's not too late. We can tell our kids that before we ran out of time, just before we ran out of time, in 2020, we did what it took to deliver a climate that we didn't have to wonder if it could support us, to deliver a society where race has no bearing on your health or your wealth or your relationship with law enforcement, that we did what it took to deliver an economy where a rising tide actually does lift all boats.

      We can do this, if and only if we are ready to walk away from what hasn't worked with bold action and win, not only defeat this president, but defeat his congressional allies with a defeat so big that it reunites the Republican Party with its conscience as well as bringing Democrats to office.

      Join me, and let's make it happen.

      (APPLAUSE)

      TAPPER: Senator Warren?

      WARREN: From the time I was 7 years old, I had a dream. I wanted to be a public schoolteacher. But my daddy ended up as janitor. And by the time I graduated from high school, my family didn't have the money to send me off to college. My big chance was what was then a commuter college that cost $50 a semester.

      For me, what this election is all about is opportunity. Every budget, every policy that we talk about is about who's going to get opportunity. Is it going to go to the billionaires? Or is it going to go to our kids?

      Right now, for decades, we have had a government that has been on the side of the rich and the powerful. It has been on the side of the wealthy. And that means it has not been on the side of everyone else, not on the side of people living on our Native American reservations, people living in inner cities, people living in small farms, and small communities across this country.

      How do we beat it? We beat it by being the party of big, structural change. Give people a reason to show up and vote. And we beat it by building a grassroots movement across this country, not showing up behind closed doors with millionaires, but actually building it person by person across this country, with small-dollar donations, with volunteers, with people who show up and say, "I have a stake in this democracy."

      I will not only beat Donald Trump in 2020, I'll start to make real change come 2021.

      (APPLAUSE)

      TAPPER: Senator Sanders?

      SANDERS: As somebody who grew up in family that lived in a rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn, New York, and lived paycheck to paycheck, I'm running for president not just to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country, a guy who's a racist and a sexist and a homophobe. I'm running to transform this country and to stand with the working class of America, which for the last 45 years has been decimated.

      Two days ago, I had a remarkable experience which should tell you everything you need to know about what's going on in America. I took 15 people with diabetes from Detroit a few miles into Canada, and we bought insulin for one-tenth the price being charged by the crooks who run the pharmaceutical industry in America today.

      (APPLAUSE)

      But it's not just the price-fixing and the corruption and the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. It's what's going on in the fossil fuel industry. It's what's going on in Wall Street. It's what's going on with the prison industrial complex.

      (APPLAUSE)

      We need a mass political movement. Please go to berniesanders.com. Become one of our million volunteers. Stand up and take on the greed and corruption of the ruling class of this country. Let’s create a government and an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.

      (APPLAUSE)

      TAPPER: Candidates, thank you so much. That completes tonight's debate. Join us tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time for round two, 10 more Democratic candidates for president, right back here in Detroit.

      .


      There Can Be Only One Head ZOGtard Left

      Comment


      • #4
        Democrat Debates II: Part I

        Democrat Debates II: Part I


        https://dailystormer.name/democrat-debates-ii-part-i/
        http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0104#post20104
        http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0104#post20104






        The Daily $permer
        .


        .

        http://www.dailystormer.su/
        .

        Comment


        • #5
          You need to dump Baal Finck, Bradifer

          You need to dump Baal Finck, Bradifer


          http://www.occidentaldissent.com/201...omment-3500723
          http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0105#post20105
          http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0105#post20105


          It is sort of like having Bryan Reo (affiliated with William Finck, your friend on League of the South) gloat about how they were going to use the federal and then Lake County Ohio Courts to render me penniless, and destitute back in August 2014 on Finck’s own forum:

          ====================

          http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...1266#post11266

          “I am presently seeking to make a covenant with God on a very specific matter. I have some ongoing issues against various foes… If Yahweh God will deliver their money, their estates, their property, their assets, into my hands, I will promptly tithe 15% [rather than the usual 10%] to my kin and those who work for our people.

          I have a particular enemy in Missouri who has a stake in a cattle ranch in South Dakota, I am asking that God deliver all of his property, all of his wealth, all of his land, all of his assets, all of his money, to me, and leave him desolate and penniless.

          I ask that my brothers and sisters join with me in prayer and call on Yahweh to bless me and to accept my pledge of 15% tithing and to make wondrous things happen for me.

          Basically when it is boiled down, I am asking Yahweh for approximately $240,000 in the next 4 months [from various foes] along with the entire estate, wealth, property, money, etc, of the wicked one in Missouri [the ranch in South Dakota might be worth $500,000 just by itself].”
          ============

          Well, I was saddled with a nigger and gliberal whigger NE Ohio jury and they decided to award Bryan Reo with $105,000 of my money and $400 for my Church of Jesus Christ Christian / Aryan Nations of Missouri for what was said in retaliation for Bryan Reo, a mongrel and Baal Finck, a murderous jew pig nine years ago even though the Ohio Statute of Limitations is one year total.

          I filed a Notice of Appeal and have a Rule 50(B) Motion for Judgment For Defendants.

          But like listening to Bryan Reo or Baal Finck plot to destroy you is listening to the Democrats plot to destroy pretending the First and Second Amendments to the CONstipation and Bill of Goods means something. They are talking openly of enslaving and destroying Whigger AmurriKwa.

          So shouldn’t we unwaveringly seek to destroy the ZOGland by destroying this Mighty Evil Empire by letting places like NE Ohio and jew Yawk destroy itself — or even help the dissolution proceed apace?

          We need to remove those of us who are not us, like Bryan Reo, Baal Finck, Dickie Spencer by simply shunning them as not of us.

          If you don’t have the ability to do so then you will have to live with the result.

          Hail Victory !!!

          Pastor Martin Lindstedt,
          Church of Jesus Christ Christian / Aryan Nations of Missouri

          .



          Pastor Lindstedt's Web Page
          Pastor Lindstedt's Archive Page & Christian Nationalist Forum

          Comment


          • #6
            Democrat Debates II: Part II

            Democrat Debates II: Part II

            By Fix staff July 31 at 11:31 PM



            https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...cratic-debate/
            http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0109#post20109
            http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0109#post20109


            Democratic presidential candidates are debating for the second night in a row in Detroit. Below is a transcript from the debate; we’ll update it continuously throughout the evening.
            ,

            introduction & Rules of Debate:

            TAPPER: Welcome back to the CNN Democratic presidential debate. Candidates, we're about to begin opening statements. But first, a quick review of the ground rules that your campaigns agreed to earlier this month to try to ensure a fair debate.

            As moderators, we will attempt to guide the discussion. You will each receive one minute to answer questions, 30 seconds for responses and rebuttals, and 15 additional seconds if a moderator asks for a clarification. The timing lights will remind you of these limits. Please respect them, and please refrain from interrupting other candidates during their allotted time. A candidate infringing on another candidate's time will have his or her time reduced.

            We, again, remind our audience inside the Fox Theatre to try to remain silent when candidates are actively debating. The candidates need to be able to properly hear the questions and each other.

            One Minute Intro by Candidtes:

            BASH: Let's start with opening statements. You will each receive one minute. Mayor Bill de Blasio, please begin.

            DE BLASIO: To the working people of America, tonight I bring you a message of hope. We can make change in this country. I know from personal experience it can be done.

            When I became the mayor of the nation's largest city, I set us on a path of bold change. They said it couldn't be done, but we gave pre-K to every child for free. We got rid of stop-and-frisk and we lowered crime. We raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Yes, it can be done.

            Now, tonight we have to get to the heart and soul of who we are as Democrats. There are good people on this stage, but there are real differences.

            Joe Biden told wealthy donors that nothing fundamentally would change if he were president. Kamala Harris said she's not trying to restructure society. Well, I am.

            For 40 years, working people have taken it on the chin in this country. For 40 years, the rich have gotten richer and they've paid less and less in taxes. It cannot go on this way. When I'm president, we will even up the score and we will tax the hell out of the wealthy to make this a fairer country and to make sure it's a country that puts working people first.

            PROTESTOR: (OFF-MIKE)

            BASH: Thank you, Mayor de Blasio. Senator Michael Bennet?

            BENNET: Thank you. Last week, I saw one of those Trump signs that says, “America, love it or leave it.” And it was on the outside of a church.

            I love America. And I know we can make it better.

            Before coming to the Senate I ran (inaudible) school district where most of the kids live in poverty. Those kids have exactly the same hopes that I had.

            Their parents have exactly the same hopes for them that my parents had for me, and that Susan and I have for our three children. But for the last three years, we've been consumed by a president who frankly doesn't give a damn about your kids or mine. Mr. President; kids belong in classrooms, not cages.

            (APPLAUSE)

            And they deserve something better than a bully in the White House. Let's end this three ringed circus in Washington and make — and let's make this election about reclaiming our future for our kids and our democracy. Empty promises won't beat Donald Trump, I can.

            BASH: Governor Jay Inslee.

            INSLEE: Good evening. I'm Jay Inslee. I am running for president because the people in this room and the democrats watching tonight are the last best hope for humanity on this planet.

            If — if we make defeating the climate crisis the top priority of the United States, we will have a fighting chance to save ourselves and our children's future. It has to be our top priority. My plan is one of national mobilization, quickly bringing 100 percent clean energy to Americans, creating 8 million good union jobs.

            This is a big, bold, ambitious plan for clean energy for a big bold ambitious nation. Middle ground approaches are not enough. We must confront the fossil fuel industry. I've been working on this for 25 years.

            And now we know this, we are at tipping point and whether we shrink from this challenge or rise to it is the vital question of our time. We democrats believe we can still do big things in this nation. We can defeat the climate crisis. Let's get to work.

            (APPLAUSE)

            BASH: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

            GILLIBRAND: My grandmother taught me that nothing's impossible. She spent two generations organizing women in Upstate New York. My mother taught me nothing's impossible. She was one of only three women in her law school class and worked with gay couples for basic rights.

            If you want to get something done, just tell me it's impossible. As a freshman senator I was told you couldn't repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Even members of my own party told me it wasn't convenient. When are civil rights ever convenient?

            We stood up to the Pentagon and we got it done. Not impossible. 10 years ago I was told you couldn’t pass health care for our 9/11 first responders, those heroes who raced up the towers when others were coming down.

            Even when Congress turned its back on them, we kept fighting. Just last week we made the 9/11 health bill permanent.

            (APPLAUSE)

            Beating Donald Trump definitely not impossible. We need a nominee who will take on the big fights and win. We need a nominee who doesn't know the meaning of impossible.

            BASH: Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

            (APPLAUSE)

            GABBARD: I love our country. It's why I enlisted after 9/11, why I've served as a soldier for over 16 years, deployed twice to the Middle East, and serve in Congress now for almost seven years.

            I know what patriotism is and I've known many great patriots throughout my life. And let me tell you this, Donald Trump is not behaving like a patriot. As president I will bring this spirit of real patriotism to the White House, serving the interest of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful.

            I’ll fight for our rights and freedoms of all Americans, upholding these principles in our constitution upon which our country was founded, fighting for justice and equality for all. Fighting for every single American regardless of race or religion as we strive towards that more perfect union.

            And as president I'll bring this unifying spirit of love for country and the soldier's values of service above self to the White House, truly leading a government of by and for the people.

            BASH: Secretary Julian Castro.

            CASTRO: Thank you, Dana, and good evening.

            You know, just a few days ago we were reminded and inspired by our fellow Americans in Puerto that public service is not fundamentally about any of us; it's about you and your family.

            I want you to know that, if I'm elected president, that I will work hard every single day so that you and your family can have good health care when you need it, so that your children and grandchildren can get a good education so that they can reach their dreams and that you can have good job opportunities, whether you live here in a big city like Detroit or in a small town in our country.

            I know we have a wonderful, special nation but that too many people are struggling. And I know what that's like, too. You know, I grew up with a single mom in a poor neighborhood. But like many of you, I don't want to make America anything again. I don't want us to go backward. We're not going back to the past. We're not going back where we came from. We're going to move forward. We're going to make America better than it's ever been in the years to come. Let's do that together.

            (APPLAUSE)

            BASH: Andrew Yang?

            YANG: If you've heard anything about me and my campaign, you've heard that someone is running for president who wants to give every American $1,000 a month. I know this may sound like a gimmick, but this is a deeply American idea, from Thomas Paine to Martin Luther King to today.

            Let me tell you why we need to do it and how we pay for it. Why do we need to do it? We already automated away millions of manufacturing jobs, and chances are your job can be next. If you don't believe me, just ask an auto worker here in Detroit.

            How do we pay for it? Raise your hand in the crowd if you've seen stores closing where you live. It is not just you. Amazon is closing 30 percent of America's stores and malls and paying zero in taxes while doing it. We need to do the opposite of much of what we're doing right now, and the opposite of Donald Trump is an Asian man who likes math.

            (APPLAUSE)

            So let me share the math. A thousand dollars a month for every adult would be $461 million every month, right here in Detroit alone. The automation of our jobs is the central challenge facing us today. It is why Donald Trump is our president, and any politician not addressing it is failing the American people.

            (APPLAUSE)

            BASH: Senator Cory Booker?

            BOOKER: Thank you, Dana.

            Last week the president of the United States attacked an American city, calling it "a disgusting, rat-infested rodent mess."

            (UNKNOWN): (inaudible)

            BOOKER: We need a nation that understands that this tired old language, the...

            (UNKNOWN): (chanting)

            LEMON: Stand by, Senator.

            (UNKNOWN): (chanting)

            BOOKER: I will stand by.

            (UNKNOWN): (chanting)

            LEMON: Please stand by.

            (UNKNOWN): (chanting)

            (APPLAUSE)

            LEMON: Please, continue, Senator.

            BOOKER: Thank you very much.

            Donald Trump, from Charleston to Baltimore to even the border, is using the tired, old language of demagogues, of fear-mongers, of racists, to try to divide our country against itself. We know who Donald Trump is, but in this election, the question is who are we as a people?

            We have serious problems in America. We have deep wounds and seriously deeply rooted challenges. We desperately need to heal as a nation and move forward. Because we know in this country that our fates are united, that we have a common destiny. The call of this election is the call to unite in common cause and common purpose. That's how we will beat Donald Trump. That's how I will beat Donald Trump. And as your president, that's how I will govern and move us forward together.

            (APPLAUSE)

            BASH: Senator Kamala Harris?

            HARRIS: This is an inflection moment in the history of our country. I think we all know that. This is a moment in time that is requiring us each as individuals and collectively to look in a mirror and ask a question, that question being "Who are we?"

            And I think most of us know that part of the answer to that question is we are better than this. So this then becomes a moment that we must fight for the best of who we are. And fight, of course, we will.

            And this is not a new fight for us as Americans. We have always been prepared to fight for our ideals. We have always been a nation that fights for the best of who we are.

            And I'll tell you, I come from fighters. My parents met when they were active in the civil rights movement. My sister, Maya, and I joke we grew up surrounded by a bunch of adults who spent full time marching and shouting about this thing called justice.

            And I am prepared to march with you, to fight with you for the best of who we are and to successfully prosecute the case of four more years of Donald Trump, and against him.

            (APPLAUSE)

            BASH: Vice President Joe Biden.

            BIDEN: Tonight, I think Democrats are expecting some engagement here. And I expect we'll get it.

            I'm running for president to restore the soul of this country. You know, we have a president, as everybody has acknowledged here, every day is ripping at the social fabric of this country, but no one man has the capacity to rip that apart. It's too strong. We're too good.

            Just look at this stage, made up of very diverse people from diverse backgrounds, went on to be mayors, senators, governors, congresswomen, members of the cabinet, and, yes, even a vice president.

            Mr. President, this is America. And we are stronger and great because of this diversity, Mr. President, not in spite of it, Mr. President.

            (APPLAUSE)

            So, Mr. President, let's get something straight: We love it. We are not leaving it. We are here to stay. And we're certainly not going to leave it to you.

            (APPLAUSE)

            Health Care:

            BASH: Thank you, Vice President Biden. I want to start the debate with one of the top priorities for Democratic voters, and that is health care.

            Senator Harris, this week you released a new health care plan which would preserve private insurance and take 10 years to phase in. Vice President Biden’s campaign calls your plan, quote, “a have-it-every-which-way approach” and says it’s just part of a confusing pattern of equivocating about your health care stance. What do you say to that?

            HARRIS: Well, they're probably confused because they've not read it. But the reality is that I have been spending time in this campaign listening to American families, listening to experts, listening to health care providers, and what I came away with is a very clear understanding that I needed to create a plan that was responsive to the needs of the American people, responsive to their needs understanding that insurance companies have been jacking up the prices for far too long, that American families have to be held down by deductibles and co-pays and premiums that can cause them bankruptcy.

            I listened to the American families who said four years is just not enough to transition into this new plan, so I devised a plan where it's going to be 10 years of a transition.

            I listened to American families who said I want an option that will be under your Medicare system that allows a private plan. So I designed a plan where, yes, responsive to the needs of American families, there will be a public plan, under my plan for Medicare, and a private plan, under my plan for Medicare.

            Because the bottom line is this: We must agree that access to health care must be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it. And in America today, far too many people -- in fact, 30 million people -- are going without access to health care.

            BASH: Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator Harris. Vice President Biden, your response.

            BIDEN: Well, my response is that the senator has had several plans so far. And any time someone tells you you're going to get something good in 10 years, you should wonder why it takes 10 years.

            If you noticed, there is no talk about the fact that the plan in 10 years will cost $3 trillion. You will lose your employer-based insurance. And in fact, you know, this is the single most important issue facing the public. And to be very blunt and to be very straightforward, you can't beat President Trump with double-talk on this plan.

            BASH: Your response, Senator Harris?

            HARRIS: Absolutely. Unfortunately, Vice President Biden, you're just simply inaccurate in what you're describing. The reality is that our plan will bring health care to all Americans under a Medicare for All system.

            Our plan will allow people to start signing up on the first day. Babies will be born into our plan, and right now, 4 million babies almost are born every day in America -- or every year in America. Under our plan, we will ensure that everyone has access to health care.

            Your plan, by contrast, leaves out almost 10 million Americans. So I think that you should really think about what you're saying, but be reflective and understand that the people of America want access to health care and do not want cost to be their barrier to getting it.

            BASH: Senator Harris, thank you. Vice President Biden, your response?

            BIDEN: The plan, no matter how you cut it, costs $3 trillion when it is, in fact, employed, number one. Ten years from now, after two terms of the senator being president, after her time.

            Secondly, it will require middle-class taxes to go up, not down. Thirdly, it will eliminate employer-based insurance. And fourthly, what happens in the meantime?

            HARRIS: I'd like to respond. First of all, the cost of doing nothing is far too expensive. Second, we are now paying $3 trillion a year for health care in America. Over the next 10 years, it's probably going to be $6 trillion. We must act.

            My plan is about immediately allowing people to sign up and get into coverage. Right now in America, we have seniors, who every day -- millions of seniors are going into the Medicare system and they are getting full coverage and the kind of coverage they need. All people should have access to health care. And costs should not be their barrier.

            BASH: Thank you, Senator Harris.

            Mayor de Blasio, let's bring you in here. What's your response?

            DE BLASIO: Thank you. I don't know what the vice president and the senator are talking about. The folks I talk to about health insurance say that their health insurance isn't working for them.

            There’s tens of millions of Americans who don’t even have health insurance, tens of millions more who have health insurance they can barely make work because of the co-pays, the deductibles, the premiums, the out-of-pocket expenses.

            There's this mythology that somehow all of these folks are in love with their insurance in America. What I hear from union members and from hard-working, middle-class people is they wish they had better insurance and they're angry at private insurance companies that skim all the profits off the top and make it impossible for everyday people to get coverage like mental care...

            BASH: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

            DE BLASIO: ... dental care, the things that would be full coverage for all Americans.

            BASH: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

            Vice President Biden, you just heard Mayor de Blasio. He said in the past that Democrats who wanted to keep the private insurance industry are defending a health care system that is not working. What's your response?

            BIDEN: My response is, Obamacare is working. The way to build this and get to it immediately is to build on Obamacare. Go back and do -- take back all the things that Trump took away, provide a public option, meaning every single person in America would be able to buy into that option if they didn't like their employer plan, or if they're on Medicaid, they'd automatically be in the plan.

            It would take place immediately. It would move quickly. And it would insure the vast, vast, vast majority of Americans.

            In the meantime, what happens? Did anybody tell you how much their plans cost? My plan costs $750 billion. That’s what it costs. Not $30 trillion.

            BASH: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Senator Gillibrand, you support Medicare for All. How do you feel about Senator Harris continuing to call her health proposal Medicare for All, when it includes a far more significant role for private insurance than the bill you co-sponsored?

            GILLIBRAND: I think for the viewers in the audience right now, they're at risk of losing the forest through the trees, because the truth is, health care in America should be a right.

            When I was a young mother and had Theo as an infant, he had an allergic reaction to eggs and his whole body turned red and puffy. I had to rush him to the emergency room. My heart is palpitating because I'm worried that his throat will close. I am not worried about not having an insurance card or a credit card in my wallet. I know whatever they're going to prescribe, whether it's an EpiPen or an inhaler, I can afford it.

            The truth about health care in America today is people can't afford it. They cannot afford -- and the insurance companies for these plans that rely on insurance companies, I'm sorry, they're for-profit companies. They have an obligation to their shareholders. They pay their CEO millions of dollars. They have to have quarterly profits.

            They have fat in the system that's real and it should be going to health care. So let's not lose the forest for the trees.

            And last, let's not forget what the Republicans are doing, because the truth is, the Republicans and Trump, their whole goal is to take away your health care.

            BASH: Thank you.

            GILLIBRAND: To make it harder for you to afford it, even if you have pre-existing conditions.

            BASH: Thank you, Senator Gillibrand. Senator Harris, your response?

            (APPLAUSE)

            HARRIS: In response to Senator Biden about the Affordable Care Act, it is important that you understand that our Medicare for All plan has actually by the architect of the Obama Affordable Care Act been described as one of the most effective ways to bring health care to all. Kathleen Sebelius has endorsed our plan as being something that will get us to where we need to go.

            In terms of the point that Senator Gillibrand is raising, I couldn't agree more. Senator Biden, your plan will keep and allow insurance companies to remain with status quo, doing business as usual, and that's going to be about jacking up co-pays, jacking up deductibles...

            BASH: Thank you, Senator.

            HARRIS: It will still be the situation that people going to an emergency room...

            BASH: Thank you, Senator Harris. Vice President Biden, your response?

            HARRIS: ... have to come out $5,000.

            BIDEN: My plan makes a limit of co-pay to be $1,000, because we further support the -- the ability to buy into the Obamacare plan.

            Secondly, the idea that this is somehow a bad idea, no one has to keep their private insurance, but they - if they like their insurance, they should be able to keep it. Nothing is demanded in my plan that there be private insurance.

            It says, if the 160 million who have it say they like their employer insurance, they should have a right to have it. If they don't, they can buy into the Biden plan, which is Obamacare with -

            BASH: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you. Senator Booker, let me bring you in here. You say you support Medicare for All. You also say you are not going to pull private health insurance from more than 150 million Americans in exchange for a government plan, but that's what Medicare for All would do.

            So how do you square that?

            BOOKER: Well, first of all, let me just say, that the person that's enjoying this debate most right now is Donald Trump, as we pit Democrats against each other, while he is working right now to take away Americans' healthcare. There is a court case working through the system that's going to gut the Affordable Care Act and actually gut protections on preexisting conditions.

            And so, I was raised by two civil rights parents who told me, always keep your eyes on the prize. And that is that in the United States of America, every Democrat should stand with the belief that everyone should have access to healthcare, that it's a human right. And how we get there, it has to be to end this broken system, because we are on our way, just a handful of years of literally spending 20 percent of our economy, one out of every $5 spent on healthcare.

            And we spend more than every other nation, on everything from MRIs to insulin drugs, multiple mores than other countries - multiple more than other countries. And so, do you want to know what I'm going to do? I'm going to work to get us to a point where Medicare for All - where everyone is covered.

            But this pitting against progressives against moderates, saying one is unrealistic and the other doesn't care enough, that to me is dividing our party and demoralizing us in face of the real enemy here. And I'm -

            BASH: Thank you, Senator.

            (APPLAUSE)

            BOOKER: - going to keep fighting for that.

            BASH: Congressman Gabbard, what's your response?

            GABBARD: The reality is right now, we don’t have a healthcare system. We have a sick care system, and there are far too many people in this country who are sick and unable to get the care that they need because they cannot afford it. So the core of this problem is the fact that big insurance companies and big pharmaceutical companies who’ve been profiting off the backs of sick people have had a seat at the table, writing this legislation.

            Now, Kamala Harris just talked about Kathleen Sebelius who helped write her bill. This just pointed to the fatal flaw in her proposal. Sebelius works for Medicare Advantage, a private insurance company who will stand to profit under her plan. If we’re seeking to really reform our healthcare system, we’ve got to shut out big insurance and big pharma out of the drafting process so they cannot continue to profit off the backs of the sick people in this country who are searching and in desperate need of care.

            BASH: Senior Harris, your response?

            (APPLAUSE)

            HARRIS: Well, unfortunately, Representative Gabbard got it wrong. Kathleen Sebelius did not write my plan; she endorsed it as being one of the plans that is the best to get us to a place where everyone is going to have access to healthcare in America. And when we talk about this again, I'm going to back to Vice President Biden, because your plan does not cover everyone in America.

            By your staffs and your own definition, 10 million people - as many as 10 million people will not have access to healthcare. And in 2019 in America, for a Democrat to be running for president with a plan that does not cover everyone, I think is without excuse. Our plan covers everyone -

            BASH: Thank you, Senator.

            HARRIS: - and gives people choice

            BASH: Thank you, Senator. Vice President Biden, your response?

            BIDEN: My plan does - will cover everyone, number one. Number two, the fact is that my plan also calls for controlling drug prices. The biopharma is now where things are going to go. It’s no longer chemicals. It’s about all these breakthroughs that we have, with the whole - excuse me, immune system.

            And what we have to do now is we have to have a form that sits in HHS and says, as you develop a drug, you got to come to us and decide what you can sell it for. We will set the price. And secondly, it says that you cannot raise that price beyond the cost of inflation from this point on.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. I want to bring in Senator Bennet. Last night, on this stage, one of your democratic rivals suggested that running on Medicare for All would get Donald Trump reelected.

            BENNET: I agree that it makes it much more likely. Unlike others on this stage, I've been crystal clear of where I've been for a decade, through two tough races in Colorado. I believe we should finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act with a public option that gives everybody in this audience the chance to pick for their family, whether they want private insurance or public insurance.

            It requires the drug companies to be negotiated with by Medicare and it provides competition. That is totally different from the plan that Senator Warren and Senator Sanders and Senator Harris have proposed, which would make illegal employer based health insurance in this country and massively raise taxes on the middle class to the tune of $30 trillion.

            As Joe Biden said, we don't need to do that. It doesn't make sense for us to take away insurance from half the people in this room and -- and put huge taxes on almost everybody in this room when we pass a public option, trust the American people to make the right decision, and have universal healthcare in this country in two years, not 10 years.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Secretary Castro, I want to bring you in ...

            HARRIS: I -- I need to respond.

            TAPPER: Your response. I'll come to you right after Secretary Castro. Secretary Castro.

            CASTRO: Well, I know that this is something very personal for all Americans. You know I grew up with a grandmother that had diabetes and I watched as her condition got worse and worse. That whole time she had Medicare.

            I want to strengthen Medicare for the people who are on it and then expand it to anybody who wants it. I also believe thought that if somebody has a private health insurance plan that is strong that they want to hold on to that they should be able to do that.

            What I don’t believe is that the profit motive of big pharma or big insurance companies should ever determine, in our great nation, whether somebody gets healthcare or not.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Secretary Castro. Senator Harris, Senator Bennet had suggested that you support banning employer based health insurance. Is that true?

            HARRIS: Well first of all, with all due respect to my friend, Michael Bennet, my plan does not offer anything that is illegal. What it does is it separates the employer from healthcare, meaning that where you work will not be a -- where -- the kind of healthcare you get will not be a function of where you work.

            I have me met so many Americans who stick to a job that they do not like, where they are not prospering simply because they need the healthcare that that employer provides. It’s time that we separate employers from the kind of healthcare people get and under my plan; we do that as it relates to the insurance and the pharmaceutical companies ....

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

            HARRIS: Who will not be called in and who will not be taken to task by Senator Biden or Senator Bennet's plan ...

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

            HARRIS: We will do that.

            TAPPER: Senator Bennet, I want to bring you back.

            BENNET: Senator Harris is my friend as well, but I have to say if we can't admit -- if we can't admit tonight what's in the plan, which is banning employer based insurance, we're not going to be able to admit that when Donald Trump is accusing democrats of doing that as well.

            We need to be honest about what's in this plan. It bans employer based insurance and taxes the middle class to the tune of $30 trillion. Do you know how much that is? That is 70 percent of what the government will collect in taxes over the next 10 years.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

            BENNET: We don't need to do that.

            (CROSSTALK)

            We can have a public option to have universal healthcare in this country.

            TAPPER: I do want to bring in Senator Harris because he just suggested you were not being honest.

            HARRIS: He -- we cannot keep with the republican talking points on this. You got to stop. The reality is that - what -- under my Medicare for All plan, yes, employers are not going to be able to dictate the kind of healthcare that their employees get. They will be able to make that decision.

            Private insurance companies and private carriers, if they comply by our rules and play by our rules, will be able to offer those employees healthcare coverage under a private Medicare plan or they can have the option of a public Medicare plan. But it is misleading to suggest that employees want what their employer is offering only. They want choice and my plan gives that to them.

            TAPPER: Thank. Thank you, Senator. Governor Inslee, I want to bring you in. You recently signed a public option into law, which allows Washington State residents to purchase a state backed plan if they want to.

            But this may only save families in Washington State as little as 5 percent off premiums. Is 5 percent really the kind of relief that the American people need?

            INSLEE: No, we need universal coverage. And I'm proud of our state that has done less squabbling and actually getting things done. And I am proud that we are the first state to offer a publically sanctioned offer of healthcare to our citizens.

            I'm also proud that we didn't stop there. We're also the first state that has taken care of our elders, our seniors. We have a looming retirement wave coming up. I'm proud that our state -- our state has made them eligible to retire in dignity.

            I'm also proud of this and I think we need to talk more about this as democrats, it is time to give people adequate mental healthcare in this country. And we are -- we are ...

            (APPLAUSE)

            We are having -- we’ve had some success in integrating mental health with physical health. There’s no reason we should distinguish between your physiological and your mental health.

            And the last thing we’re doing, I think it’s very instructive for the nation. We know we’re being eaten alive by pharmaceutical cost. We have had one of, if not the most, innovative way to drive down pharmaceuticals for life saving medications in the United States.

            We have had one of, if not the most innovative way to drive down pharmaceuticals for life-saving medications in the United States. That’s a record of Washington state I’d like to take to Washington, D.C.

            TAPPER: Thank you. Thank you, Governor Inslee.

            Mr. Yang, I want to bring you in. You support a Medicare for All system. How do you respond to Governor Inslee?

            YANG: Well, I just want to share a story. When I told my wife I was running for president, you know the first question she asked me? What are we going to do about our health care?

            That's a true story, and it's not just us. Democrats are talking about health care in the wrong way. As someone who's run a business, I can tell you flat out our current health care system makes it harder to hire, it makes it harder to treat people well and give them benefits and treat them as full-time employees, it makes it harder to switch jobs, as Senator Harris just said, and it's certainly a lot harder to start a business.

            If we say, look, we're going to get health care off the backs of businesses and families, then watch American entrepreneurship recover and bloom. That's the argument we should be making to the American people.

            (APPLAUSE)

            TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Yang.

            Mayor de Blasio?

            DE BLASIO: Yeah, I don’t understand why Democrats on this stage are fearmongering about universal health care. It makes no sense. Ask the American people, they are sick of what the pharmaceutical companies are doing to them. Ask them what they feel about the health insurance companies. They feel it’s holding back their families because they can’t get the coverage they need. They get a lot of noes. They don’t get a lot of help from health insurance companies.

            Why are we not going to be the party that does something bold, that says we don't need to be dependent on private insurance? We can have a system that actually covers everyone. You know what? Donald Trump won this state of Michigan by saying he was going to disrupt the status quo. How about we be the party that's going to disrupt the status quo for working people?

            TAPPER: Thank you. Mr. Mayor, just a 15-second point of clarification. Who are you talking about? Who's fearmongering?

            DE BLASIO: Certainly, with all due respect to Senator Bennet, what he's saying is absolutely inaccurate about taxes. Americans right now are paying so much money for their health care, ask people about the reality of premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-pocket expenses.

            TAPPER: Thank you.

            DE BLASIO: That's worse than any tax, and people are paying that right now.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

            Senator Bennet?

            BENNET: This -- this is -- this has nothing to do with Republican talking points or the pharmaceutical industry. This has to do with having faith in the American people that they can make the right decisions for their families and they can choose a public option.

            Bernie Sanders, who said last night he wrote the damn bill, and he did, just like I wrote the damn public option bill, is the guy who says it will cost $32 trillion and that we're going to have to raise those taxes to pay for it. He says that. Republicans don't say it. Don't try to district from the truth.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Bennet.

            BENNET: You can't hide from the truth.

            TAPPER: I want to let Mayor de Blasio -- and then I'm going to come to you, Vice President Biden.

            BENNET: We need to be for universal health care.

            DE BLASIO: Senator, if we as Democrats say we're done with private insurance, has only hurt the American people in so many ways, we're going to give them something that works for their family's full coverage that they can depend on. If we say that, then there's an election. The American people get to decide.

            The ultimate choice, Senator, is an election, and this should be the party that stands for universal health care and says we're not going to accept anything less. Right now, in America, so many people don't have the health care they need. That is a fact. Tens of millions of people, including middle class people.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

            DE BLASIO: Give them a chance to make that decision through an election.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

            Vice President Biden, your response, sir?

            BIDEN: This is not a Republican talking point. The Republicans are trying to kill Obamacare. Obamacare took care of 20 million people right off the bat, 100 million people with pre-existing conditions. And in fact, what we got is a public option that, in fact, would allow anybody to buy in.

            No one has to keep their private insurance. They can buy into this plan. And they can buy into it with $1,000 deductible and never have to pay more than 8.5 percent of their income when they do it. And if they don't have any money, they'll get in free. So this idea is a bunch of malarkey, what we're talking about here.

            (APPLAUSE)

            The fact of the matter is -- the fact of the matter is that there will be a deductible. It will be a deductible on their paycheck. Bernie acknowledges it. Bernie acknowledges it. Thirty trillion dollars has to ultimately be paid. And I don’t know what math you do in New York, I don’t know what math you do in California, but I tell ya, that’s a lot of money, and there will be a deductible. The deductible will be out of your paycheck, because that’s what will be required.

            TAPPER: Senator Harris, I want to bring you in here. Your response?

            (APPLAUSE)

            HARRIS: Yeah, let’s talk about math. Let’s talk about math. Let’s talk about the fact that the pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies last year alone profited $72 billion, and that is on the backs of American families.

            And under your plan, status quo, you do nothing to hold the insurance companies to task for what they have been doing to American families. In America today, diabetes patients, one in four cannot afford their insulin. In America today...

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

            HARRIS: ... for those people who have overdosed from an opioid, there is a syringe that costs $4,000 that will save their life.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

            HARRIS: It is immoral. It is untenable.

            TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

            HARRIS: And it must change with Medicare for All.

            TAPPER: Your time is up, Senator. Vice President Biden, your response?

            (APPLAUSE)

            BIDEN: Real quick. I have the only plan that limits the ability of insurance companies to charge unreasonable prices, flat out, number one.

            Number two, we should put some of these insurance executives who totally oppose my plan in jail for of the $9 billion opioids they sell out there.

            (APPLAUSE)

            They are misrepresenting to the American people what needs to be done.

            And, lastly, here's the deal. The deal is, let's figure out how this works. We immediately are able to cover everybody who wants to get off of their insurance plan they don't like, no matter what one it is, and buy into a Medicare option. And they can buy the gold plan, and they're not going to have to pay -- anyway...

            LEMON: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you.



            There Can Be Only One Head ZOGtard Left

            Comment


            • #7
              Democrat Debates II: Part IIb

              Democrat Debates II: Part IIb

              By Fix staff July 31 at 11:31 PM



              https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...cratic-debate/
              http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0110#post20110
              http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0110#post20110


              Immigruntation:

              Let's move now to immigration, please. Secretary Castro, you think it should no longer be a crime to cross the U.S. border illegally. President Obama's homeland security secretary, Jeh Johnson, whom you served with, says that is a public declaration that the border is, quote, "effectively open to all." How is he wrong?

              CASTRO: Thank you for that question. You know, if you elect me president, you're not electing me to follow. You're electing me to lead. And open borders is a right-wing talking point, and frankly I'm disappointed that some folks, including some folks on this stage, have taken the bait.

              The only way that we’re going to guarantee that we don’t have family separations in this country again is to repeal Section 1325 of the Immigration Nationality Act. That is the law that this president, this administration is using to incarcerate migrant parents and then physically separate them from their children.

              My immigration plan would also make sure that we put undocumented immigrants who haven't committed a serious crime on a pathway to citizenship, that we do a 21st century Marshall Plan with Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, so that we can get to the root of this challenge so people can find safety and opportunity at home instead of having to come to the United States. That's how we can be smarter, more effective, and more humane when it comes to immigration policy.

              LEMON: Thank you, Secretary Castro.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Senator Bennet, what's your response?

              BENNET: I disagree that we should decriminalize our border. This is personal for me. My mom is an immigrant, and she was separated from her parents during the Holocaust in Poland.

              And for those reasons, I was part of the Gang of Eight that wrote -- I wrote the immigration bill in 2013 with John McCain that passed the Senate with 68 votes, that gave a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people that are here, that would pass the most progressive DREAM Act that had ever been conceived, much less passed on the floor of the Senate, and had $46 billion of border security. Every single Democrat voted for that bill...

              LEMON: Senator...

              BENNET: ... and a lot of Republicans. That should be our position.

              LEMON: Thank you. Thank you, Senator.

              BENNET: That is our position as Democrats.

              LEMON: Senator Harris, you have indicated that you don't think it should be a criminal offense punishable by jail to cross the U.S. border illegally. How do you respond to Senator Bennet?

              HARRIS: Well, again, with all due respect, you know, I -- after the last debate, for example, I went to a place in Florida called Homestead, and there is a private detention facility being paid for by your taxpayer dollars, a private detention facility that currently houses 2,700 children.

              And by the way, there were members of us -- Julian was there, members of Congress, they would not let us enter the place, members of the United States Congress. So I walked down the road, I climbed a ladder, and I looked over the fence. And I'm going to tell you what I saw. I saw children lined up single file based on gender being walked into barracks. The policies of this administration have been facilitated by laws on the books...

              LEMON: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: ... that allow them to be incarcerated as though they've committed crimes.

              LEMON: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: These children have not committed crimes...

              LEMON: Thank you, Senator Harris.

              HARRIS: ... and should be not treated like criminals.

              (APPLAUSE)

              LEMON: Senator Bennet, what's your response?

              (APPLAUSE)

              BENNET: I think this is one in the end that we agree with. There’s not a single person on this stage if we were president would ever separate a child from their parents at the border. And that is what this...

              (APPLAUSE)

              That is what this administration has done in the American people's name. They have turned our border into a symbol of nativist hostility. The symbol of this country before Donald Trump was president was the Statue of Liberty. That should be the symbol of the United States of America, not Donald Trump's words.

              LEMON: Thank you, Senator Bennet.

              Senator Gillibrand, I want to bring you in. What's your response?

              GILLIBRAND: So I think when you talk about whether this should be a crime, you have to remember who we're talking about. When I was at the Texas border, I visited with women who had fled violence. A woman from El Salvador owned a small business, gangs came to her and said if you don't give us all your money, we're going to kill your family. That's why she fled.

              Another woman was raped.

              That's why she fled.

              So this is who we're talking about -- and they're not criminals. So I believe that we should have a civil violation. No president before President Trump enforced the law in the way he has enforced it. Because he's using it as the crutch to lock up women and children, to separate mothers and babies, to put them behind bars.

              So I don't think we should have a law on the books that can be so misused. It should be a civil violation and we should make sure that we treat people humanely.

              LEMON: Thank you, Senator.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Vice President Biden, in the first two years of the Obama administration, nearly 800,000 immigrants were deported, far more than during President Trump's first two years. Would the higher deportation rates resume if you were president?

              BIDEN: Absolutely not, number one. Number two, everything landed on the president's desk but locusts. I found that Julian -- excuse me -- the secretary, we sat together in many meetings. I never heard him talk about any of this when he was the secretary.

              (UNKNOWN): Three million (inaudible)

              LEMON: Please be respectful. Please be respectful in the crowd.

              (UNKNOWN): Three million (inaudible)

              LEMON: Please continue, Mr. Vice President.

              (UNKNOWN): Three million (inaudible)

              BIDEN: The fact is -- the fact is...

              (UNKNOWN): Three million (inaudible)

              BIDEN: I don't know if you can hear. I can hear. But anyway...

              LEMON: We can hear fine, Mr. Vice President.

              BIDEN: OK.

              (LAUGHTER)

              LEMON: Please continue, if you will.

              BIDEN: The fact is what the senator from New York talked about is seeking asylum. That woman, the women she spoke to are entitled to asylum. That is not crossing the border illegally. What we should do is flood the zone to make sure we have people to make those decisions quickly.

              With regard to -- with regard to the secretary's point, I already proposed and passed...

              (APPLAUSE)

              ... $750 million for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, to be able to change the circumstance why people fled in the first place.

              In addition to that, we're in a circumstance where if in fact you say you can just cross the border, what do you say to all those people around the world who in fact want the same thing to come to the United States and make their case, that they don't -- that they have to wait in line. The fact of the matter is, you should be able to -- if you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It's a crime. It's a crime, and it's not one that in fact...

              LEMON: Thank -- thank you, Mr. Vice President. Secretary Castro, please, your response?

              (APPLAUSE)

              CASTRO: Yeah, first of all, Mr. Vice President, it looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past and one of us hasn't.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Let me begin by telling you -- let me just start out by answering that question. My immigration plan would also fix the broken legal immigration system, because we do have a problem with that.

              BIDEN: I agree.

              CASTRO: Secondly, the only way that we're going to guarantee that these kinds of family separations don't happen in the future is that we need to repeal this law. There's still going to be consequences if somebody crosses the border. It's a civil action. Also, we have 654 miles of fencing. We have thousands of personnel at the border. We have planes; we have boats; we have helicopters; we have security cameras...

              LEMON: Secretary Castro, thank you.

              CASTRO: What we need are politicians that actually...

              LEMON: Your time is up.

              CASTRO: ... have some guts on this issue.

              LEMON: Thank you, Secretary.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Mr. Vice President, please, your response?

              BIDEN: I have guts enough to say his plan doesn't make sense. Here's the deal. The fact of the matter is that, in fact, when people cross the border illegally, it is illegal to do it unless they're seeking asylum. People should have to get in line. That's the problem. And the only reason this particular part of the law is being abused is because of Donald Trump. We should defeat Donald Trump and end this practice.

              (APPLAUSE)

              LEMON: Thank you. Congresswoman Gabbard, what's your response?

              GABBARD: Our hearts break when we see those children at these detention facilities who've been separated from their parents, when we see human beings crowded into cages in abhorrent, inhumane conditions. This is about leadership and understanding that we can and should have both secure borders as well as humane immigration policies.

              We will have to stop separating children from their parents, make it so that it’s easier for people to seek asylum in this country, make sure that we are securing our borders and making it so that people are able to use our legal immigration system by reforming those laws.

              LEMON: Mr. Yang, your response?

              (APPLAUSE)

              YANG: I'm the son of immigrants myself. My father immigrated here as a graduate student and generated over 65 U.S. patents for G.E. and IBM. I think that's a pretty good deal for the United States. That's the immigration story we need to be telling.

              We can’t always be focusing on some of the -- the -- the distressed stories. And if you go to a factory here in Michigan, you will not find wall-to-wall immigrants; you will find wall-to-wall robots and machines. Immigrants are being scapegoated for issues they have nothing to do with in our economy.

              (APPLAUSE)

              LEMON: Thank you, Mr. Yang. Senator Booker you have a plan that would, quote, "virtually eliminate immigration detention." Does that mean that the roughly 55,000 migrants currently in detention would be released into the United States?

              BOOKER: Well, first of all, I just want to say, again, tonight, we are playing into Republican hands who have a very different view, and they're trying to divide us against each other. I'm listening to the language of my colleagues. No, Mr. Vice President, we are not going to just let people cross the border. An unlawful crossing is an unlawful crossing, if you do it in the civil courts, or if you do in the criminal courts.

              But the criminal courts is what is giving Donald Trump the ability to truly violate the human rights of people coming to our country, who no one surrenders their human rights. And so, doing it through the civil courts means that you won't need these awful detention facilities that I have been to; seeing children sleeping on pavement, people being put in cages, nursing mothers, small children.

              This is not necessary. We have seen, using the civil system, piloted programs that have 100 percent compliance with the civil courts, where people are evaluated. If they have no justifiable reason to be here, they are returned. If they are, like the people I met in Juarez, who were survivors of sexual assault, who we wouldn't even let come and present for asylum. We are butchering our values -

              LEMON: Senator -

              BOOKER: - and making ourselves less safe.

              LEMON: Senator Booker, thank you very much. Mr. Vice President, your response?

              BIDEN: I agree with the Senator. The asylum process is a real process, and this president is ruining it. It has nothing to do with that section of law. That's what he's doing, number one. Number two, we should in fact - and we had proposed and we tried to get passed in our administration, I proposed, significantly increasing the number of legal immigrants who are able to come.

              This country can tolerate a heck of a lot more people. And the reason we're the country we are is we've been able to cherry pick from the best of every culture. Immigrants built this country. That's why we're so special. It took courage. It took resilience. It took absolutely confidence for them to come. And we should be encouraging these people.

              LEMON: Thank you.

              BIDEN: And by the way, anybody that crosses the stage with a - with a - with a PhD, you should get a green card for seven years. We should keep them here.

              LEMON: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President. Governor Inslee, what's your response?

              INSLEE: I think we're missing two central statements we need to make. Number one, we can no longer allow a white nationalist to be in the White House, number one.

              (APPLAUSE)

              And number two - number two, we have to make America what it's always been, a place of refuge. We got to boost the number of people we accept. I'm proud of being the first governor saying send us your Syrian refugees. I'm proud to have been the first governor to stand up against Donald Trump's Muslim ban. I'm proud to have sued him 21 times and beat him 21 times in a row. I'm ready for November 2020.

              (APPLAUSE)

              LEMON: Go ahead. Mayor de Blasio, please your response?

              DE BLASIO: Two points. One, it's all kind of charade because there's 11 million people here, and everyone, in theory, has broken the law, but they're part of our communities now. They're part of our economy. They're our neighbors. Why are we even discussing on one level whether it's a civil penalty or a criminal penalty, when it's an American reality?

              And what we need is comprehensive immigration, once and for all, to fix it. Second, Vice President Biden, I didn't hear your response when the issue came up of all those deportations. You were vice president of the United States. I didn't hear whether you tried to stop them or not, using your power, your influence in the White House. Do you think it was a good idea, or do you think it was something that needed to be stopped?

              LEMON: Mr. Vice President -

              BIDEN: The president came along, and he's the guy that came up with the idea the first time ever, dealing with the dreamers. He put that in the law. He had talked about a comprehensive plan which he put on the - laid before the Congress, saying that we should find a pathway to citizenship for people. He said we should up the number of people that we're able to bring in to this country.

              Lastly, he also pointed out that we should go to the source of the problem and fix it where people were leaving in the first place. So he did - to compare him to Donald Trump, I think is absolutely bizarre.

              LEMON: Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President. Congresswoman Gabbard, you are a co-sponsor of the College for All Act which would make public colleges and universities free for all Americans. One of the authors of that plan, Senator Sanders, believes college should be tuition-free for undocumented immigrants as well. Do you?

              GABBARD: I don't. I think it's important for us to fix our legal immigration system and look at the millions of undocumented immigrants in this country who have been suffering as they've been living in the shadows.

              And instead of putting a band-aid on this problem, fix our legal immigration system to provide them with that pathway to legal residency or citizenships, that they are no longer treated as second-class citizens in this country. We've got to look at the challenge that people all across the country are facing, under crushing student debt.

              This is something that is impacting my generation in a huge way and I believe that it is our generation that has the bold, creative solutions to be able to solve it. This is about promise for our future and we've got to make those kinds of investments.

              LEMON: Thank you, Congresswoman. Mayor de Blasio, what's your response?

              DE BLASIO: Yes, I -- I agree with the congress member but I don't hear an answer from the vice president. I'm confused. I asked the vice president point blank, did he use his power to stop those deportations. He went right around the question.

              Mr. Vice President, you want to be president of the United States, you need to be able to answer the tough questions. I guarantee you if you're debating Donald Trump he's not going to let you off the hook. So did you say those deportations were a good idea or did you go to the president and say this is a mistake, we shouldn't do it. Which one?

              BIDEN: I was vice president. I am not the president. I keep my recommendation to him in private. Unlike you I can expect you would go ahead and say whatever was said privately with him. That is not what I do.

              What I do say to you is he moved to fundamentally change the system. That's what he did. That's who did. But much more has to be done. Much more has to be done.

              DE BLASIO: I still don't hear an answer.

              LEMON: Senator Booker, please respond.

              BOOKER: Well, a couple of things. First of all, Mr. Vice President, you can't have it both ways. You invoke President Obama more than anybody in this campaign. You can't do it when it's convenient and then dodge it when it's not.

              And the second thing that this really irks me because I heard the vice president say that if you got a PhD., you can come right into this country. Well that’s playing into what the republicans want, to pit some immigrants against other immigrants.

              From are from shithole countries and some are from worthy countries. We need to reform this whole immigration system and begin to be the country that says everyone has worth and dignity and this should be a country that honors for everyone.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Don't let the republicans divide this party against itself.

              LEMON: Senator, thank you. Mr. Vice President, your response.

              BIDEN: The fact is that's what I said about this country. We are a country of immigrants. All of us. All of us. Some here came against their will; others came because they in fact thought they could fundamentally change their lives. And they did.

              (Inaudible) that’s what we’re talking about. That’s what made us great. And the fact of the matter is, I think the president of the United States, Barack Obama, went out of his way to try to change the system and he got pushed back significantly.

              LEMON: Senator Gillibrand, what's your response?

              GILLIBRAND: Again, President Trump, under his administration seven children died in his custody. In -- under his administration families have been torn apart. This party is talking about real ideas for the future. We’re talking about what we will do to change America.

              But we must not forget about our values. We used to believe in this country you should treat others the way you want to be treated. We used to believe in this country we should care about the least among us. Let's remind the American people who we are, why we are democrats, and why we're running for president.

              LEMON: Senator Gillibrand, thank you very much. The debate will be right back right after this short break.

              (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

              Criminal jewstice:

              TAPPER: Welcome back to the CNN Democratic presidential debate. We are live from Detroit.

              I want to turn now to criminal justice. Mr. Vice President, Senator Booker called your new criminal justice reform plan, quote, "an inadequate solution to what is a raging crisis in our country," unquote. Why is Senator Booker wrong?

              BIDEN: Well, I don't -- I think he is wrong. I think we should work together. He has a similar plan. I think that we should change the way we look at prisons.

              Right now, we're in a situation where, when someone is convicted of a drug crime, they end up going to jail and to prison. They should be going to rehabilitation. They shouldn't be going to prison. When in prison, they should be learning to read and write and not just sit in there and learn how to be better criminals.

              And when they get out of prison, they should be in a situation where they have access to everything they would have had before, including Pell grants for education, including making sure that they're able to have housing, public housing, including they have all the opportunities that were available to them because we want them to become better citizens.

              That's the essence of what my plan, in detail, lays out. I'm happy to discuss it more in detail if the senator would want to. And so I -- you know, I look -- anyway, that's what I think my plan -- I know what my plan does, and I think it's not dissimilar to what the senator said we should be working together on getting things done.

              TAPPER: Senator Booker, your response?

              BOOKER: Well, my response is that this is a crisis in our country because we have treated issues of race and poverty, mental health and addiction with locking people up and not lifting them up.

              And...

              (APPLAUSE)

              ... Mr. Vice President has said that, since the 1970s, every major crime bill -- every crime bill, major and minor, has had his name on it. And, Sir, those are your words, not -- not mine. And this is one of those instances where the house was set on fire and you claimed responsibility for those laws. And you can't just now come out with a plan to put out that fire. We have got to have far more bold action on criminal justice reform, like having true...

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

              BOOKER: ... marijuana justice, which means that we legalize it on a federal level...

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Booker.

              BOOKER: ... and reinvest the profits in communities that have been...

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Booker.

              BOOKER: ... disproportionately targeted by marijuana enforcement.

              TAPPER: Vice President Biden, I want to give you a chance to respond.

              BIDEN: The fact is that the bills that the president -- that, excuse me, the future president here -- that...

              (LAUGHTER)

              ... that the senator is talking about are bills that were passed years ago and they were passed overwhelming. Since 2007, I, for example, tried to get the crack-powder-cocaine totally -- disparity totally eliminated.

              In 2007 you became mayor and you had a police department that was -- you went out and you hired Rudy Giuliani's guy; you -- and engaged in stop-and-frisk. You had 75 percent of those stops reviewed as illegal. You found yourself in a situation where three times as many African-American kids were caught in that chain and caught up. The Justice Department came after you for saying you were -- you were engaging in behavior that was inappropriate, and then in fact nothing happened, the entire time you were mayor.

              TAPPER: Thank you. Senator Booker, you want to respond?

              BOOKER: Well, first of all, I’m grateful that he endorsed my presidency already. But I’ll tell you this, it’s no secret that I inherited a criminal -- a police department with massive problems and decades-long challenges. But the head of the ACLU has already said -- the head of the New Jersey ACLU -- that I put forth national standard-setting accountability.

              BIDEN: That's...

              BOOKER: Mr. Vice President -- Mr. Vice President, I didn't interrupt you. Please show me that respect, sir.

              BIDEN: I'm sorry (inaudible)

              BOOKER: We have a system right now that's broken. And if you want to compare records -- and, frankly, I'm shocked that you do...

              (LAUGHTER)

              ... I am happy to do that. Because all the problems that he is talking about, that he created, I actually led the bill that got passed into law that reverses the damage that your bills that you were, frankly -- to correct you, Mr. Vice President -- you were bragging, calling it the Biden crime bill, up until 2015.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Vice President Biden?

              BIDEN: Number one, the bill he talks about is a bill that in my -- our administration, we passed. We passed that bill that you added onto. That's the bill, in fact, you passed.

              And the fact of the matter is, secondly, there was nothing done for the entire eight years he was mayor, there was nothing done to deal with the police department that was corrupt. Why did you announce on the first day a zero tolerance policy of stop and frisk and hire Rudy Giuliani's guy in 2007, when I was trying to get rid of the crack cocaine disparity?

              BOOKER: Mr. Vice President, there's a saying in my community, you're dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don't even know the flavor. You need to come to the city of Newark and see the reforms that we put in place. The New Jersey head of the ACLU has said that I embraced reforms not just in action, but in deeds.

              Sir, you are trying to shift the view from what you created. There are people right now in prison for life for drug offenses because you stood up and used that “tough on crime” phony rhetoric that got a lot of people elected but destroyed communities like mine. This isn’t about the past, sir. This is about the present right now. I believe in redemption.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

              BOOKER: I'm happy you evolved.

              TAPPER: I want to bring in Secretary...

              BOOKER: But you've offered no redemption to the people in prison right now for life.

              TAPPER: I want to bring in Secretary Castro. Your response, sir?

              (APPLAUSE)

              CASTRO: Yeah, I agree with Senator Booker -- I agree with Senator Booker that a lot of what Vice President helped author in '94 was a mistake. And he has flip-flopped on these things. And that's clear.

              But let me say, when we talk about criminal justice reform, there are a lot of things that we can talk about -- sentencing reform, cash bail reform, investing in public defenders, diversion programs. I'm proud that I'm the only candidate that has put forward a police reform plan, because we have a police system that is broken and we need to fix it.

              And whether it's the case of someone like Tamir Rice or Michael Brown or Eric Garner, where the Trump Justice Department just decided not to pursue challenges...

              (APPLAUSE)

              ... we need to ensure we have a national use of force standard and that we end qualified immunity for police officers so that we can hold them accountable for using excessive force.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Secretary Castro.

              (CROSSTALK)

              TAPPER: I want to bring in -- I want to bring in Governor Inslee. Governor Inslee, your response?

              INSLEE: Let me suggest that people come out to the state of Washington and see what criminal justice reform looks like, our effort to reduce racial disparity.

              I'm proud that I was the first governor to offer pardons to thousands of people with drug crimes. Now we're vacating more, tens of thousands. We've eliminated the death penalty.

              And importantly, we've done this: When people come out of the legal system and they've done their responsibility to the citizens, we need to make sure they can get a job. We have banned the box so that people can actually get a job when they come out.

              (APPLAUSE)

              And I've got to argue with my friend, Secretary Castro. We haven't just put forward a plan. We have adopted probably one of the best police accountability measures and trainer police officers and de-escalation techniques so we have less violence...

              (CROSSTALK)

              TAPPER: Secretary -- Secretary Castro, your response to Governor Inslee?

              CASTRO: Well, that it's much more than that, because what we see -- and this was a good example, the other day, of the Department of Justice not going after Officer Pantaleo that -- Officer Pantaleo used a chokehold that was prohibited by NYPD. He did that for seven seconds. Eleven different times Eric Garner said that he couldn't breathe. He knew what he was doing, that he was killing Eric Garner, and yet he has not been brought to justice. That police officer should be off the street.

              (APPLAUSE)

              TAPPER: Mayor de Blasio? Mayor de Blasio, why is that police officer still on the force, the one who killed Eric Garner? Please respond.

              DE BLASIO: Well, let me tell you. I know the Garner family. They've gone through extraordinary pain. They are waiting for justice and are going to get justice. There's finally going to be justice. I have confidence in that, in the next 30 days, in New York.

              You know why? Because for the first time, we are not waiting on the federal Justice Department, which told the city of New York that we could not proceed because the Justice Department was pursuing their prosecution. And years went by, and a lot of the pain accrued.

              And in the meantime, what I'm working on is making sure -- and I have for five years -- there will never be another tragedy, there will never be another Eric Garner, because we're changing fundamentally how we police.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Mayor.

              DE BLASIO: But there's one last point I have to say about the Justice Department. The vice president for two-and-a-half of those years, Mr. Vice President, tell us, what did you do to try and spur on the Justice Department to act in the Garner case?

              TAPPER: Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor de Blasio.

              Vice President Biden, you can respond to that.

              BIDEN: We did a lot. Number one, we made sure we reduced the federal prison population by 38,000 people, number one.

              Number two, we, in fact, insisted that we change the rules that police engage in. They had to have -- we provided for body cameras. We made sure -- there were a lot of things that were changed in the process, but 38,000 people in the federal system were released under the system.

              And so the fact is that there's a lot we've done. But here's the deal. The fact is that we're talking about things that occurred a long, long time ago. And now, all of a sudden, you know -- I find it fascinating. Everybody is talking about how terrible I am on these issues. Barack Obama knew exactly who I was. He had 10 lawyers do a background check on everything about me on civil rights and civil liberties, and he chose me, and he said it was the best decision he made. I'll take his judgment.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

              YANG: May I, please?

              TAPPER: Mr. Yang, your response?

              (APPLAUSE)

              YANG: I speak for just about everyone watching when I say I would trust anyone on this stage much more than I would trust our current president on matters of criminal justice.

              (APPLAUSE)

              We cannot tear each other down. We have to focus on beating Donald Trump in 2020.

              I want to share a story that a prison guard, a corrections officer in New Hampshire said to me. He said, we should pay people to stay out of jail, because we spend so much when they're behind bars. Right now, we think we're saving money, we just end up spending the money in much more dark and punitive ways. We should put money directly into people's hands, certainly when they come out of prison, but before they go into prison.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Yang.

              (APPLAUSE)

              I want to bring in Senator Gillibrand. You heard earlier Mayor de Blasio respond to Secretary Castro on the question of why the police officer who killed Eric Garner is still on the NYPD. Was that response adequate? Please respond.

              GILLIBRAND: No. He should be fired. He should be fired now.

              (APPLAUSE)

              I sat -- I sat down with Eric Garner's mother. And I can tell you, when you've lost your son, when he begged for breath, when you know because you have a video, when you know he said "I can't breathe" so many times, over and over again, when you know he used an illegal chokehold, that person should be fired. And as -- if I was -- if I was the mayor, I would fire him.

              But as president, I would make sure that we had a full investigation, that the report would be made public. And if I wasn't satisfied, we would have a consent decree.

              TAPPER: I want to bring in Senator Harris now.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Senator Harris, you have also been quite critical of Vice President Biden's policies on race, specifically on the issues of busing in the 1970s, having benefitted from busing when you were a young child. Vice President Biden says that your current position on busing, you're opposed to federally mandated busing, that that position is the same as his position. Is he right?

              HARRIS: That is simply false. And let's be very clear about this. When Vice President Biden was in the United States Senate, working with segregationists to oppose busing, which was the vehicle by which we would integrate America's public schools, had I been in the United States Senate at that time, I would have been completely on the other side of the aisle.

              And let's be clear about this. Had those segregationists their way, I would not be a member of the United States Senate, Cory Booker would not be a member of the United States Senate, and Barack Obama would not have been in the position to nominate him to the title he now holds.

              (APPLAUSE)

              And so, on that issue, we could not be more apart, which is that the vice president has still failed to acknowledge that it was wrong to take the position that he took at that time.

              Now, I would like to also talk about this conversation about Eric Garner, because I, too, met with his mother. And one of the things that we've got to be clear about is that this president of the United States, Donald Trump, while he has been in office, has quietly been allowing the United States Department of Justice to shut down consent decrees, to stop pattern and practice investigations.

              On that case, we also know that the...

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: ... Civil Rights Division -- this is important. The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice said charges should have been filed, but this United States Department of Justice usurped -- and I believe it is because that president did not want those charges to go forward. And they overrode a decision by the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: Under my administration, the Civil Rights Division...

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: ... will rein and there will be independent investigations.

              TAPPER: Vice President Biden, Vice President Biden, I want to give you a chance to respond to what Senator Harris just said.

              BIDEN: When Senator Harris was attorney general for eight years in the state of California, there were two of the most segregated school districts in the country, in Los Angeles and in San Francisco.

              And she did not -- I didn't see a single solitary time she brought a case against them to desegregate them. Secondly, she also was in a situation where she had a police department when she was there that in fact was abusing people's right.

              And the fact was that she in fact was told by her own people that her own staff that she should do something about and disclose to defense attorney's like me that you in fact have been -- the police officer did something that did not give you information of what (inaudible) your -- your client. She didn't do that. She never did it. And so what happened.

              Along came a federal judge and said enough, enough. And he freed 1,000 of these people. If you doubt me, google 1,000 prisoners freed, Kamala Harris.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Vice President Biden. Senator Harris, your response.

              HARRIS: That is -- is simply not true. And as attorney general of California where I ran the second largest Department of Justice in the United States, second only to the United States Department of Justice, I am proud of the work we did.

              Work that has received national recognition for what has been the important work of reforming a criminal justice system and cleaning up the consequences of the bills that you passed when you were in the United States Senate for decades.

              It was the work of creating the -- one of the first in the nation initiatives around reentering former offenders and getting them jobs and counseling.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: I did the work as attorney general of putting body cameras on special agents in the state of California.

              (CROSSTALK)

              TAPPER: I want to bring in Congresswoman ....

              HARRIS: And I'm proud of that work.

              TAPPER: I want to bring in Congresswoman Gabbard. Congresswoman Gabbard, you took issue with Senator Harris confronting Vice President Biden at the last debate. You called it a quote, false accusation that Joe Biden is a racist. What's your response?

              GABBARD: I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people all across this country today. Now Senator Harris says she's proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she'll be a prosecutor president.

              But I'm deeply concerned about this record. There are too many examples to cite but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.

              (APPLAUSE)

              She blocked evidence -- she blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California.

              (APPLAUSE)

              And she fought to keep ...

              TAPPER: Thank you, Congresswoman.

              GABBARD: Bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Congresswoman. Senator Harris, your response?

              (APPLAUSE)

              HARRIS: As the elected attorney general of California, I did the work of significantly reforming the criminal justice system of a state of 40 million people, which became a national model for the work that needs to be done.

              And I am proud of that work. And I am proud of making a decision to not just give fancy speeches or be in a legislative body and give speeches on the floor, but actually doing the work of being in the position to use the power that I had to reform a system that is badly in need of reform.

              That is why we created initiatives that were about reentering former offenders and getting them counseling.

              TAPPER: Thank you.

              HARRIS: It is why and because I know that criminal justice system is so broken ...

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: That I am an advocate for what we need to do to not only decriminalize, but legalize marijuana in the United States.

              (CROSSTALK)

              TAPPER: Thank you, Senator. Your time is up. I want to -- I want to bring Congresswoman Gabbard back in. Your response, please.

              GABBARD: The bottom line is, Senator Harris, when you were in a position to make a difference and an impact in these people's lives, you did not. And worse yet, in the case of those who were on death row, innocent people, you actually blocked evidence from being revealed that would have freed them until you were forced to do so.

              (APPLAUSE)

              There is no excuse for that and the people who suffered under your reign as prosecutor owe -- you owe them an apology.

              TAPPER: Senator Harris?

              (APPLAUSE)

              HARRIS: My entire career I have been opposed -- personally opposed to the death penalty and that has never changed. And I dare anybody who is in a position to make that decision, to face the people I have faced to say I will not seek the death penalty. That is my background, that is my work.

              I am proud of it. I think you can judge people by when they are under fire and it's not about some fancy opinion on a stage but when they're in the position to actually make a decision, what do they do.

              When I was in the position of having to decide whether or not to seek a death penalty on cases I prosecuted, I made a very difficult decision that was not popular to not seek the death penalty. History shows that and I am proud of those decisions.

              LEMON: Senator Harris, thank you very much. Senator Bennet, a question for you. Why are you the best candidate to heal the racial divide that exists in this country today, which has been stoked by the president's racist rhetoric?

              BENNET: Yes. First of all, the president’s racist rhetoric should be enough grounds for everybody in this country to vote him out of office.

              That one thing alone should be enough.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Second, Don, I want to answer your question by tagging on the conversation we were just having. This is the fourth debate that we have had and the second time that we have been debating what people did 50 years ago with busing...

              (APPLAUSE)

              ... when our schools are as segregated today as they were 50 years ago.

              (APPLAUSE)

              We need a conversation about what's happening now. And when there's a group of kids in this country that don't get preschool through no fault of their own and another group does, equal is not equal. And we've got a group of K-12 schools that are good because families can spend a million bucks, and you've got the Detroit public schools that are as segregated as they were. Equal is not equal.

              (APPLAUSE)

              And let me tell you something else, Don. I believe you can draw a straight line from slavery through Jim Crow through the banking and the redlining to the mass incarceration that we were talking about on this stage a few minutes ago. But you know what other line I can draw? Eighty-eight percent of the people in our prisons dropped out of high school. Let's fix our school system and maybe we can fix the prison pipeline that we have.

              (APPLAUSE)

              LEMON: Thank you, Senator Bennet.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Governor Inslee, what's your response?

              (APPLAUSE)

              Governor Inslee, please respond.

              INSLEE: You know, I approach this question with humility because I have not experienced what many Americans have. I've never been a black teenager pulled over in a white neighborhood. I've never been a woman talked over in a meeting. I've never been an LGBTQ member subject to a slur. And so I have believed I have an added responsibility, a double responsibility, to deal with racial disparity. And we've talked on the way we do it, including ending -- ending the school to prison pipeline in my state.

              But I want to say this. And this is a common error that every single senator on this stage, as much as I respect them all -- they all have an enormous error which is going to prevent our party from making any progressive progress in the United States, and it is this. We are all going to work like the dickens to get more Democrats elected to the Senate, right? We are going to do that.

              (APPLAUSE)

              And I hope we're going to succeed. But if we get a majority in the U.S. Senate, because of the position of these senators, not a damn thing is going to get done. And I'll tell you why. With all their good intentions -- and I know they're very sincere and passionate and I respect them enormously -- but because they embraced this antediluvinal (sic) super-majority thing called the filibuster, Mitch McConnell is going to run the U.S. Senate even if we take a majority.

              LEMON: Thank you.

              INSLEE: We've got to get rid of the filibuster so we can govern the United States.

              LEMON: Mister...

              (APPLAUSE)

              LEMON: Mr. Yang, why are you the best candidate to heal the racial divide in America -- your response?

              YANG: I spent seven years running a non-profit that helped create thousands of jobs, including hundreds right here in Detroit, as well as Baltimore, Cleveland, New Orleans. And I saw that the racial disparities are much, much worse than I had ever imagined.

              They're even worse still. A study just came out that projected the average African-American median net worth will be zero by 2053. So you have to ask yourself, how is that possible? It's possible because we're in the midst of the greatest economic transformation in our history. Artificial intelligence is coming. It's going to displace hundreds of thousands of call center workers, truck drivers -- the most common job in 29 states, including this one.

              And you know who suffers most in a natural disaster? It's people of color, people who have lower levels of capital and education and resources. So what are we going to do about it? We should just go back to the writings of Martin Luther King, who in 1967, his book "Chaos or Community", said "We need a guaranteed minimum income in the United States of America." That is the most effective way for us to address racial inequality in a genuine way and give every American a chance in the 21st Century economy.

              (APPLAUSE)

              LEMON: Mr. Yang, thank you very much.

              Secretary Castro, after the president's racist tweets attacking Baltimore and Congressman Elijah Cummings, the mayor of Baltimore slammed the tweets and said to the president -- and I quote here -- "Help us. Send the resources that we need to rebuild America."

              So what would you do for Baltimore and other cities that need help?

              CASTRO: First of all, the president is a racist, and that was just one more example of it.

              (APPLAUSE)

              We know that, whether it's Baltimore or cities like Detroit, they have -- they're tremendously rich in history and culture and also in possibility. Here's what I would do if I'm president. Number one, I would invest in tremendous educational opportunity; invest in universal pre-K for three and four-year-olds; invest in improving K-12 education and also making higher education available to everyone through tuition-free public state universities, community colleges and job training and certification programs. I would follow-up on the work that I did at HUD. We passed the most sweeping rule to further desegregate our communities in the United States.

              This Trump administration set that back. I would put that back in order. I would also invest in housing that is affordable, because folks know that the rent is going through the roof. And we need to make sure that you don't have to get out of West Baltimore, or Inner City Detroit, or the west side of San Antonio, or anywhere, if you want to reach your American dream. I want you to be able to accomplish it in your great neighborhood where you are.

              LEMON: Thank you, Secretary Castro. Senator Gillibrand, what's your response?

              GILLIBRAND: So I don't believe that it's the responsibility of Cory and Kamala to be the only voice that takes on these issues of institutional racism, systemic racism in our country. I think as a white woman of privilege, who is a U.S. senator, running for president of the United States, it is also my responsibility to lift up those voices that aren't being listened to.

              And I can talk to those white women in the suburbs that voted for Trump and explain to them what white privilege actually is, that when their son is walking down a street with a bag of M&Ms in his pocket, wearing a hoodie, his whiteness is what protects him from not being shot.

              (APPLAUSE)

              When his - when her - when their child has a car that breaks down, and he knocks on someone's door for help, and the door opens, and the help is given, it's his whiteness that protects him from being shot. That is what white privilege in America is today. And so, my responsibility's to only lift up those stories, but explain to communities across America, like I did in Youngstown, Ohio, to a young mother, that this is all of our responsibilities, and that together we can make our community stronger.

              BASH: Thank you, Senator Gillibrand.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Climate Change:

              Let's now turn to the issue of the climate crisis. The United Nations says the world needs to cut all carbon emissions by 2050 or risk facing disastrous consequences. Governor Inslee, many of your fellow democratic candidates say that climate change is the biggest existential threat facing the country. You, though, are calling it the number one priority in your campaign. What do you know that the others don't?

              INSLEE: Well, I know the firsthand terrific impact of climate change on Americans across the country already. The family who I saw, with their aluminum home now, just a pile of molten aluminum, they lost everything in the paradise of fires; the non-profit in Davenport that was washed away in the floods. We have to act now.

              Look, climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issue that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy. And we know this; middle ground solutions, like the vice president has proposed, or sort of middling average-sized things, are not going to save us.

              Too little, too late is too dangerous. And we have to have a bold plan, and mine has been called the "gold standard." Now, we also need to embed environmental justice. I was in zip code 48217 in the Detroit neighborhood the other day, right next to an oil refinery, where the kids have asthma and they have cancer clusters. And after talking to these folks, I believe this -

              BASH: Thank you -

              INSLEE: I believe this; it doesn't matter what your zip code is -

              BASH: Thank you, Governor.

              INSLEE: - it doesn't matter what your color is, you ought to have clear -

              BASH: Thank you, Governor.

              INSLEE: - air and clear water in America. That's what I believe.

              BASH: Vice President Biden, I'd like to get you to respond.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Governor Inslee just said that your plan is middling.

              BIDEN: There is no middle ground about my plan. The fact of the matter is I call for the immediate action to be taken. First of all, one of the things that - we're responsible for 15 percent of all the pollution in the country. He's right about how it affects people and it affects neighborhoods, particularly poor neighborhoods

              But h’s the deal; in area, there’s also another piece. Eighty-five percent of it is something I helped negotiate; and that is the Paris Climate Accord. I would immediately rejoin that Paris Accord. I would make sure that we up the ante which it calls for. I would be able to bring those leaders together who I know I - I convene them in the White House, like we did in nuclear summit, and I would raise the standard.

              BASH: Thank you, Mr. Vice President

              BIDEN: I also invested $400 billion -

              BASH: Thank you, sir.

              BIDEN: - in research for new alternatives to deal with climate change.

              BASH: Mr. Yang, your response?

              BIDEN: And that's bigger than any other person.

              YANG: The important number in Vice President Biden's remarks just now is that he United States was only 15 percent of global emissions. We like to act as if we're 100 percent, but the truth is even if we were to curb our emissions dramatically, the earth is still going to get warmer.

              And we can see it around it us this summer. The last four years have been the four warmest years in recorded history. This is going to be a tough truth, but we are too late. We are 10 years too late. We need to do everything we can to start moving the climate in the right direction, but we also need to start moving our people to higher ground.

              And the best way to do that is to put economic resources into your hands so you can protect yourself and your families.

              INSLEE: I was challenged by the vice president.

              BASH: Thank you, Senator.

              INSLEE: May I be heard on this for a moment?

              BASH: Go ahead, Governor.

              INSLEE: Thank you very much. Look, we have -- these deadlines are set by science. Mr. Vice President, your argument is not with me, it's with science. And unfortunately, your plan is just too late. The science tells us we have to get off coal in 10 years. Your plan does not do that. We have to have off of fossil fuels in our electrical grid in 15. Your plan simply does not do that.

              I've heard you say that we need a realistic plan. Here's what I believe...

              BIDEN: No, I didn't say that.

              INSLEE: Here's what I believe. I believe that survival is realistic, and that's the kind of plan we need. And that's the kind I have.

              BIDEN: My plan calls for 500,000 charging stations around the country so by 2030 we're all electric vehicles. My plan calls for making sure that we have $400 billion invested in technologies to learn how to contain what we're doing, creating 10 million new jobs.

              We will double offshore wind. We will end any subsidies for coal or any other fossil fuel. But we have to also engage the world while we're doing it. We have to walk and chew gum at the same time.

              (APPLAUSE)

              BASH: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Just to clarify, would there be any place for fossil fuels, including coal and fracking, in a Biden administration?

              BIDEN: No, we would -- we would work it out. We would make sure it's eliminated and no more subsidies for either one of those, either -- any fossil fuel.

              INSLEE: We can't...

              BASH: Thank you, sir.

              INSLEE: We cannot work it out. We cannot work this out. The time is up. Our house is on fire. We have to stop using coal in 10 years, and we need a president to do it or it won't get done. Get off coal. Save this country and the planet. That's what I'm for.

              BASH: Senator Harris, your response?

              HARRIS: I mean, I have to agree with Governor Inslee. And I'm going to just paraphrase one of your great sayings, Governor, which is we currently have a president in the White House who obviously does not understand the science. He's been pushing science fiction instead of science fact. The guy thinks that wind turbines cause cancer, but what in fact they cause is jobs.

              And the reality is that I would take any Democrat on this stage over the current president of the United States, who is rolling it back to our collective peril. We must have and adopt a Green New Deal. On day one as president...

              BASH: Thank you.

              HARRIS: ... I would re-enter us in the Paris agreement.

              BASH: Thank you, Senator.

              HARRIS: And put in place so we would be carbon neutral by 2030.

              BASH: Thank you, Senator. I want to talk about that with Senator Gillibrand. You're a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, which includes the guarantee of a job with medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security for everyone in America. Explain how that's realistic.

              GILLIBRAND: So the first thing that I'm going to do when I'm president is I'm going to Clorox the Oval Office.

              (APPLAUSE)

              The second thing I'm going to do is I will reengage on global climate change. And I will not only sign the Paris global climate accords, but I will lead a worldwide conversation about the urgency of this crisis.

              The greatest threat to humanity is global climate change. I visited a family in Iowa who -- water spewed into her home, Fran Parr, it tossed her refrigerator upend, all the furniture was broken, all the dishes were broken, and mud was everywhere. That is the impact of severe weather right now on families' lives.

              And so the truth is, we need a robust solution. When John F. Kennedy said I want to put a man on the moon in the next 10 years, not because it's easy, but because it's hard, he knew it was going to be a measure of our innovation, our success, our ability to galvanize worldwide competition.

              He wanted to have a space race with Russia. Why not have a green energy race with China? Why not have clean air and clean water for all Americans?

              (APPLAUSE)

              Why not rebuild our infrastructure? Why not actually invest in the green jobs? That's what the Green New Deal is about.

              BASH: Thank you.

              GILLIBRAND: Not only will I pass it, but I will put a price on carbon to make market forces help us.

              (APPLAUSE)

              BASH: Thank you, Senator. Congresswoman Gabbard, you are not a cosponsor of the Green New Deal. Please respond.

              GABBARD: Well, first of all, this is personal. If you can imagine, I grew up in Hawaii, which is the most remote island chain in the world. So for us growing up there, protecting our environment was not a political issue, it's a way of life. It's part of our culture. It's part of who we are.

              This is why, as a member of Congress, long before there was ever a Green New Deal, I introduced the most ambitious climate change legislation ever in Congress called the Off Fossil Fuels Act. That actually laid out an actionable plan to take us from where we are today to transition off of fossil fuels and invest in green renewable energy, invest in workforce training, invest in the kinds of infrastructure that we need to deal with the problems and the challenges that climate is posing to us today.

              BASH: Thank you, Congresswoman.

              Senator Booker, what's your response? Is the job guarantee in the Green New Deal realistic?

              BOOKER: I just want to take, first of all, a step back and say that I agree wholeheartedly with Governor Inslee. It's one of the reasons why Greenpeace ranks me and him at the top of this entire field of the candidates on climate.

              INSLEE: Second, Cory. Second, but close. You're just close.

              (LAUGHTER)

              BOOKER: I'm -- hey, hey. I want to say very clearly -- thank you, man. Thank you. I'll try harder.

              Look, the reason why is because, first of all, this problem didn't start yesterday. Science didn't become a reality yesterday. This has been going on for years. There was another president that would not join an international accord. Then it was the Kyoto accords. I was mayor then.

              And I stood up in national leadership joining with other mayors to say climate change is not a separate issue. It must be the issue and the lens with which we view every issue. Nobody should get applause for rejoining the Paris climate accords. That is kindergarten. We have to go to far advances and make sure that everything from our trade deals, everything from the billions of dollars we spend to foreign aid, everything must be sublimated to the challenge and the crisis that is existential, which is dealing with the climate threat.

              And, yes, the majority of this problem is outside the United States, but the only way we're going to deal with this is if the United States leads.

              BASH: Thank you. Thank you, Senator.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Mayor de Blasio, your administration has come under fire after hundreds of children living in New York City public housing tested positive for elevated levels of lead. As you know, we're not far from Flint, Michigan, where residents are still dealing with the consequences of having lead in their drinking water.

              (APPLAUSE)

              How can you assure the people of Flint and across the nation that you are the right person to handle such a problem?

              DE BLASIO: We have a huge problem, and it's decades old in New York. But here's what we've done about it. We've declared the eradication of all lead, literally ending the notion of lead poisoning once and all as the goal of our administration, and we're doing something about it.

              Lead poisoning has gone down 90 percent since 2005, and we're going to literally bring it down to zero, because we're going to go into every place, buildings, schools, public housing, and take out that lead, remediate that lead once and for all, and that needs to be done all over this country.

              Now, the federal government used to not take any responsibility for our public housing. For decades they've been disinvesting in the public housing that was supposed to be a federal responsibility. That's part of why we have this lead crisis to begin with.

              But I'll tell you what you do when you're actually in charge of something. I'm in charge of the largest city in this nation. You do not accept the status quo. You fix it. And so we are going into every one of those apartments to make sure those children and those families are safe, and then we are going to eradicate that lead once and for all. And there should be a federal mandate to do the same for Flint, for Detroit, for every place in this country.

              BASH: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

              DE BLASIO: It can be done.

              BASH: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

              Secretary Castro, why are you the right candidate to solve this problem? Please respond.

              CASTRO: Well, because people don't have to wonder what I would do; I've actually done it. I was secretary of housing and urban development when Flint had its water crisis. I went to Flint. We did what we could to help folks get water filters.

              And then we didn't stop there. We improved the standard of how we deal with elevated blood lead levels in children. A lot of Americans don't know that this is still a major problem out there. I was back in Flint about six weeks ago, and I released a plan to invest $50 billion so that we remove lead as a major public health threat. We need to do it. We can do it. And I will do it if I'm president.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Secretary Castro.

              (UNKNOWN): May I get in on this?

              TAPPER: Donald Trump won independents here in Michigan by 16 percentage points, which was critical to Donald Trump winning the state's 16 electoral votes. Now there is a big debate within the Democratic Party here and around the country about the best way the Democrats can win back Michigan.

              Vice President Biden, last night on this stage, Senator Elizabeth Warren said, quote, "We're not going to solve the urgent problems that we face with small ideas and spinelessness. We're going to solve them by being the Democratic Party of big, structural change."

              What do you say to progressives who worry that your proposals are not ambitious enough to energize the progressive wing of your party, which you will need to beat Donald Trump?

              BIDEN: Because we did it. I was asked to manage an $87 billion plan that would be spent in a total of 18 months that revived this state and many others, because -- and it kept us out of a depression, with 0.2% of waste or fraud.

              Secondly, I was part of the organization -- and within our administration -- that pushed bailing General Motors out, saving tens of thousands of jobs here in this state.

              (APPLAUSE)

              Number three, number three, I also was asked, as the mayor of Detroit can tell you, by the president of the United States to help Detroit get out of bankruptcy and get back on its feet. I spent better part of two years out here working to make sure that it did exactly that.

              We invested significantly in this city when transportation, only -- anyway, the point is we've made significant investment in this state. I expect in this city -- I suspect that's why the mayor endorsed me.

              TAPPER: Thank you, Vice President Biden. Senator Gillibrand, what's your response?

              GILLIBRAND: To the people of Michigan, I know exactly how I'd beat President Trump. I've already done it. I took a bus tour to talk about Trump's broken promises here in Michigan. He promised no bad trade deals.

              Not only did he not have bad trade deals, he started a trade war with China and he just signed on to another bad trade agreement with NAFTA 2.0, give away to drug companies in Mexico.

              I took the bus to Michigan, to Ohio, and to Pennsylvania telling people that he has broken his promises to them. I lifted up their voices, I listened to their concerns and I offered real solutions. And I've done this before. My first House district I ran in was a two to one republican district. I won it twice and I haven't lost an election since.

              TAPPER: Thank you.

              GILLIBRAND: And I haven't lost an election since. So I can bring people together in red, purple, and blue areas. But more than that, I can get things done.

              (CROSSTALK)


              .

              There Can Be Only One Head ZOGtard Left

              Comment


              • #8
                Democrat Debates II: Part IIc

                Democrat Debates II: Part IIc

                By Fix staff July 31 at 11:31 PM



                https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...cratic-debate/
                http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0116#post20116
                http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...20116#post2011


                Electability:

                TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Gillibrand. Mr. Yang, in poll after poll democratic voters are saying that having a nominee who can beat President Trump is more important to them than having a nominee who agrees with them on major issues. And right now, according to polls, they say the candidate who has the best chance of doing that, of beating President Trump is Vice President Biden. Why are they wrong?

                YANG: Well, I'm building a coalition of disaffected Trump voters, independents, libertarians, and conservatives, as well as democrats and progressives. I believe I'm the candidate best suited to beat Donald Trump and as for how to win in Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania, the problem is that so many people feel like the economy has left them behind.

                What we have to do is we have to say look, there's record high GDP in stock market prices, you know what else they're at record high is? Suicides, drug overdoses, depression, anxiety. It's gotten so bad that American life expectancy had declined for the last three years.

                And I like to talk about my wife who is at home with our two boys right now, one of whom is autistic. What is her work count at in today's economy. Zero and we know that's the opposite of the truth. We know that her work is amongst the most challenging and vital.

                The way we win this election as we redefine economic progress to include all the things that matter to the people in Michigan and all of us like our own heath, our well being, our mental health, our clean air and clean water, how are kids are doing.

                If we change the measurements for the 21st century economy to revolve around our own well being then we will win this election.

                (CROSSTALK)

                TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Yang. Congresswoman Gabbard, your response?

                (APPLAUSE)

                GABBARD: Donald Trump won this election because far too many people in this country felt like they'd been left behind by both political parties, by self serving politicians on both sides who are more interested in partisan politics than they are in actually fighting for the people.

                I'm speaking the truth to people all across this country about the fact that people in Flint, Michigan are still being left behind, still being poisoned by the water in their system because every single month we are spending $4 billion on a continuing war in Afghanistan, $4 billion every single month rather than ending that war, bringing our troops home, and using those precious resources into serving the needs of the people here in this country. People, communities ...

                TAPPER: Thank you, Congresswoman.

                GABBARD: That's the kind of leadership that I'll bring.

                TAPPER: Thank you, Congresswoman. Senator Booker, your response.

                BOOKER: I -- I'm grateful -- I'm grateful. Jake look, this is one of those times where we're not staring at the truth and calling it out. And -- and this is a case for the Democratic Party, the truth will set us free.

                We lost the state of Michigan because everybody from republicans to Russians were targeting the suppression of African American voters.

                (APPLAUSE)

                We need to say that. If the African American vote in this state had been like it was four years earlier, we would have won the state of Michigan. We need to have a campaign that is ready for what's coming. And all out of salt especially on the most valuable voter group in our -- in fact, the highest performing voter group in our coalition, which is black women.

                (APPLAUSE)

                And so I will be a person that tries to fight against voter suppression and to activate and engage the kind of voters and coalitions who are going to win states like Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

                TAPPER: Thank you. Senator Harris?

                HARRIS: First of all, Donald Trump came in making a whole lot of promises to working people that he did not keep. He said he was going to help farmers. He said he was going to help auto workers.

                Farmers are now looking at bankruptcy, soy beans rotting in bills. Auto workers we expect perhaps hundreds of thousands will be out of jobs by the end of the year. Jerome Powell just dropped the interest rates and he admitted why.

                Because of this so called trade policy that this president has that has been nothing more than the Trump trade tax that has resulted in American families spending as much as $1.4 billion more on everything from shampoo to washing machines. He betrayed the American people, he betrayed American families, and he will lose this election because folks are clear ...

                TAPPER: Thank you.

                HARRIS: -- that he has done nothing except try to beat people down instead of lift people up. And that's what we want in the next president of the United States.

                TAPPER: Thank you, Senator Harris.

                (APPLAUSE)

                The debate is back, right after this short break.

                (APPLAUSE)

                (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

                We're back with the CNN Democratic presidential debate. We want to turn now to the economy.

                Secretary Castro, this is for you. Wage growth is up. Stocks are rising. Unemployment is near historic lows, including for Latinos and African-Americans. You have all outlined plans, but you in particular, that could end up raising taxes. How can you guarantee that won't hurt the economy?

                CASTRO: Well, first of all, there are a lot of Americans right now that are hurting. Just go and ask the folks that just received notice that they're getting laid off by General Motors, or ask the many folks who are sleeping on the streets in big cities and small towns across the United States, or ask fast food workers that I joined a couple of weeks ago that are working for minimum wage and can't provide for their families or pay the rent.

                So the idea that America is doing just fine is wrong. Not only that, this president always likes to take credit, like he did this. We have now had about 105 straight months of positive job growth, the longest streak in American history.

                Over 80 months of that was due to President Barack Obama. Thank you, Barack Obama. Thank you, Barack Obama.

                (APPLAUSE)

                So, you know, I believe that we need to invest in what will ensure that Americans can prosper in the years to come, making sure they have the knowledge and skills to compete in the 21st century economy, ensuring that they can afford the rent where they live and that they have health care so that they don't have to worry about going homeless because they can't afford a medical procedure.

                BASH: Thank you, Secretary Castro.

                I want to turn now to a question about trade and for Congresswoman Gabbard. Many saw the Trans-Pacific Partnership issue as something that would be a critical tool to deal with the rise of China. You were against it. How would you ensure that the United States is able to remain competitive against China on the world stage?

                GABBARD: By pushing for fair trade, not trade deals that give away the sovereignty of the American people and our country, that give away American jobs, and that threaten our environment. These are the three main issues with that massive trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

                I think the central one was the fact that it gave away our sovereignty to a panel of international corporations whose rulings would supersede any domestic law that we would pass, either a federal law or a state or a local law. This is extremely dangerous and goes against the very values that we have as a country.

                What to speak of the fact that it would have a negative impact on domestic jobs and that it lacked clear protections for our environment. These are the things that we have to keep at the forefront as we look to enact fair trade deals with other countries to make sure that we continue to be a thriving part of our global economy.

                (APPLAUSE)

                BASH: So to be clear, Congresswoman, would you keep President Trump's tariffs on China in place?

                GABBARD: I would not, because the approach that President Trump has taken has been extremely volatile without any clear strategic plan, and it has a ravaging and devastating effect on our domestic manufacturers, on our farmers, who are already struggling and now failing to see the light of day because of the plan that Trump has taken.

                BASH: Vice President Biden, would you rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which, of course, President Trump withdrew from? Please respond.

                BIDEN: I'd renegotiate. We make up 25 percent of the world's economy. In order -- either China is going to write the rules of the road for the 21st century on trade or we are. We have to join with the 40 percent of the world that we had with us, and this time make sure that there's no one sitting at that table doing the deal unless environmentalists are there and labor is there.

                And to make sure we equip our workers first to compete by investing in them now, in the things that make them more competitive. That's what we have to do. Otherwise, they are going to write the rules of the road. We must have the rest of the world join us to keep them in check from abusing.

                BASH: Thank you. Thank you. Vice President Biden, just to be clear, would you or would you not rejoin the TPP, yes or no?

                BIDEN: I would not rejoin the TPP as it was initially put forward. I would insist that we renegotiate pieces of that with the Pacific nations that we had in South America and North America, so that we could bring them together to hold China accountable for the rules of us setting the rules of the road as to how trade should be conducted. Otherwise, they're going to do exactly what they're doing, fill the vacuum and run the -- and run the table.

                BASH: Thank you, sir. Mayor de Blasio, you also oppose the deal. Please respond.

                DE BLASIO: Yeah, and I just want to ask this question of all the candidates, but particularly of Vice President Biden. President Trump is trying to sell NAFTA 2.0. He's got a new name for it. It's just as dangerous as the old NAFTA. It's going to take away American jobs like the old NAFTA, like it did to Michigan. And we cannot have Democrats be party to a new NAFTA.

                So, Vice President, I believe you're the only person on the stage who voted for the original NAFTA. Are you ready to say here and now that you will oppose a new NAFTA and that what you will believe in, which is a lot of us hope for, is trade treaties that empower organized labor across the boundaries of the world and give working people power again, not just multinational corporations.

                BASH: Mr. Vice President?

                BIDEN: Yes.

                BASH: Your response? Your response, sir?

                (LAUGHTER)

                BIDEN: Yes.

                BASH: That's it?

                BIDEN: No, he said, would I insist that labor be engaged?

                (APPLAUSE)

                The answer is yes.

                DE BLASIO: I consider that a victory.

                BIDEN: Well, I love your affection for me. You spend a lot of time with me.

                (APPLAUSE)

                DE BLASIO: You know what? We believe in redemption, Joe. We believe in redemption in this party.

                BIDEN: Well, I tell you what, I hope you're part of it.

                BASH: OK, I'm going to ask a question of Senator Bennet now. Senator, CNN reached out to Michigan Democratic primary voters for their most pressing question. Farris from Flint, Michigan, has this question: "Here in Detroit, our economy has seen firsthand how technology and automation can displace workers and create uncertainty around human job security. How would you balance these disruptions created by technology with the beneficial impact of technology on our economy?

                BENNET: Dana, this goes to the last question you asked, as well, which is, how are we going to remain competitive? It's not just about trade, which we were talking about earlier. It's about whether we're going to invest in this country anymore.

                Since 2001, we have cut $5 trillion worth of taxes. Almost all of that has gone to the wealthiest people in America. We have made the income inequality worse, not better, through the policies of the federal government. We've spent $5.6 trillion in the Middle East. That's $12 trillion or $13 trillion that from the point of view of driving the economy in Michigan, or anywhere else in America, we might as well just have lit that money on fire. We've got to stop doing that.

                And we need to invest in America again. For the money that we've spent that I just described, we could have fixed every road and bridge in this country. We could have fixed every airport that needs to be fixed. We could have fixed not just Flint, but every water system in this country.

                BASH: Thank you.

                BENNET: We could have made Social Security solvent for my children.

                BASH: Thank you, Senator.

                BENNET: But we did none of it because of self-serving politicians in Washington, D.C., who voted for deals that were good for them but not for Michigan or the American people.

                BASH: Senator Bennet, thank you very much. Your time is up, sir.

                (APPLAUSE)

                BENNET: Thank you.

                BASH: Mr. Yang, Mr. Yang, women on average earn 80 cents, about 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. Senator Harris wants to fine companies that don't close their gender pay gaps. As an entrepreneur, do you think a stiff fine will change how companies pay their female employees?

                YANG: I have seen firsthand the inequities in the business world where women are concerned, particularly in start-ups and entrepreneurship. We have to do more at every step. And if you're a woman entrepreneur, the obstacles start not just at home, but then when you seek a mentor or an investor, often they don't look like you and they might not think your idea is the right one.

                In order to give women a leg up, what we have to do is we have to think about women in every situation, including the ones who are in exploitive and abusive jobs and relationships around the country. I'm talking about the waitress who's getting harassed by her boss at the diner who might have a business idea, but right now is stuck where she is.

                What we have to do is we have to give women the economic freedom to be able to improve their own situations and start businesses, and the best way to do this is by putting a dividend of $1,000 a month into their hands.

                (APPLAUSE)

                It would be a game-changer for women around the country, because we know that women do more of the unrecognized and uncompensated work in our society. It will not change unless we change it. And I say that's just what we do.

                (APPLAUSE)

                BASH: Senator Harris, your response?

                HARRIS: I think that's support of my proposal, which is this. Since 1963, when we passed the Equal Pay Act, we have been talking about the fact women are not paid equally for equal work. Fast forward to the year of our lord 2019, and women are paid 80 cents on the dollar, black women 61 cents, Native American woman 58 cents, Latinas 53 cents.

                I'm done with the conversation. So, yes, I am proposing in order to deal with this, one, I'm going to require corporations to post on their website whether they are paying women equally for equal work. Two, they will be fined for every 1 percent differential between what they're paying men and women, they will be fined 1 percent of their previous year's profit. That will get everybody's attention.

                BASH: Thank you, Senator.

                HARRIS: Time for action.

                BASH: Senator Gillibrand, what's your response? Will fining companies help solve the problem?

                GILLIBRAND: I think we have to have a broader conversation about whether we value women and whether we want to make sure women have every opportunity in the workplace.

                And I want to address Vice President Biden directly. When the Senate was debating middle-class affordability for childcare, he wrote an op-ed. He voted against it, the only vote, but what he wrote in an op-ed was that he believed that women working outside the home would, quote, "create the deterioration of family." He also said that women who were working outside the home were, quote, "avoiding responsibility."

                And I just need to understand as a woman who's worked my entire career as the primary wage earner, as the primary caregiver, in fact, the second -- my second son, Henry, is here, and I had him when I was a member of Congress.

                So under Vice President Biden's analysis, am I serving in Congress resulting in the deterioration of the family, because I had access to quality affordable day care? I just want to know what he meant when he said that.

                BIDEN: That was a long time ago, and here’s what it was about. It would have given people making today $100,000 a year a tax break for childcare. I did not want that. I wanted the childcare to go to people making less than $100,000. And that’s what it was about.

                As a single father who in fact raised three children for five years by myself, I have some idea what it cost.

                I support making sure that every single solitary person needing childcare get an $8,000 tax credit now. That would put 700,000 women back to work, increase the GDP by almost 8/10 of 1 percent. It's the right thing to do if we can give tax breaks to corporations for these things, why can't we do it this way?

                GILLIBRAND: But Mr. Vice President, you didn't answer my question. What did you mean when you said when a woman works outside the home it's resulting in quote, the deterioration of family ...

                BIDEN: No, what I ...

                GILLIBRAND: And that we are voiding -- these are quotes. It was the title of the op-ed and that just causes concern for me because we know America's women are working. 4 out of 10 moms have to work. They're the primary or sole wagers. They actually have to put food on the table.

                8 out of 10 moms are working today. Most women have to work to provide for their kids. Many women want to be working to provide for their communities and to help people.

                BASH: Thank you, Senator. Let the vice president respond now, thank you.

                GILLIBRAND: So either you don't believe it today or what did you mean when you said it then?

                BIDEN: The very beginning my deceased wife worked when we had children. My present wife has worked all the way through raising our children. The fact of the matter is the situation is one that I don't know what's happened.

                I wrote the Violence against Women Act. Lilly Ledbetter. I was deeply involved in making sure the equal pay amendments. I was deeply involved on all these things. I came up with the it's on us proposal to see to it that women were treated more decently on college campuses.

                You came to Syracuse University with me and said it was wonderful. I'm passionate about the concern making sure women are treated equally. I don't know what's happened except that you're now running for president.

                (APPLAUSE)

                GILLIBRAND: So I understand -- Mr. Vice President -- Mr. Vice President, I respect you deeply. I respect you deeply but those words are very specific. You said women working outside the home would lead to the deterioration of family.

                My grandmother worked outside the home. My -- my mother worked outside the home. And -- and ....

                BASH: Thank you, Senator GILLIBRAND.

                (CROSSTALK)

                I want to bring Senator Harris into this conversation.

                GILLIBRAND: Either he no longer believes it -- I mean I just think he needs to ...

                BIDEN: I never believed it.

                BASH: Thank you. Senator Harris, please respond.

                HARRIS: Well, I just -- listen, I mean talk about now running for president, you change your position on the Hyde Amendment, Vice President, where you mad a decision for years to withhold resources to poor women to have access to reproductive healthcare and including women who were the victims of rape and incest.

                Do you now say that you have evolved and you regret that? Because you have only, since you've been running for president this time, said that you had -- you in some way would take that back or you didn't agree with the decision that you made over many, many years.

                And this directly impacted so many women in our country and I personally prosecuted rape cases and child molestation cases; and the experience that those women have, those children have and that they would then be denied the resources ...

                BASH: Thank you, Senator. Let the Vice President ...

                HARRIS: I think is -- is unacceptable.

                BIDEN: The fact is that the senator knows that that's not position. Everybody on this stage has been in the Congress and the Senate or House has voted for the Hyde Amendment at some point.

                The Hyde Amendment in the past was available because there was other access for those kinds of services provided privately. But once I wrote the legislation, making sure that every single woman would in fact be have an opportunity to have healthcare paid for by the federal government, everyone that -- that could no longer stand.

                I support a woman's right to choose. I support it's a constitutional right. I've supported it and I will continue to support it and I will, in fact, move as president to see to it that the Congress legislates that that is the laws as well.

                BASH: Thank you -- thank you, Mr. Vice President. Governor Inslee, your response.

                (CROSSTALK)

                HARRIS: Well why did it take you so long to change your position in the Hyde Amendment. Why did it take so long until you were running for president to change your position on the Hyde?

                BIDEN: Because there was not full federal funding for all reproductive services prior to this point.

                BASH: OK. Thank you. Governor Inslee, your response?

                INSLEE: I -- I would suggest we need to broaden our discussion. I would suggest we need to think about a bigger scandal in America, which is that in professions and careers where women have been more than the majority, they have been almost always under paid.

                And that is why this year I'm proud to be the governor who won the largest pay increase for our educators in the United States. And I believe that that is long, long overdue. I think it is true for nursing staff as well. And I'm glad that we've now passed in measures. And I'm glad that we've increased our union membership 10 percent ...

                TAPPER: Thank you, Governor.

                INSLEE: So unions can stand up for women as well.

                (CROSSTALK)

                TAPPER: Thank you, Governor Inslee. I want to turn to foreign policy, if we can. Senator Booker, there are about 14,000 U.S. services members in Afghanistan right now. If elected, will they still be in Afghanistan by the end of your first year in office?

                BOOKER: Well, first of all, I want to say very clearly that I will not do foreign policy by tweet as Donald Trump seems to do all the time. A guy that literally tweets out that we're pulling our troops out before his generals even know about it is creating a dangerous situation for our troops in places like Afghanistan.

                And so I will bring our troops home and I will bring them home as quickly as possible, but I will not set during a campaign an artificial deadline. I will make sure we do it, we do it expeditiously, we do it safely, to not create a vacuum that's ultimately going to destabilize the Middle East and perhaps create the environment for terrorism and for extremism to threaten our nation.

                TAPPER: Congresswoman Gabbard, you're the only veteran on this stage. Please respond.

                GABBARD: This is real in a way that's very difficult to convey in words. I was deployed to Iraq in 2005 during the height of the war where I served in a field medical unit where every single day I saw the high cost of war. Just this past week, two more of our soldiers were killed in Afghanistan.

                My cousin is deployed to Afghanistan right now. Nearly 300 of our Hawaii National Guard soldiers are deployed to Afghanistan, 14,000 servicemembers are deployed there. This is not about arbitrary deadlines. This is about leadership, the leadership I will bring to do the right thing to bring our troops home, within the first year in office, because they shouldn't have been there this long.

                For too long, we've had leaders who have been arbitrating foreign policy from ivory towers in Washington without any idea about the cost and the consequence, the toll that it takes on our servicemembers, on their families. We have to do the right thing, end these wasteful regime change wars, and bring our troops home.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Thank you. Thank you, Congresswoman.

                Mr. Yang, Iran has now breached the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal, and that puts Iran closer to building a nuclear weapon, the ability to do so, at the very least. You've said if Iran violates the agreement, the U.S. would need to respond, quote, "very strongly." So how would a President Yang respond right now?

                YANG: I would move to de-escalate tensions in Iran, because they're responding to the fact that we pulled out of this agreement. And it wasn't just us and Iran. There were many other world powers that were part of that multinational agreement. We'd have to try and reenter that agreement, renegotiate the timelines, because the timelines now don't make as much sense.

                But I've signed a pledge to end the forever wars. Right now, our strength abroad reflects our strength at home. What's happened, really? We've fallen apart at home, so we elected Donald Trump, and now we have this erratic and unpredictable relationship with even our longstanding partners and allies.

                What we have to do is we have to start investing those resources to solve the problems right here at home. We've spent trillions of dollars and lost thousands of American lives in conflicts that have had unclear benefits. We've been in a constant state of war for 18 years. This is not what the American people want. I would bring the troops home, I would de-escalate tensions with Iran, and I would start investing our resources in our own communities.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Governor Inslee, your response?

                INSLEE: Well, I think that these are matters of great and often difficult judgment. And there is no sort of primer for presidents to read. We have to determine whether a potential president has adequate judgment in these decisions.

                I was only one of two members on this panel today who were called to make a judgment about the Iraq war. I was a relatively new member of Congress, and I made the right judgment, because it was obvious to me that George Bush was fanning the flames of war.

                Now we face similar situations where we recognize we have a president who would be willing to beat the drums of war. We need a president who can stand up against the drums of war and make rational decisions. That was the right vote, and I believe it.

                TAPPER: Thank you. Thank you, Governor. Vice President Biden, he was obviously suggesting that you made the wrong decision and had bad judgment when you voted to go to war in Iraq as a U.S. senator.

                BIDEN: I did make a bad judgment, trusting the president saying he was only doing this to get inspectors in and get the U.N. to agree to put inspectors in. From the moment "shock and awe" started, from that moment, I was opposed to the effort, and I was outspoken as much as anyone at all in the Congress and the administration.

                Secondly, I was asked by the president in the first meeting we had on Iraq, he turned and said, Joe, get our combat troops out, in front of the entire national security team. One of the proudest moment of my life was to stand there in Al-Faw Palace and tell everyone that we're coming -- all our combat troops are coming home.

                TAPPER: Thank you.

                BIDEN: I opposed the surge in Afghanistan, this long overdue -- we should have not, in fact, gone into Afghanistan the way...

                (CROSSTALK)

                TAPPER: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. I want to bring in...

                INSLEE: Mr. Vice President -- I'd like to comment.

                TAPPER: I would like to bring in the person on the stage who served in Iraq, Governor -- I'm sorry, Congresswoman Gabbard. Your response to what Vice President Biden just said.

                GABBARD: We were all lied to. This is the betrayal. This is the betrayal to the American people, to me, to my fellow servicemembers. We were all lied to, told that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, was working with Al Qaida, and that this posed a threat to the American people.

                So I enlisted after 9/11 to protect our country, to go after those who attacked us on that fateful day, who took the lives of thousands of Americans.

                The problem is that this current president is continuing to betray us. We were supposed to be going after Al Qaida. But over years now, not only have we not gone after Al Qaida, who is stronger today than they were in 9/11, our president is supporting Al Qaida.

                LEMON: Thank you, Congresswoman.

                DE BLASIO: We didn't talk about Iran.

                LEMON: Let's talk about -- thank you, please.

                DE BLASIO: We didn't talk about Iran.

                LEMON: Please.

                DE BLASIO: We're on the march to war in Iran right now, and we blew by it.

                LEMON: Please, Mayor. The rules -- please follow the rules.

                DE BLASIO: I respect the rules, but we have to stop this march to war in Iran.

                LEMON: Mayor, thank you very much. We're going on...

                DE BLASIO: And the Democratic Party has to stand up for it.

                LEMON: ... and we're going to talk about another subject. Mayor, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

                Let's talk about now the former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's appearance in front of Congress last week. When asked whether or not the president could be charged with a crime after leaving office, his answer was yes.

                Senator Harris, you have criticized President Trump for interfering with the Justice Department, and just last month you said if you were elected president, your Justice Department would, quote, "have no choice and should go forward with obstruction of justice charges against former President Trump." Why is it OK for you to advocate for the Justice Department to prosecute somebody, but President Trump, not him?

                HARRIS: Well, I would never direct the Department of Justice to do whatever it believes it should do. But, listen, look, we all watched his testimony. I've read the report. There are 10 clear incidents of obstruction of justice by this president, and he needs to be held accountable. I have seen people go to prison for far less.

                (APPLAUSE)

                And the reality of it is that we have a person in the White House right now who has been shielded by a memo in the United States Department of Justice that says a sitting president cannot be indicted. I believe the American people are right to say there should be consequence and accountability for everyone and no one is above the law, including the president of the United States.

                (APPLAUSE)

                LEMON: Senator Booker, your response?

                BOOKER: My response is exactly that. I've read the report. I've read the redacted versions of the report. We have something that is astonishing going on in the United States of the America. We have a president that is not acting like the leader of the free world. He's acting like an authoritarian against the actual Constitution that he swore an oath to uphold.

                And so this is a difference with a lot of us on this debate stage. I believe that we in the United States Congress should start impeachment proceedings immediately. And I'll tell you this...

                (APPLAUSE)

                Debbie Stabenow now has joined my call for starting impeachment proceedings, because he is now stonewalling Congress, not allowing -- subjecting himself to the checks and balances. We swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. The politics of this be dammed. When we look back in history at what happened when a president of the United States started acting more like an authoritarian leader than the leader of the free world, the question is, is what will we have done? And I believe the Congress should do its job.

                LEMON: Senator Booker, thank you very much. Secretary Castro, what's your response?

                CASTRO: Well, I agree. I was the first of the candidates to call on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings. There are 10 different incidents that Robert Mueller has pointed out where this president either obstructed justice or attempted to obstruct justice. And I believe that they should go forward with impeachment proceedings.

                As to the question of what my Department of Justice would do, I agree with those who say that a president should not direct an attorney general specifically to prosecute or not prosecute. However, I believe that the evidence is plain and clear and that if it gets that far, that you're likely to see a prosecution of Donald Trump.

                LEMON: Thank you, Secretary.

                Mayor de Blasio, I'm going to bring you in. What's your response?

                DE BLASIO: I think it's obvious at this point in our history that the president has committed the crimes worthy of impeachment. But I want to caution my fellow Democrats. While we move in every way we can for impeachment, we have to remember at the same time the American people are out there looking for us to do something for them in their lives. And what they see when they turn on the TV or go online is just talk about impeachment.

                We need more talk about working people and their lives. For example, are we really ready -- and I ask people on this stage this question -- are we ready to make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes? That's something every American wants to know about. That's something they want answers to right now.

                So, yeah, move for impeachment, but don't forget to do the people's business and to stand up for working people, because that's how we're actually going to beat Donald Trump. The best impeachment is beating him in the election of 2020.

                (APPLAUSE)

                LEMON: Mayor, thank you very much. Senator Bennet, how do you respond to this conversation?

                BENNET: I think, look, as we go forward here, we need to recognize a very practical reality, which is that we are four months -- we've got the August recess. Then we are four months away from the Iowa Caucuses. And I just want to make sure whatever we do doesn't end up with an acquittal by Mitch McConnell in the Senate, which it surely would. And then President Trump would be running saying that he had been acquitted by the United States Congress.

                I believe we have a moral obligation to beat Donald Trump.

                (APPLAUSE)

                He has to be a single-term president. And we can't do anything that plays into our -- his hands. We were talking earlier about -- about climate up here. It's so important. Donald Trump should be the last climate denier that's ever in the White House.

                LEMON: Senator Bennet, thank you very much. Secretary Castro, please respond.

                BENNET: But we need to be smart about how we're running or we're going to give him a second term. We can't do it.

                LEMON: Secretary, please, your turn.

                CASTRO: Well, let me first say that I really do believe that we can walk and chew gum at the same time. All of us have a vision for the future of the country that we're articulating to the American people. We're going to continue to do that. We have an election coming up.

                At the same time, Senator, you know, I think that too many folks in the Senate and in the Congress have been spooked by 1998. I believe that the times are different. And in fact, I think that folks are making a mistake by not pursuing impeachment. The Mueller Report clearly details that he deserves it.

                And what's going to happen in the fall of next year, of 2020, if they don't impeach him, is he's going to say, "You see? You see? The Democrats didn't go after me on impeachment, and you know why? Because I didn't do anything wrong."

                (APPLAUSE)

                These folks that always investigate me, they're always trying to go after me. When it came down to it, they didn't go after me there because I didn't do anything wrong."

                Conversely, if Mitch McConnell is the one that lets him off the hook, we're going to be able to say...

                LEMON: Secretary...

                CASTRO: "Well, sure, they impeached him in the House, but his friend, Mitch McConnell, Moscow Mitch, let him off the hook."

                (APPLAUSE)

                LEMON: Senator Bennet, please respond.

                (APPLAUSE)

                BENNET: I -- I don't disagree with that. You just said it better than I did. We have to walk and chew gum at the same time. It is incredibly unusual for members of Congress to be able to do that. And I'm glad that Secretary Castro has the ambition...

                CASTRO: Well, my brother can. He's here tonight.

                BENNET: Ah, that's what I was going to say. It's your brother that's given you that good feeling about the Congress.

                (LAUGHTER)

                That's what we should do.

                LEMON: Thank you, Senator. Thank you, gentlemen.

                The debate continues, right after this.

                (APPLAUSE)

                (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

                TAPPER: Welcome back to the CNN Democratic presidential debate. It is time now for closing statements. You will each receive one minute. Mayor de Blasio, let's begin with you.

                DE BLASIO: Thank you. For the last three years, we’ve watched Donald Trump pit working people against each other, black versus white, citizen versus immigrant. And why? So that the wealthy and the powerful he represents can hold the American dream hostage from everyone else.

                We can't let them get away with it. If we're going to beat Donald Trump, this has to be a party that stands for something. This has to be the party of labor unions. This has to be the party of universal healthcare. This has to be the party that's not afraid to say out loud we're going to tax the hell out of the wealthy.

                And when we do that, Donald Trump right on cue will call us socialists. Well, here's what I'll say to him. Donald, you're the real socialist. The problem is, it's socialism for the rich. We, here in this country, we don't have to take that anymore. We can fight back.

                If you agree that we can stand up to Donald Trump and we can stand up to the wealthy, then go to taxthehell.com and join us, so we can build a country that puts working people first.

                TAPPER: Senator Bennet?

                BENNET: Thank you. Thank you very much.

                What I want to say to all of you tonight is, we have been here before as a country. We have faced challenges that we've -- we actually even forget some of us tonight how hard the people fought, how hard they worked, how hard they organized, the votes they had to take, the people they had to get to the polls to make this country more democratic, more fair, and more free.

                And now we have a person in the White House who has no appreciation of that history, who doesn't believe in the rule of law, who doesn't believe in the independence of the judiciary, who doesn't believe that climate change is real.

                I think that we have an incredible opportunity in front of us, all of us, to come together just as our parents and grandparents did before them, and face challenges even harder than the ones that we face, but the only way we're going to be able to do it is to put the divisive politics of Donald Trump behind us and the divisive politics of the last 10 years behind us.

                We need to come together united against a broken Washington, make Donald Trump a one-term president, and begin to govern this country again for our kids and our grandkids who cannot do it for themselves. We have to do it for them.

                Please join me at michaelbennet.com. Thanks for being here tonight.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Governor Inslee?

                INSLEE: For decades, we have kicked the can down the road on climate change. And now under Donald Trump, we face a looming catastrophe. But it is not too late. We have one last chance. And when you have one chance in life, you take it.

                Think about this: Literally the survival of humanity on this planet and civilization as we know it is in the hands of the next president. And we have to have a leader who will do what is necessary to save us. And that includes making this the top priority of the next presidency.

                And I alone on this panel am making a commitment that this will be the organizing principle of my administration not the first day, but every day. And if you share my view of the urgency of this matter, I hope you'll join me, because we are up against powerful special fossil fuel interests. And it is time to stand up on our legs and confront the fossil fuel special interests. Because that is our salvation, what it depends upon.

                So I hope you will consider going to jayinslee.com and joining this effort. And I will close with this: I am confident and optimistic tonight, even in the face of this difficulty, because I know we can build a clean energy economy, I know we can save our children and our grandchildren. I know that we can defeat climate change and we will defeat Donald Trump.

                This is our moral responsibility. And we will fulfill it. Thank you very much.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Senator Gillibrand?

                GILLIBRAND: Donald trump has really torn apart the moral fabric of this country, dividing us on every racial line, every religious line, every socioeconomic line he can find.

                I'm running for president because I want to help people, and I actually have the experience and the ability to do that. I've brought Congress together and actually made a difference in people's lives.

                I also know how to beat Donald Trump. He has broken his promises to the American people. I've taken this fight directly to his backyard in Michigan and Ohio and in Pennsylvania, and I'll go to all the places in this country. I will fight for your family. It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter where you live, it doesn't matter who you love. Because that's my responsibility.

                And I've done this before. I started out in a 2-to-1 Republican district. I won it twice. I've never lost an election since. And I not only bring people together electorally, but also legislatively. I get things done.

                So we need a president who's not afraid of the big challenges, of the big fights. There is no false choice. We don't need a liberal or progressive with big ideas or we don't need a moderate who can win back Trump-Obama voters. You need someone who can do both. And that's who I am.

                Please go to kirstengillibrand.com so I can make the next debate stage.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Congresswoman Gabbard?

                GABBARD: Thank you.

                Now, Donald Trump and warmongering politicians in Washington have failed us. They continue to escalate tensions with other nuclear-armed countries like Russia and China and North Korea, starting a new Cold War, pushing us closer and closer to the brink of nuclear catastrophe.

                Now, as we stand here tonight, there are thousands of nuclear missiles pointed at us. And if we were to get an attack right here tonight, we would have 30 minutes, 30 minutes before we were hit. And you would receive an alert like the one we received in Hawaii last year that would say, "Incoming missile. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill."

                And you would see as we did, as my loved ones in Hawaii did, there is no shelter. This is the warmonger's hoax. There is no shelter. It's all a lie.

                As president, I will end this insanity, because it doesn't have to be this way. I will end these wasteful regime change wars, work to end this new Cold War through the use of diplomacy to de-escalate these tensions and take the trillions of dollars that we've been wasting on these wars and on these weapons and redirect those resources into serving the needs of our people right here at home, things like health care for all, making sure everyone in this country has clean water to drink and clean air to breathe, investing in education, investing in our infrastructure.

                The needs are great. As your president, I will put your interests above all else.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Secretary Castro?

                CASTRO: Well, first of all, let me say thank you to you, Jake, Dana, and to Don, and to everybody here and to those watching.

                You know, this election is all about what kind of nation we're going to become. You and I, we stand on the shoulders of folks who have made beds and made sacrifices, people that fought in wars and fought discrimination, folks that picked crops and stood in picket lines, and they helped build the wonderful nation that we live in today.

                Donald Trump has not been bashful in his cruelty. And I’m not going to be bashful in my common sense and compassion. I believe that we need leadership that understands that we need to move forward as one nation, with one destiny.

                Our destiny in the years to come is to be the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest and the most prosperous nation on Earth.

                CASTRO: If you want to help me build that America for the future, I hope you’ll go to juliancastro.com. And on January 20th, 2021, we’ll say together, “Adios to Donald Trump.”

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Mr. Yang?

                YANG: You know what the talking heads couldn't stop talking about after the last debate? It's not the fact that I'm somehow number four on the stage in national polling. It was the fact that I wasn't wearing a tie. Instead of talking about automation and our future, including the fact that we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs, hundreds of thousands right here in Michigan, we're up here with makeup on our faces and our rehearsed attack lines, playing roles in this reality TV show.

                It's one reason why we elected a reality TV star as our president.

                (LAUGHTER)

                (APPLAUSE)

                We need to be laser-focused on solving the real challenges of today, like the fact that the most common jobs in America may not exist in a decade, or that most Americans cannot pay their bills. My flagship proposal, the freedom dividend, would put $1,000 a month into the hands of every American adult. It would be a game-changer for millions of American families.

                If you care more about your family and your kids than my neckwear, enter your zip code at yang2020.com and see what $1,000 a month would mean to your community. I have done the math. It’s not left; it’s not right. It’s forward. And that is how we’re going to beat Donald Trump in 2020.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Senator Booker?

                BOOKER: Thank you. First, I just want to give a lot of thanks to the city of Detroit. They're hosting us today, and one of the reasons I respect this city is because it has the kind of defiant love that I find in many American cities, including the city of Newark. And Detroit is turning around and Newark is turning around because we let no one divide us, no one demean or degrade us or underestimate or worth. We pulled together and fought for common purpose and common cause.

                That's the history of this city. My mom is sitting there who was born in the city of Detroit, born to a guy...

                (APPLAUSE)

                ... that was a UAW worker, my grandfather, who pulled his family out of poverty in the Depression. My grandmother joined him. She was really entrepreneurial, opened a pool hall and a laundromat right here in this city.

                That is the American dream. And so many of us have stories like that. But the dream of this country is under threat right now. While, my mom's generation, 80 -- 95% of baby boomers did better than their parents. It's now just a coin toss for millennials. We have a real crisis in our country, and the crisis is Donald Trump, but not only Donald Trump.

                I have a frustration that sometimes people are saying the only thing they want is to beat Donald Trump. Well, that is the floor and not the ceiling. The way we beat Donald Trump is not just focusing on him. He wants to take all the oxygen out of the room. It's when we start focusing on each other and understanding that our common bonds and our common purpose to address our common pain is what has saved us before. It's what's going to save us now. That is the kind of leader that I am going to be as president of the United States, not just uniting the Democratic Party but making sure that we put more "indivisible" back into this one nation under God.

                And if you believe like I do, please go to corybooker.com and join the mission.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Senator Harris?

                HARRIS: So in my background as attorney general of California, I took on the big banks who preyed on the homeowners, many of whom lost their homes and will never be able to buy another. I've taken on the for-profit colleges who preyed on students, put them out of business. I've preyed on transnational criminal organizations that have preyed on women and children.

                And I will tell you, we have a predator living in the White House.

                (APPLAUSE)

                And I'm going to tell you something. Donald Trump has predatory nature and predatory instincts. And the thing about predators is this. By their very nature, they prey on people they perceive to be weak. They prey on people they perceive to be vulnerable. They prey on people who are in need of help, often desperate for help. And predators are cowards.

                What we need is someone who is going to be on that debate stage with Donald Trump and defeat him by being able to prosecute the case against four more years. And let me tell you, we’ve got a long rap sheet. We’re looking at someone who passed a tax bill benefiting the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations in this country when he said he would help working families. We’ve got a person who has put babies in cages and separated children from their parents. We have someone who passed a so-called trade policy that was trade policy by tweet and has resulted in a tax on American families.

                So we must defeat him and then, in turning the page, write the next chapter for our country. And that has to be written in a way that recognizes what wakes people up at 3:00 in the morning. And that is my agenda, the 3:00 a.m. agenda that is focused on giving folks the jobs they need, getting their children the education they need, making sure they have the health care they need and the future they deserve.

                So please join me at kamalaharris.org. And I thank you for your time.

                (APPLAUSE)

                TAPPER: Vice President Biden?

                BIDEN: Thank you. Thank you very much. And thank you, Mr. Mayor, for Detroit hosting this.

                Look, I've said it many times, and I think everyone agrees with this. We're in a battle for the soul of America. This is the most consequential election anyone of you, no matter how old or young you are, has ever, ever participated in. Four more years of Donald Trump will go down as an aberration -- hard to overcome the damage he's done, but we can overcome it. Eight more years of Donald Trump will change America in a fundamental way. The America we know will no longer exist.

                Everybody knows who Donald Trump is. We have to let him know who we are. We choose science over fiction. We choose hope over fear. We choose unity over division. And we choose -- we choose the idea that we can as Americans, when we act together, do anything. This is the United States of America. When we've acted together, we have never, never, never been unable to overcome whatever the problem was.

                If you agree with me, go to joe30330 and help me in this fight. Thank you very much.

                (APPLAUSE)

                BASH: Candidates, thank you so much. We appreciate it. And stay with CNN for special coverage of tonight’s debate. Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo are coming up. That begins right now.

                .

                There Can Be Only One Head ZOGtard Left

                Comment


                • #9
                  Democrat Debates II: Part II

                  Democrat Debates II: Part II


                  http://www.occidentaldissent.com/201...ebate-round-2/
                  http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0111#post20111
                  http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0111#post20111









                  The quality of people I am reaching is much higher than I ever did with a forum.
                  I'm now at the top of the racialist intellectual community in the United States.
                  I was a nobody when I ran The Phora.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0114#post20114
                    ===========

                    Tell Me What To Do, O, Fearless/Dickless/Mindless Leader!!!!
                    I Need A Zero!!!!!!


                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Pastor Lindstedt's Live Commentary 2d Democrat Candidate Debates, Part 2

                      Pastor Lindstedt's Live Commentary 2d Democrat Candidate Debates, Part 2


                      http://www.occidentaldissent.com/201...omment-3500792
                      http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0115#post20115
                      http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0115#post20115


                      The Great whigger Hope/Dope Gropin’ Joe Biden surrounded by mamzers with lesser whigger betas on the ends.

                      The cutest hapa is Tulsi, the stupidest whigger is upstate jew yawkess Kristin Gillebrand.

                      Now the debate is fighting the Great Whigger Dope Gropin’-Joe about how GJ is a moderate, how to let in all the beaners cum-cum cum-cum to AmurriKwa to live off the Whigger Mans.

                      Gropin’ Joe is the Lone Whigger against the [w]hordes wanting to stay ahead as the front-runner.

                      8:07 pm CST

                      Pastor Lindstedt (@PastorLindstedt)
                      JULY 31, 2019 AT 9:07 PM


                      .

                      +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
                      .

                      Pastor Lindstedt (@PastorLindstedt)
                      JULY 31, 2019 AT 9:30 PM



                      Criminal jewstice:

                      Gropin’ Joe: We must let all them nigger dopers loose so they can learn to read and shit

                      Cory the Gay Nigger: Gropin’ Joe passed legistreason in the 1980s, 90’s to put us niggers where wez belong — in jail.

                      Gropin’ Joe: Niggers in jail passed under Clinton and Obongo. And Cory the Gay nigger believed in stop & frisking Newark niggers.

                      Cory the Gay Nigger: I’m a nigger, a gay nigger, and you have been mean to niggers. The ACLU sez I’m a Wonder Nigger from Newark.

                      Castro the Lizard-Greaser: I’ve passed Piglice Reform for San Antone gang-beaners.

                      Insleee the Washington State Whigger: I’m a good whigger and have pardoned niggers like crazy.

                      Castro Greaser: You let Pig Pantaleo off.

                      Baal DeBlazio: I’ll fire the pig that choked fat nigger Garner. Gropin’ Joe didn’t do nothing about it.

                      Gropin’ Joe: We turned loose 38,000 criminals, mainly niggers. And Obongo often massaged my prostate.

                      Yanger the Great Yellow Hope: Something

                      Kristen the jew Yawk Whiggress: Fire Pantaloadfull for killing a pore fat nigger.

                      Senatard Hairass: About busing, you were at the back of the bus except you were not. And Gropin’ Joe was nice to the Klan Senatards, who were mean to us niggers back then. Under my reign niggers will run wild, cum-cum, cum-cum.

                      Gropin’ Joe: Senatard Hairass as Attorney jeweral didn’t stop anti-nigger racism because she was too busy sucking Willie Brown off.

                      Tulsi the Wonder Hapa: The criminal jewstice system is broken. Hairass as Attorney jewrnal was a crooked bitch who laughed at pore nigger criminals in chain gangs.

                      Kammy Hairass: I was good for niggers as Attorney jewrnal.

                      Tulsi Hapa: You were a real bitch, Kammy.

                      Kammy: Not so. Frying niggers was hard.

                      8:30 pm


                      .

                      +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
                      .

                      Pastor Lindstedt (@PastorLindstedt)
                      JULY 31, 2019 AT 9:55 PM

                      Two minor whiggers on the end (Bennet, Inslee): We love niggers, faggots and other Demmyctwat voters.

                      Yanger: I can heal the racial divide because I’m a gook and I have a bag fool of cash for niggers and beaners. Nigger Looter Kang wrote somethang about this shit.

                      Castro-Beaner: Drumpf is a racist. And an Orange asshole. I’d give that Whigger Man’s loot to invest in gibs for niggers.

                      Gilligoof: I can talk to whiggress who voted for Drumpf who don’t understand how theys’ whigger male spawn don’t get shot because theys’ whigger in Whiggerville.

                      Climate Change:

                      Inslee: We must panic right now because the Republicans won’t, Neither will Gropin’ Joe.

                      Gropin’ Joe: There is no middling ground in my plans for climate change. Evil Orange Racist foiled me and Obongo’s plans.

                      Yanger: Us gooks emit a lot more carbon and flatulence than Amurrikwan whiggers.

                      Inslee: The sky is falling, Gropin’ Joe. You need to listen to me because I won’t make the September debates.

                      Gropin’ Joe: No more fossile fuel subsidies.

                      Kammy Hairass: I agree with Inslee and against Gropin’ Joe who is ahead of me in the polls.

                      Kristin Gillygoof: I’ll lead a coonversation on globull warming. The weather is bad. Somethang about JFK.

                      Tulsi the Hapa: I’m a Hawaiian Hapa. I actually want off fossil fuels. I don’t need a vibrator.

                      Cory the Gay Nigger: As Newark mayor I was against climate change.

                      Baal DeBlazio: Niggers have lots of lead in jew yawk and not only from bullets. I’m going in pub[l]ic housing to end lead poisoning by trying to coonvince niglets to stop eating paint chips.

                      Castro Greaser-Lizzard: As Secretary of Housing I did something.

                      Anderspawn Pooper: Orange Devilman won Michigan. How do you beat Drumpf?

                      Gropin’ Joe: As Obango VP I did something. Like let Hillary steal the primaries.

                      Kristin Gillygoof: Drumpf did some bad shit. I have rode the short-bus around everywhere.

                      Yanger: Gropin’ Joe might be ahead but I’m offering a $1000 bag of ZOGbux. My gookling is autistic.

                      Tulsi: Donald Trump won because the politicians were politicians. I’m cute and I’ll end the Afghan War.

                      Cory the Gay Nigger: We lost Michigan because the Russkis and Drumpf were suppressing nigger and especially sheboon voters.

                      Kammi Hairass: Drumpf lied a lot and won. We need to promise non-whites the White Man’s shit.

                      Debate break: 900pm CST

                      .


                      +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
                      .

                      Pastor Lindstedt (@PastorLindstedt)
                      JULY 31, 2019 AT 10:15 PM


                      Can you guarantee raising taxes won’t hurt the economy?

                      Castro Greaser-Lizard: To tax is Demmyctwat.

                      Tulsi: We need good fair trade deals & end tariffs

                      Gropin’ Joe: We must invest in workers.Renegotiate the TPP.

                      Baal DeBlazio: I am against TPP and the new NAFTA. Gropin Joe voted for NAFTA I.

                      Gropin’ Joe: Yes, yes, yes. I’m easy.

                      Bennett Mischling: The tax cuts have helped the rich. I’ll print up more ZOGbux and spend it.

                      To Yanger The girleys earn less ZOGbux. Will you give the girleys more money?

                      Yanger: I’ll give out 1,000 ZOGbux for the girleys and they won’t even have to suck.

                      Kammi Hairass: I’ll fine every company which doesn’t pay niggresses more ZOGbux than male whiggers.

                      Kristen Gillygoof: Gropin’ Joe did somethang in the 1980s about child care credit. Like what?

                      Gropin’ Joe: Mumble, mumble.

                      Kristen Gillygoof: You didn’t answer my question according to the limits of my intellect.

                      Gropin’ Joe: mumble, mumble.

                      Kammi Hairass: You went back on the Hyde Amendment.

                      Gropin’ Joe: I went back on that now because its my turn now.

                      Inslee Whigger: Skanks don’t get paid as much. I did a lot of shit as Governor of Washington state.


                      9:15 pm


                      .

                      +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
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                      Pastor Lindstedt (@PastorLindstedt)
                      JULY 31, 2019 AT 10:30 PM

                      Foreign Wars:

                      Cory Nogger: I’ll pull out of Afghanistan.

                      Tulsi Warrior Hapaess: I’ve actually been there. So’s my hubby. I’ll pull out yesterday.

                      About Iran

                      Yanger: Trump rejected Iran deal. We need to be nice to Iran. And we need to give everyone 1000 ZOGbux per month.

                      Bennett Mischling: Gropin’ Joe voted to invade Iraq.

                      Gropin’ Joe: When the war turned bad I chickenshitted out.

                      Tulsi: We were all lied to. Saddam had weapons of ass-destruction. Trump is still in Afghanistan, probably humping the prime whore-pussy there.

                      Baal DeBlazio: We need to stop the Iran war.

                      Fagot Nigger Lemon: Trump got away with a lot of shit.

                      Kammi Hairass: Trump needs to be lynched.

                      Corty the Gay Nigger: We need to impeach Drumpf yesterday.

                      Castro Lizard-Beaner: Yes, impeach Trump

                      Baal DeBlazio: We need to impeach Trump but at the same time give the AmurriKwa Piss-pul get a reach-around from taxing the rich.

                      Bennet Mischling: Mitch McConnel will ass-rape us Demmyctwats on impeachment in the Senate.

                      Castro Greaser: Clinton didn’t get coonvicted. We need to impeach Trump. Congress can fart and chew gum at the same time.

                      Bennet Mischling: Juan Valdez Castro can fart and chew gum at the same time. That greaser can father muh Holohoax survivor baby cum September when I won’t be in the debates.


                      9:30 pm debate break.



                      .

                      +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
                      .

                      Pastor Lindstedt (@PastorLindstedt)
                      JULY 31, 2019 AT 10:49 PM


                      Jake Yapper: Closing statements — Biggest losers first

                      Baal DeBlazio: Us Democrats will tax the hell out of the wealthy. We need Socialism for the poor not rich.

                      Bennett Mischling: Donald Trump is really fucking up ZOG. We need to save ZOG. We must all cum-cum cum-cum together like dogs under one whip, jewnited.

                      Inslee: The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Join me & Turkey-Lurkey at Foxy-Loxy’s processing plant and end using fossil fuel use and cook us up in solar ovens.

                      Krissy Gillygoof: Donald Trump is bad, very bad. And I can change this by beating Trump by Sheer Whiggeress Pussy-Power. I cum from upstate jew yawk and lied until Swillery left me her Senate seat.

                      Tulsi the Wonder Hapa: Like I told the General, we need to pull out. We need to stop the wars and make sure niglets are not drinking from lead pipes.

                      Castro the Lizzard-Greaser: Greasers and niggers made AmurriKwa Grate. If you select me you all will fart through silk, except whiggers.

                      Yanger: The robots are cumming. Cum-cum, cum-cum cumming. And so we need to give every Amurrikwan $1000 ZOGbux to spend on love dolls and shit.

                      Cory the Gay Nigger: Detroit looks a lot like Newark. Probably because of all the niggers in town. The AmurriKwan Dream is under threat. We need to all love each other and I’ve popped a load of Viagra for that reason.

                      Kammy Hairass: As Cali Attorney General I was mean to sex perverts. Donald Trump is a sex predator who has bought an awful lot of high priced whore pussy and paid off jews to cover it up and put beaner-babies in cages. I will wipe off and win.

                      Gropin’ Joe Biden: Four years of Drumpf is a wakeable nightmare, sort of like the Obango Administration. We need a senile whigger who can win. So you need to vote for me, not them other pinko faggots and niggers.

                      9:50 pm Debate end

                      .


                      Pastor Lindstedt's Web Page
                      Pastor Lindstedt's Archive Page & Christian Nationalist Forum

                      Comment


                      • #12



                        http://www.occidentaldissent.com/201...omment-3500849
                        http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0119#post20119
                        http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0119#post20119






                        http://christogenea.xyz

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Understanding Texass Alt-Kike Lamer as a gamma incel Finckbot

                          Understanding Texass Alt-Kike Lamer as a gamma incel Finckbot


                          http://www.occidentaldissent.com/201...omment-3500917
                          http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0120#post20120
                          http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0120#post20120


                          Denise, Ironsides, you got to understand Texass Alt-kike Lamer the gamma incel Finckbot.

                          This little critter has been tasked by Rabbi Baal Finck to chase after me on Brad’s blog. The gamma-incel Finckbot got itz orders.

                          Reminds me of when this Aussie poofter with gender-identity issues showed up to fight with me back in Feb 2010. Self-righteous, smarmy, winner of the “Scarlet H” for hypocrisy it left us all wondering whether it had a pole or a hole under itz tail so we all demanded to look. It begged off but loved to show up as a girl in its avatard over on Rabbi Linder’s Virtual Colostomy Bag BBF and at jewronomo Pisser-Possum’s Cherokee Piss-Pul Mamzeries. it called itself Obadiah 1:18, after the Bible verse about Edom being burnt to a crisp. We called the perverted critter “Oba-gender-bender-pissers-poofter-possum-666”. Obie-gender-bender for short.

                          All was well until Obie-gender-bender gave the Cherokee Sephardic melungeon itz real name of Robert Hancock working in a Mitsubishi warehouse in Melbourne. Then in June 2013 Obie-gender-bender turned on Brother Gary, who admitted to being 2% Souix when Jeromy Visser was at least “25% Cherokee, lol, what of it.” Brother Gary was the only one who gave the Pisser-Possum a plane ticket and ZOGbux to collect Bridget Da Idjit and four lil pisser-possums in Seattle and take them back to Atlanta. Brother Gary gave out money, Obie nothing but smarm and so Obie-gender-bender was going down. Never cum between a Great Bowel Movement Tard and ZOGbux from ZOGtards. Obie-gender-bender got outed and now is a Lone Mamzer on the former Two & A Half Mamzers Forum, i.e. TheChristianIdentityforum.net

                          This critter is a gamma incel because it has nothing worth while to say, assumes that anyone wants to listen to it, and is nothing but a stalker with a mission to whine about how it can’t stand to read my posts here on Brad’s Blog. Oh well.

                          What this Democrat “debate” was about is clear. Senile old Gropin’ Joe Biden is the last whigger Boomer who can stand against Trump. The younger muds and mongrels have no other options than to call for the declining whiggers to hand over what they got in terms of retirement wealth for niggers and beaners and gooks to coonsume, but they need to have the gliberal whiggers gladly hand it over. If there are no gliberal whiggers left, then right-wing whiggers will go out shooting, destroy the diminishing margins necessary for the survival of most all ZOGlings and in the civil war / collapse there will be nothing left to loot or even eat.

                          What will save The Whigger Race is a collapse in which 80% of the whiggers and all of the jews and muds die of war, pestilence, famine and the fact that there isn’t a whigger infrastructure left to support 7.5 billion worldwide or a third of a billion in the ZOGland.

                          Which is why the cry for “unity” to keep it all running — for a while. What to do when it all falls apart? Who knows !!! The jews and muds can’t maintain the System much less keep it running enough to support them. This “Demockracy” is merely a show to keep things running as long as possible.

                          My making fun of these tards was easy once you know what they really want and need. Their lies and evasions are certainly not new but rather threadbare and moth-eaten now towards the end . . .

                          But getting back to this gamma incel Texass Alt-Kike Lamer: What does it coontribute to Brad’s Blog or anything? Nothing! What to do about it? Nothing, except doxxing it if it does somethang stupid like letting us look under itz tail.

                          A likely Finckbot. Definitely a gamma incel too chickenshit to go postal.

                          Hail Victory !!!

                          Pastor Martin Lindstedt
                          Church of Jesus Christ Christian/Aryan Nations of Missouri

                          .



                          Pastor Lindstedt's Web Page
                          Pastor Lindstedt's Archive Page & Christian Nationalist Forum

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            3d Democrat Debates 12 Sept 2019

                            3d Democrat Debates 12 Sept 2019


                            https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...cratic-debate/
                            http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0332#post20332
                            http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0332#post20332


                            All the top-tier Democratic presidential candidates gathered on one stage Thursday night in Houston for third Democratic presidential debate. Below is a transcript of the debate.
                            .

                            Introduce the Candidates

                            FORMER HUD SECRETARY JULIÁN CASTRO: Good evening, y bienvenidos a Texas. Welcome to Texas.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            It’s great to be here at TSU, home of the Tigers. You know, on Jan. 20, 2021, at 12:01 p.m., we’re going to have a Democratic president, a Democratic House, and a Democratic Senate.

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                            There will be life after Donald Trump. But the truth is that our problems didn’t start just with Donald Trump, and we won’t solve them by embracing old ideas. We need a bold vision: universal pre-K and universal health care, unleashing millions of new jobs in the clean energy economy, a tax system that rewards people who have to work for a living.

                            But first, we have to win. And that means exciting a young, diverse coalition of Americans who are ready for a bold future. That’s what Kennedy did, it’s what Carter did, it’s what Clinton did, it’s what Barack Obama did, and it’s what I can do in this race. Get back Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, and Arizona, and finally turn Texas blue and say goodbye to Donald Trump.

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                            ABC ANCHOR GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Klobuchar?

                            SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR: Good evening, Texas Southern. I believe that what unites us up here, the 10 of us, is much stronger than what divides us. And I think that’s true of our country, too.

                            Now, I may not be the loudest person up here, but I think we've already got that in the White House.

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                            Houston, we have a problem. This — we have a guy there that is literally running our country like a game show. He would rather lie than lead. I think we need something different.

                            I am someone that tells the truth. I don’t make promises that I can’t keep. I have people’s back. And I believe that to win, you bring people with you and that is how you govern, as well.

                            So, you’re going to hear a lot of ideas up here. Some will be great. But if you see that some of them seem a little off-track, I’ve got a better way. If you feel stuck in the middle of the extremes in our politics and you are tired of the noise and the nonsense, you’ve got a home with me, because I don’t want to be the president for half of America. I want to be the president for all of America.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Beto O'Rourke?

                            O’ROURKE: It’s an honor to be on this debate stage. It is wonderful to be back in Texas, in Houston, back here at TSU.

                            On Aug. 3, in El Paso, Texas, two things became crystal clear for me, and I think produced a turning point for this country. The first is just how dangerous Donald Trump is, the cost and the consequence of his presidency.

                            A racism and violence that had long been a part of America was welcomed out into the open and directed to my hometown of El Paso, Texas, where 22 people were killed, dozens more grievously injured by a man carrying a weapon he should never have been able to buy in the first place, inspired to kill by our president.

                            The second is how insufficient our politics is to meet the threat that we have right now. The bitterness, the pettiness, the smallness of the moment, the incentives to attack one another and try to make differences without distinctions, mountains out of mole hills, we have to be bigger. We have to see clearly, we have to speak honestly, and we have to act decisively. That's what I want to do for you as president of the United States. Thank you.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Cory Booker?

                            BOOKER: It was over 20 years ago that I was a law student and moved to inner-city Newark, New Jersey, to serve as a tenants rights lawyer to try to address the challenges in my community. And I was sobered by them — the gun violence, the substandard housing.

                            But it was my greatest mentor, a woman named Ms. Virginia Jones, who challenged me. She said, “Boy, if all you see in this neighborhood is problems, that’s all there’s ever going to be. But if you’re stubborn and defiant and can put forth a vision that can unify people, then we can make transformative change.” She was a church woman that said, “Without vision, the people will perish.”

                            Well, that’s exactly what we did. We created extraordinary unity in our community, and we did things that other people think — thought was impossible.

                            That’s the story of America. At our best, we unify, we find common cause and common purpose. The differences among us Democrats on the stage are not as great as the urgency for us to unite as a party, not just to beat Donald Trump, but to unite America in common cause and common purpose. That’s why I’m running for president, and that’s how I will lead this nation.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Entrepreneur Andrew Yang?

                            YANG: In America today, everything revolves around the almighty dollar — our schools, our hospitals, our media, even our government. It’s why we don’t trust our institutions anymore. We have to get our country working for us again, instead of the other way around. We have to see ourselves as the owners and shareholders of this democracy rather than inputs into a giant machine.

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                            When you donate money to a presidential campaign, what happens? The politician spends the money on TV ads and consultants and you hope it works out. It’s time to trust ourselves more than our politicians.

                            That’s why I’m going to do something unprecedented tonight. My campaign will now give a freedom dividend of $1,000 a month for an entire year to 10 American families, someone watching this at home right now. If you believe that you can solve your own problems better than any politician, go to yang2020.com and tell us how $1,000 a month will help you do just that. This is how we will get our country working for us again, the American people.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Mayor Pete Buttigieg?

                            BUTTIGIEG: It’s original, I’ll give you that.

                            The American people are divided and doubtful at the very moment we need to rise to some of the greatest challenges we’ve ever seen. As a mayor of an industrial city coming back from the brink, as a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I know what’s at stake in our national leadership.

                            We keep sending politicians to Washington asking them to fight for us, but then when they get there, they seem more interested in the part about fighting than the part about us. Good politics is supposed to be not about the day-to-day fights of the politicians, but about the day-to-day lives of Americans.

                            We just marked the anniversary of 9/11. All day today, I’ve been thinking about Sept. 12, the way it felt when for a moment we came together as a country. Imagine if we had been able to sustain that unity. Imagine what would be possible right now with ideas that are bold enough to meet the challenges of our time, but big enough, as well, that they could unify the American people. That’s what presidential leadership can do. That’s what the presidency is for. And that is why I’m asking for your vote.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Kamala Harris?

                            HARRIS: Thank you. It’s great to be back at TSU.

                            So I plan on spending tonight talking with you about my plans to address the problems that keep you up at night. But first, I have a few words for Donald Trump, who we all know is watching.

                            (LAUGHTER)

                            So, President Trump, you’ve spent the last two-and-a-half years full time trying to sow hate and division among us, and that is why we’ve gotten nothing done. You have used hate, intimidation, fear, and over 12,000 lies as a way to distract from your failed policies and your broken promises. The only reason you’ve not been indicted is because there was a memo in the Department of Justice that says a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime.

                            But here’s what you don’t get: What you don’t get you is that the American people are so much better than this. And we know that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us, regardless of our race, where we live, or the party with which we’re registered to vote. And I plan on focusing on our common issues, our common hopes and desires, and in that way, unifying our country, winning this election, and turning the page for America.

                            And now, President Trump, you can go back to watching Fox News.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Bernie Sanders? Senator Sanders?

                            SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Let me be blunt and tell you what you don’t hear much about in Congress or in the media, and that is, it goes without saying that we must and will defeat Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country.

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                            But we must do more. We must do more. We have got to recognize that this country is moving into an oligarchic form of society where a handful of billionaires control the economic and political life of this country. And as president, I am prepared to take them on.

                            Yes, we will raise the minimum wage to a living wage. Yes, we will finally make sure that every American has health care as a human right, not a privilege. And, yes, we will address the catastrophic crisis of climate change and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Elizabeth Warren?

                            SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN: So, I was born and raised in Oklahoma, but I’m sure glad to be in Texas tonight.

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                            All three of my brothers served in military bases here in Texas. That was their ticket to the middle class. Me, I got my big opportunity about a half-mile down the road from here at the University of Houston, back when it cost $50 a semester.

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                            For a price that I could pay for, on a part-time waitressing job, I got to finish my four-year degree and I became a special-needs teacher. And after law school, my first big job was back here in Houston.

                            By then, I had two little kids, and when child care nearly brought me down, my Aunt Bee moved in and saved us all.

                            The paths to America’s middle class have gotten a lot smaller and a lot narrower. Today, service members are preyed upon by predatory lenders. Students are crushed by debt. And families cannot afford child care.

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                            I know what’s broken. I know how to fix it. And I’m going to lead the fight to get it done.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Vice President Joe Biden.

                            JOE BIDEN: You know, when President Kennedy announced the moon shot, he used a phrase that sticks with me my whole life. He said, we’re doing it because we refuse to postpone. Well, I refuse to postpone one more minute spending billions of dollars on curing cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases which, if we invest in them, we can find cures.

                            I refuse to postpone giving single child in America, no matter their Zip code, pre-K all the way through high school and beyond. I refuse to postpone any longer taking on climate change and leading the world in taking on climate change.

                            Look, this is the United States of America. There has never been a single solitary time when we’ve set our mind to something we’ve been unable to do it. We’re walking around with our heads down like woe is me. We’re the best-equipped nation in the world to take this on. It’s no longer time to postpone. We should get moving. There’s enormous, enormous opportunities once we get rid of Donald Trump.

                            (APPLAUSE)
                            .

                            Health Care:
                            .

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Candidates, thank you. Several of you said you are more united than divided, and that is certainly true. All of you agree on one big thing, the goal of defeating President Trump, driving the country in a new direction. But out on the campaign trail, you have outlined big differences over how far to go and how fast to go.

                            And, Vice President Biden, the differences between you and the senators on either side of you tonight strike at the heart of this primary debate. Both senators Warren and Sanders want to replace Obamacare with Medicare-for-all. You want to build on Obamacare, not scrap it. They propose spending far more than you to combat climate change and tackle student loan debt. And they would raise more in taxes than you to pay for their programs.

                            Are Sens. Warren and Sanders pushing too far beyond where Democrats want to go and where the country needs to go?

                            BIDEN: That will be for the voters to decide that question. Let me tell you what I think. I think we should have a debate on health care. I think — I know that the senator says she’s for Bernie, well, I’m for Barack. I think the Obamacare worked. I think the way we add to it, replace everything that has been cut, add a public option, guarantee that everyone will be able to have affordable insurance, number one.

                            Number two, I think we should be in a position of taking a look at what costs are. My plan for health care costs a lot of money. It costs $740 billion. It doesn’t cost $30 trillion, $3.4 trillion a year, it turns out, is twice what the entire federal budget is. That’s before — exists now, without interest on the debt. How are we going to pay for it? I want to hear that tonight how that’s happened.

                            Thus far, my distinguished friend, the senator on my left, has not indicated how she pays for it. And the senator has, in fact, come forward and said how he’s going to pay for it, but it gets him about halfway there. There’s a lot of other things that need to be done.

                            I have a bold plan to deal with making sure we triple the money for at-risk schools that are Title I schools, from 15 to $45 billion a year. But I go down the line and these are things we’re talking about, I lay out how I can pay for it, how I can get it done, and why it’s better.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Sen. Warren, let me take that to you, particularly on what Sen. Biden was saying there about health care. He has actually praised Bernie Sanders for being candid about his health care plan, that senator — says that Sanders has been candid about the fact that middle class taxes are going to go up and most of private insurance is going to be eliminated. Will you make that same admission?

                            WARREN: So, let’s be clear about health care. And let’s actually start where vice president did. We all owe a huge debt to President Obama, who fundamentally transformed health care in America and committed this country to health care for every human being.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            And now the question is, how best can we improve on it? And I believe the best way we can do that is we make sure that everybody gets covered by health care at the lowest possible cost. How do we pay for it? We pay for it, those at the very top, the richest individuals and the biggest corporations, are going to pay more. And middle-class families are going to pay less. That’s how this is going to work.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Direct question. You said middle-class families are going to pay less. But will middle-class taxes go up to pay for the program? I know you believe that the deductibles and the premiums will go down. Will middle-class taxes go up? Will private insurance be eliminated?

                            WARREN: Look, what families have to deal with is cost, total cost. That’s what they have to deal with. And understand, families are paying for their health care today. Families pay every time an insurance company says, “Sorry, you can’t see that specialist.” Every time an insurance company says, “Sorry, that doctor is out of network. Sorry, we are not covering that prescription.

                            Families are paying every time they don’t get a prescription filled because they can’t pay for it. They don’t have a lump checked out because they can’t afford the co-pay. What we’re talking about here is what’s going to happen in families’ pockets, what’s going to happen in their budgets.

                            And the answer is on Medicare-for-all, costs are going to go up for wealthier individuals and costs are going to go up for giant corporations. But for hard-working families across this country, costs are going to go down and that’s how it should work under Medicare-for-all in our health care system.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Sen. Sanders, you were invoked by the vice president, also take on that question about taxes.

                            SANDERS: Well, Joe said that Medicare-for-all would cost over $30 trillion.

                            That's right, Joe.

                            Status quo over 10 years will be $50 trillion. Every study done shows that Medicare-for-all is the most cost-effective approach to providing health care to every man, woman, and child in this country. I, who wrote the damn bill, if I may say so...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            ... intend to eliminate all out-of-pocket expenses, all deductibles, all co-payments. Nobody in America will pay more than $200 a year for prescription drugs, because we're going to stand up to the greed and corruption and price-fixing of the pharmaceutical industry.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            We need — we need a health-care system that guarantees health care to all people as every other major country does, not a system which provides $100 billion a year in profit for the drug companies and the insurance companies.

                            And I’ll tell you how absurd the system is tonight on ABC, the health-care industry will be advertising, telling you how bad Medicare-for-all is, because they want to protect their profits. That is absurd.

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                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Vice president Biden...

                            KLOBUCHAR: If I could respond, George.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: You get a response and then we're going to broaden out the discussion.

                            BIDEN: Okay, number one, my health care plan does significantly cut the costs of — the largest out-of-pocket payment you’ll pay is $1,000. You’ll be able to get into a — anyone who can’t afford it gets automatically enrolled in the Medicare-type option we have, et cetera.

                            But guess what? Of the 160 million people who like their health care now, they can keep it. If they don't like it, they can leave. Number one.

                            Number two, the fact of the matter is, we're in a situation where, if you notice, he hasn't answered the question. This is about candor, honesty, big ideas. Let's have a big idea. The tax of 2 percent that the senator is talking about, that raises about $3 billion. Guess what? That leaves you $28 billion short.

                            The senator said before, it’s going to cost you in your pay — there will be a deductible, in your paycheck. You’re going to — the middle class person, someone making 60 grand with three kids, they’re going to end up paying $5,000 more. They’re going to end up paying 4 percent more on their income tax. That’s a reality. Now, it’s not a bad idea if you like it. I don’t like it.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, now I want everybody to keep to the time, but you did invoke both senators. I have to get responses from them...

                            BIDEN: Sure, no, that's good.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: ... and then we will broaden it out.

                            Senator Warren, you go first.

                            WARREN: So, let's be clear, I've actually never met anybody who likes their health insurance company.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            I've met people who like their doctors. I've met people who like their nurses. I've met people who like their pharmacists. I've met people who like their physical therapists. What they want is access to health care. And we just need to be clear about what Medicare-for-all is all about.

                            Instead of paying premiums into insurance companies and then having insurance companies build their profits by saying no to coverage, we're going to do this by saying, everyone is covered by Medicare-for-all, every health care provider is covered. And the only question here in terms of difference is where to send the bill?

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Sanders.

                            SANDERS: Let us be clear, Joe, in the United States of America, we are spending twice as much per capita on health care as the Canadians or any other major country on earth.

                            BIDEN: This is America.

                            SANDERS: Yes, but Americans don't want to pay twice as much as other countries. And they guarantee health care to all people. Under my Medicare-for-all proposal, when you don't pay out-of-pocket and you don't pay premiums, maybe you've run into people who love their premiums, I haven't.

                            What people want is cost-effective health care, Medicare-for-all will save the average American substantial sums of money on his or her health care bill.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Klobuchar, you said in your opening statement you don't — you want to represent the people stuck in the middle of the extremes. Who represents the extreme on this stage?

                            KLOBUCHAR: I think you know that I don't agree with some of these proposals up here, George, so I'm talking about...

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Which ones?

                            KLOBUCHAR: If I could — if I could respond to some of the proposals from my friends. First of all, Senator Sanders and I have worked valiantly to bring down the cost of pharmaceuticals. That was a Klobuchar-Sanders Amendment to allow for drugs to come in from less expensive countries like Canada.

                            We have worked to bring down the cost by fighting to allow 43 million seniors, that's a bill I lead, to negotiate for better prices under Medicare. I figure that's a lot of seniors and they should be allowed to get a better price.

                            But when it comes to our health care and when it comes to our premiums, I go with the doctor's creed, which is, do no harm. And while Bernie wrote the bill, I read the bill. And on page eight — on page eight of the bill, it says that we will no longer have private insurance as we know it. And that means that 149 million Americans will no longer be able to have their current insurance.

                            That's in four years. I don't think that's a bold idea, I think it's a bad idea. And what I favor is something that what Barack Obama wanted to do from the very beginning. And that is a public option. A non-profit choice that would bring down the cost of insurance, cover 12 million more people, and bring down the prices for 13 million more people. That is a bold idea.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Warren, page eight of the bill, she says, 149 people will lose their health insurance.

                            WARREN: I'm sorry.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: She said, page eight of the bill, 149 million people will lose their health insurance.

                            KLOBUCHAR: Current health insurance.

                            BIDEN: One hundred forty-nine million.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Million, excuse me.

                            WARREN: So let's be clear about this. People will have access to all of their doctors, all of their nurses, their community hospitals, their rural hospitals. Doctors won't have to hire people to fill out crazy forms. They won't have to spend time on the phone arguing with insurance companies. People who have sick family members won't have to get into these battles.

                            What this is about is making sure that we have the most efficient way possible to pay for health care for everyone in this country. Insurance companies last year sucked $23 billion in profits out of the system. How did they make that money? Every one of those $23 billion was made by an insurance company saying no to your health care coverage.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Mayor Buttigieg?

                            BUTTIGIEG: The problem, Senator Sanders, with that damn bill that you wrote, and that Senator Warren backs, is that it doesn't trust the American people. I trust you to choose what makes the most sense for you. Not my way or the highway.

                            Now look, I think we do have to go far beyond tinkering with the ACA. I propose Medicare-for-all who want it. We take a version of Medicare, we make it available for the American people, and if we're right, as progressives, that that public alternative is better, then the American people will figure that out for themselves. I trust the American people to make the right choice for them. Why don't you?

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Sanders, 45 seconds.

                            SANDERS: George, you talked about, was it 150 million people on private insurance? Fifty million of those people lose their private insurance every year when they quit their jobs or they go unemployed or their employer changes their insurance policy. Medicare-for-all is comprehensive health care. Covers all basic needs, including home health care.

                            It allows you to go to any doctor you want, which many private insurance company programs do not. So, if you want comprehensive health care, freedom of choice regarding doctor or hospital, no more than $200 a year for prescription drugs, taking on the drug companies and the insurance companies, moving to Medicare-for-all is the way to go.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Harris, you startled out co-sponsoring Senator Sanders's bill, you now say you're uncomfortable with it. Why?

                            HARRIS: I want to give credit first to Barack Obama for really bringing us this far. We would not be here if he hadn't the courage, the talent, or the will to see us this far.

                            I want to give credit to Bernie. Take credit, Bernie. You know, you brought us this far on Medicare-for-all. I support Medicare-for-all, I always have, but I wanted to make the plan better, which I did.

                            Which is about offering people choice, not taking that from them.

                            So, under my Medicare-for-all plan, people have the choice of a private plan or a public plan, because that's what people want. And I agree, we shouldn't take choice from people.

                            But here's the thing. Everybody on this stage, I do believe, is well intentioned and wants that all Americans have coverage and recognizes that right now 30 million Americans don't have coverage. But at least five people have talked, some repeatedly on this subject, and not once have we talked about Donald Trump.

                            So let's talk about the fact that Donald Trump came into office and spent almost the entire first year of his term trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. We all fought against it. And then the late, great John McCain, at that moment at about 2 o'clock in the morning, killed his attempt to take health care from millions of people in this country.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            Fast forward to today, and what is happening? Donald Trump's Department of Justice is trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Donald Trump's administration is trying to get rid of the ban that we placed on denying people who have pre-existing conditions coverage. Donald Trump is trying to say that our kids up to the age of 26 can no longer be on our plans.

                            And frankly, I think this discussion has given the American public a headache. What they want to know is that they're going to have health care and cost will not be a barrier to getting it. But let's focus on the end goal. If we don't get Donald Trump out of office, he's going to get rid of all of it.

                            BIDEN: George, 15 seconds? Fifteen seconds?

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me get to Congressman O'Rourke and then bring you — go ahead, Mr. Vice President.

                            BIDEN: Fifteen seconds. Look, everybody says we want an option. The option I'm proposing is Medicare-for-all — Medicare for choice. If you want Medicare, if you lose the job from your insurance — from your employer, you automatically can buy into this. You don't have — no pre-existing condition can stop you from buying in. You get covered, period.

                            And if you notice, nobody's yet said how much it's going to cost the taxpayer. I hear this large savings, the president thinks — my friend from Vermont thinks that the employer's going to give you back if you negotiated as a union all these years, got a cut in wages because you got insurance. They're going to give back that money to the employee?

                            SANDERS: As a matter of fact, they will in our bill.

                            BIDEN: Well, let me tell you something. For a socialist, you've got — for a socialist, you've got a lot more confidence in corporate America than I do.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Sanders?

                            SANDERS: Okay, one minute, George?

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Go ahead.

                            SANDERS: All right. Two points. You got to defend the fact that today not only do we have 87 million people uninsured and underinsured, you got to defend the fact that 500,000 Americans are going bankrupt. You know why they're going bankrupt? Because they suffered a terrible disease — cancer or heart disease.

                            Under my legislation, people will not go into financial ruin because they suffered with a diagnosis of cancer. And our program is the only one that does that.

                            BIDEN: I know a lot about cancer, let me tell you something. It's personal to me. Let me tell you something. Every single person who is diagnosed with cancer or any other disease can automatically become part of this plan. They will not go bankrupt because of that. They will not go bankrupt because of that. They can join immediately.

                            And we're talking four, six, eight, ten years, depending on who you talk about, before we get to Medicare-for-all. Come on. I've been there. You've been there. You know what it's like. People need help now, hope now, and do something now.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman O'Rourke?

                            O'ROURKE: Yeah. Thank you. Listen, I'm grateful that we all agree about the urgency of this challenge and the fact that Donald Trump is undermining the limited protections that we have right now.

                            But I also think we're being offered a false choice between those who propose an all-or-nothing gambit, forcing tens of millions off of insurance that they like, that works for them, to force them onto Medicare, and others who want to, as the vice president does, incrementally improve what we have, which will still leave many, maybe millions uninsured and uncared for.

                            In a state like Texas, where the largest provider of mental health care services is the county jail system, we've got to do better. In my proposal, Medicare for America, says everyone who's uninsured will be enrolled in Medicare. Everyone who's insufficiently insured, cannot afford it, can move over to Medicare. And those, like members of unions who've fought for the health care plans that work for them and their families, are able to keep them. This is the best possible path forward.

                            BIDEN: You just described my plan.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: This is — health care is the top issue for everyone in the country. I want to make sure everyone gets one minute to respond. So, Secretary Castro, Andrew Yang, and then Senator Booker, you will get a minute.

                            CASTRO: Thank you. And, you know, I also want to recognize the work that Bernie has done on this. And, of course, we owe a debt of gratitude to President Barack Obama. Of course, I also worked for President Obama, Vice President Biden, and I know that the problem with your plan is that it leaves 10 million people uncovered.

                            Now, on the last debate stage in Detroit, you said that wasn’t true, when Senator Harris brought that up. There was a fact check of that, and they said that was true.

                            You know, I grew up with a grandmother who had type 2 diabetes, and I watched her condition get worse and worse. But that whole time, she had Medicare. I want every single American family to have a strong Medicare plan available.

                            If they choose to hold on to strong, solid private health insurance, I believe they should be able to do. But the difference between what I support and what you support, Vice President Biden, is that you require them to opt in and I would not require them to opt in. They would automatically be enrolled. They wouldn't have a buy in.

                            That's a big difference, because Barack Obama's vision was not to leave 10 million people uncovered. He wanted every single person in this country covered. My plan would do that. Your plan would not.

                            BIDEN: They do not have to buy in. They do not have to buy in.

                            CASTRO: You just said that. You just said that two minutes ago. You just two minutes ago that they would have to buy in.

                            BIDEN: Do not have to buy in if you can't afford it.

                            CASTRO: You said they would have to buy in.

                            BIDEN: Your grandmother would not have to buy in. If she qualifies for Medicaid, she would automatically be enrolled.

                            CASTRO: Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago? Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago? I mean, I can't believe that you said two minutes ago that they had to buy in and now you're saying they don't have to buy in. You're forgetting that.

                            BIDEN: I said anyone like your grandmother who has no money.

                            CASTRO: I mean, look, look, we need a health care system...

                            BIDEN: She — you're automatically enrolled.

                            CASTRO: It automatically enrolls people regardless of whether they choose to opt in or not. If you lose your job, for instance, his health care plan would not automatically enroll you. You would have to opt in. My health care plan would. That's a big difference. I'm fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama, and you're not.

                            BIDEN: That'll be a surprise to him.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Andrew Yang?

                            YANG: Come on, guys.

                            BUTTIGIEG: This is why presidential debates are becoming unwatchable.

                            KLOBUCHAR: Yeah.

                            BUTTIGIEG: This reminds everybody of what they cannot stand about Washington, scoring points against each other, poking at each other, and telling each other that — my plan, your plan. Look, we all have different visions for what is better...

                            CASTRO: Yeah, that's called the Democratic primary election, Pete. That's called an election.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            That's an election. You know? This is what we're here for. It's an election.

                            KLOBUCHAR: Yes, but a house — a house divided cannot stand. And that is not how we're going to win this.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            YANG: Look, everyone, we know we're on the same team here. We know we're on the same team. We all have a better vision for health care than our current president.

                            And I believe we're talking about this the wrong way. As someone who has run a business, I know that our current health care system makes it harder to hire people, makes it harder to give them benefits and treat them as full-time employees. You instead pretend their contractors. It's harder to change jobs. It's certainly harder to start a business.

                            The pitch we have to make to the American people is, we will get the health care weight off of your backs and then unleash the hopes and dreams of the American people.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Booker...

                            YANG: Now, I am Asian, so I know a lot of doctors, and they tell me that they spend a lot of time on paperwork, avoiding being sued, and navigating the insurance bureaucracy. We have to change the incentives so instead of revenue and activity, people are focused on our health in the health care system.

                            And the Cleveland Clinic, where they're paid not based upon how many procedures they prescribe — shocker — they prescribe fewer procedures, and patient health stays the same or improves. That is the pitch to the American people.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Booker, close out this discussion.

                            BOOKER: Thank you very much. Look, there are a lot of people watching at home right now, listening to us that are afraid because they are in crisis. They don’t have health insurance. Their health insurance doesn’t go far enough. They can’t afford their prescription drugs.

                            Look, I'm clear in what I believe. I believe in Medicare-for-all. I believe it's the best way to rationalize the system. But dear God, I know every one of my colleagues on this stage is in favor of universal health coverage and comes at this with the best of intentions.

                            And I'll tell you, there is an urgency right now in this nation. Everybody feels it. And as a person who has an ideal, I know we cannot sacrifice progress on the altar of purity, because people in my community, they need help right now. They have high blood pressure right now. They have unaffordable insulin right now.

                            And this must be a moment where we as Democrats can begin to show that we cannot only stake and stand our ground, but find common ground, because we've got one shot to make Donald Trump a one-term president.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            And we cannot lose it by the way we talk about each other or demonize and degrade each other. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. If I am the leader, I will work towards the ideal of health insurance, health coverage being a right for all Americans. But every single day, I'll join with other Democrats to make progress happen in our nation for the people that are struggling and suffering today.

                            STEPHANOPOULOS: Candidates, thank you. Linsey Davis?

                            Racism:

                            DAVIS: Thanks, George. Since we're here at an HBCU, I'd like to start with young black voters. Several recent polls indicate their number-one concern is racism. This campus, this state, and this nation are still raw from that racially motivated attack on Latinos in El Paso.

                            Now, we know that the racial divide started long before President Trump and President Obama, but each of you on this stage has said that President Trump has made that divide worse. Congressman O'Rourke, coming to you first, why are you the most qualified candidate to address this divide?

                            O'ROURKE: You know, I called this out in no uncertain terms on August 3rd and every day since then. And I was talking about it long before then, as well.

                            Racism in America is endemic. It is foundational. We can mark the creation of this country not at the Fourth of July, 1776, but August 20, 1619, when the first kidnapped African...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            ... was brought to this country against his will and in bondage and as a slave built the greatness and the success and the wealth that neither he nor his descendants would ever be able to fully participate in and enjoy.

                            We have to be able to answer this challenge. And it is found in our education system, where in Texas, a 5-year-old child in kindergarten is five times as likely to be disciplined or suspended or expelled based on the color of their skin.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            In our health care system, where there's a maternal mortality crisis three times as deadly for women of color, or the fact that there's 10 times the wealth in white America than there is in black America.

                            I'm going to follow Sheila Jackson Lee's lead and sign into law a reparations bill that will allow us to address this at its foundation.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            But we will also call out the fact that we have a white supremacist in the White House and he poses a mortal threat to people of color all across this country.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            DAVIS: Secretary Castro, 45 seconds to respond.

                            CASTRO: Look, you know, I want to commend Beto for how well he has spoken to the passion and the frustration and the sadness after what happened in his hometown of El Paso. He's done a great job with that.

                            Look, a few weeks ago, a shooter drove 10 miles inspired by this — 10 hours inspired by this president to kill people who look like me and people who look like my family. White supremacy is a growing threat to this country, and we have to root it out.

                            I'm proud that I put forward a plan to disarm hate. I'm also proud that I was the first to put forward a police reform plan, because we're not going to have any more Laquan McDonalds or Eric Garners or Michael Browns or Pamela Turners or Walter Scotts or Sandra Bland, here from the Houston area. We need to root out racism, and I believe that we can do that, because that doesn't represent the vast majority of Americans who do have a good heart. They also need a leader to match that, and I will be a president that matches that.

                            DAVIS: Senator Booker, you have said, quote, "The real question isn't who is or isn't a racist. It's who is going to do something about it." Senator, what do you plan to do about it?

                            BOOKER: Well, first and foremost, I want to hit that point, because we know Donald Trump’s a racist, but there is no red badge of courage for calling him that. Racism exists. The question isn’t who isn’t a racist. It’s who is and isn’t doing something about racism.

                            And this is not just an issue that started yesterday. It's not just an issue that we hear a president that can't condemn white supremacy. We have systemic racism that is eroding our nation from health care to the criminal justice system. And it's nice to go all the way back to slavery, but dear God, we have a criminal justice system that is so racially biased, we have more African-Americans under criminal supervision today than all the slaves in 1850.

                            We have to come at this issue attacking systemic racism, having the courage to call it out, and having a plan to do something about it. If I am president of the United States, we will create an office in the White House to deal with the problem of white supremacy and hate crimes.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            And we will make sure that systemic racism is dealt with in substantive plans, from criminal justice reform to the disparities in health care to even one that we don't talk about enough, which is the racism that we see in environmental injustice in communities of color all around this country.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            DAVIS: Mayor Buttigieg, you've been struggling with issues around race in your own community. You've also said that anyone who votes to re-elect President Trump is, at best, looking the other way on racism. Does that sort of talk alienate voters and potentially deepen divisions in our country?

                            BUTTIGIEG: I believe what’s deepened divisions in the country is the conduct of this president, and we have a chance to change all of that.

                            Look, systemic racism preceded this president, and even when we defeat him, it will be with us. That's why we need a systemic approach to dismantle it. It's — it's not enough to just take a racist policy, replace it with a neutral one and expect things will just get better on their own. Harms compound. In the same way that a dollar saved compounds, so does a dollar stolen.

                            And we know that the generational theft of the descendants of slaves is part of why everything from housing to education to health to employment basically puts us in two different countries.

                            I have proposed the most comprehensive vision to tackle systemic racism in every one of these areas, marshaling as many resources as went into the Marshall plan that rebuilt Europe, but this time, a Douglass plan that we invest right here at home, to make sure that we’re not only dealing with things like the over-incarceration of black Americans, but also black solutions, entrepreneurship, raising to 25 percent...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            ... the target for the federal government to do business with minority-owned businesses, investing in HBCUs that are training and educating the next generation of entrepreneurs.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            We can and must do that. But that means transcending this framework that pits us against each other, that pits a single black mother of three against a displaced auto worker. Because when I — where I come from, a lot of times that displaced auto worker is a single black mother of three. We've got to say that...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            ... and bring people together.

                            DAVIS: Also a concern for people of color is criminal justice reform.

                            Senator Harris, you released your plan for that just this week. And it does contradict some of your prior positions. Among them, you used to oppose the legalization of marijuana; now you don't. You used to oppose outside investigations of police shootings; now you don't. You've said that you changed on these and other things because you were, quote, "swimming against the current, and thankfully the currents have changed."

                            But when you had the power, why didn’t you try to effect change then?

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            HARRIS: So, there have been — there have been — I'm glad you asked me this question, and there have been many distortions of my record.

                            Let me be very clear. I made a decision to become a prosecutor for two reasons. One, I've always wanted to protect people and keep them safe. And second, I was born knowing about how this criminal justice system in America has worked in a way that has been informed by racial bias. And I could tell you extensively about the experiences I and my family members have personally had. But I made a decision that, if I was going to have the ability to reform the system, I would try to do it from the inside.

                            And so I took on the position that allowed me, without asking permission, to create one of the first in the nation initiatives that was a model and became a national model around people who were arrested for drugs and getting them jobs.

                            I created one of the first in the nation requirements that a state law enforcement agency would have to wear cameras and keep them on full-time.

                            I created one of the first in the nation trainings for a police officer on the issue of racial bias and the need to reform the system.

                            Was I able to get enough done? Absolutely not. But my plan has been described by activists as being a bold and comprehensive plan that is about ending mass incarceration, about taking the profit out of the criminal justice system. I plan on shutting down for-profit prisons on day one.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            It will be about what we need to do to hold law enforcement, including prosecutors, accountable.

                            And finally, my plan is about making sure that, in America's criminal justice system, we de-incarcerate women and children, that we end solitary confinement and that we work on keeping families intact.

                            And as president of the United States, knowing the system from the inside, I will have the ability to be an effective leader and get this job complete.

                            DAVIS: Thank you, Senator Harris.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            Senator Klobuchar, during your eight years as a prosecutor in Minnesota, there were dozens of incidents where black men were killed by police. Critics say that too often you sided with police in these cases.

                            The ACLU's legal director in Minnesota has said that you showed no interest in racial justice. Do you wish now that you had done more?

                            KLOBUCHAR: That's not my record.

                            (UNKNOWN): (inaudible)

                            KLOBUCHAR: We are here at a historically black college. And I think of an alum of that college, Barbara Jordan, and something that she once said. She said, "What the people want is simple; they want a country as good as its promise."

                            And that same can be said of the criminal justice system. So when I was there, the way we handled these police shootings, I actually took a stand to make sure outside investigators handled them. I took on our major police chief in Minneapolis.

                            But in the prosecutor's office, they were handled with a grand jury. That's how they were all handled across our state. I now believe it is better for accountability if the prosecutor handles them and makes those decisions herself.

                            That aside, I am proud of the work our staff did, 400 people in our office. The cases that came to us, the African-American community that came to us, they said there was no justice for their little kids.

                            There was a kid named Byron Phillips that was shot on his front porch. No one had bothered to figure out who did it. When I came into that office, we worked with the community groups; we put up billboards; we found the shooter and we put him in jail. We did the same for the killer of a little girl named Tyesha Edwards who was doing her homework at her kitchen table and was shot through the window.

                            What changes did we make? Go after white-collar crimes in a big way, diversity the office in a big way, work with the Innocence Project to make sure we do much better with eyewitness ID.

                            And as a senator and as your president, I will make sure that we don't just do the First Step Act when it comes to criminal sentencing, that we move to the Second Step Act, which means the 90 percent of people that are incarcerated in local and state jails, let's reduce those sentences for nonviolent offenders and let's get them jobs and let them vote when they get out of prison.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            DAVIS: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.

                            You all believe that the war on drugs has put too many Americans behind bars.

                            Vice President Biden, you have a plan to release many nonviolent drug offenders from prison. Senator Booker says that your plan is not ambitious enough. Your response?

                            BIDEN: Well, first of all, let me say that, when I came back from law school, I had a job with a great — a big-time law firm. I left and became a public defender because my state was under siege when Dr. King was assassinated. We were occupied by the National Guard for 10 months.

                            I've been involved from the beginning. As a young congressman — as a young councilman, I introduced legislation to try to keep them from putting a sewer plant in a poor neighborhood. I made sure that we dealt with redlining; banks should have to lend where they operate, et cetera.

                            The fact of the matter is that what's happened is that we're in a situation now where there are so many people who are in jail and shouldn't be in jail. The whole means by which this should change is the whole model has to change. We should be talking about rehabilitation.

                            Nobody should be in jail for a nonviolent crime. As — when we were in the White House, we released 36,000 people from the federal prison system. Nobody should be in jail for a drug problem. They should be going directly to a rehabilitation. We build more rehabilitation centers, not prisons.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            We — I'm the guy that put in the drug courts to divert people from the criminal justice system. And so we have to change the whole way we look at this. When we put people in prison, we have to equip them that when they get out — nobody who got in prison for marijuana, for example, immediately upon being released — they shouldn't be in there; that should be a misdemeanor. They should be out and their record should be expunged. Every single right should be returned.

                            When you finish your term in prison, you should be able not only to vote but have access to Pell grants, have access to be able to get housing...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            ... have access to be able to move along the way. I've laid out a detailed plan along those lines. And the fact is, we've learned so much more more...

                            DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

                            BIDEN: Thank you.

                            DAVIS: Senator Booker, 45 seconds to respond.

                            BOOKER: Our criminal justice system is so savagely broken. There’s no difference in America between blacks, whites and Latinos for using drugs or dealing drugs. But if you are African-American, you are almost four times more likely to be arrested and incarcerated, destroying your lives.

                            And so much of this comes down to privilege. We have a criminal justice system that Brian Stephenson says treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.

                            And so I have challenged this whole field. We can specifically and demonstrably now show that there are 17,000 people unjustly incarcerated in America, and all of us should come forward and say, when we are president of the United States; when I am president of the United States, we will release them.

                            And let me be specific. I joined together and led in the United States Senate the only major bipartisan bill to pass under this president, for criminal justice reform, that has already led to thousands of people coming out of jail.

                            If 87 members of the United States Senate says that these sentences are way too long, and we changed it, but we didn't make it retroactive, we could literally point to the people that are in jail unjustly right now.

                            Everyone on this stage should say that we are going to give clemency to these 17,000 people. And I challenge you. Don't just say a big statement; back it up with details of the people in prison right now looking for one of the most sacrosanct ideals of this nation, which is liberty and freedom. We need to reform this system and we must do it now. Every day we wait is too long.

                            DAVIS: Thank you, Senator Booker.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            David?

                            MUIR: Thank you, Linsey.

                            Mass Shootings & Gun Control:
                            .
                            I want to turn to the deadly mass shootings here in this country. And of course we are all mindful tonight of where we stand. We are here in Texas tonight, where 29 people have lost their lives in just the last month alone, El Paso, which we've discussed; in Odessa. And I know there are survivors from El Paso right here in the hall tonight.

                            Vice President Biden, I do want to direct this to you, because we all remember Sandy Hook. Twenty-six people died in that school, 20 of them children. Those first graders would be in eighth grade today.

                            MUIR: At the time, there was a groundswell in this country to get something done. President Obama asked you to lead the push for gun control.

                            You have often pointed to your ability to reach across the aisle to get things done, but four months after Sandy Hook, a measure to require expanded background checks died on the Senate floor.

                            If you couldn't get it done after Sandy Hook, why should voters give you another chance?

                            BIDEN: Because I got it done before. I'm the only one up here that's ever beat the NRA —only one ever to beat the NRA nationally. I'm the guy that brought the Brady bill into — into focus and became law.

                            And so that's number one. Number two, after Sandy Hook, a number of things happened. It went from a cause to a movement. Look what's happened now. Mothers — the organization — mothers against violence — gun violence. We've seen what's happened again. Now we have all these young people marching on Washington, making sure that things are going to change.

                            There has been a sea change. Those proposals I put forward for the president had over 50 percent of gun — of gun — of members of the NRA supporting them, and overwhelmingly the rest of the people supporting them. Now the numbers are much higher, because they realize what I've been saying and we've all been saying is correct.

                            Over 90% of the American people think we have to get assault weapons off the street — period. And we have to get buy-backs and get them out of their basements.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            So the point is, things have changed. And things have changed a lot. And now what's happening is — and, by the way, the way Beto handled — excuse me for saying Beto. What the congressman...

                            O'ROURKE: That's all right. Beto's good.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            BIDEN: The way he handled what happened in his hometown is meaningful, to look in the eyes of those people, to see those kids...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            ... to understand those parents, you understand the heartache.

                            (UNKNOWN): But this is the problem.

                            BIDEN: We are ready to do this.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            MUIR: Mr. Vice President...

                            (UNKNOWN): This is the problem.

                            O'ROURKE: Thank you.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            MUIR: ... you did bring up assault weapons here.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            You did bring up assault weapons here, and many of you on this stage have talked about executive order.

                            Senator Harris, you have said that you would take executive action on guns within your first 100 days...

                            HARRIS: Correct.

                            MUIR: ... including banning imports of AR-15 assault weapons.

                            HARRIS: That's right.

                            MUIR: President Obama, after Sandy Hook, more than 23 executive actions, and yet here we all are today.

                            In recent days former Vice President Biden has said about executive orders, "Some really talented people are seeking the nomination. They said 'I'm going to issue an executive order.'" Biden saying, "There's no constitutional authority to issue that executive order when they say 'I'm going to eliminate assault weapons,'" saying, "you can't do it by executive order any more than Trump can do things when he says he can do it by executive order."

                            Does the vice president have a point there?

                            BIDEN: Some things you can. Many things you can't.

                            MUIR: Let's let the senator answer.

                            HARRIS: Well, I mean, I would just say, hey, Joe, instead of saying, no, we can't, let's say yes, we can.

                            (LAUGHTER)

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            BIDEN: Let's be constitutional. We've got a Constitution.

                            HARRIS: And yes, we can, because I'll tell you something. The way that I think about this is, I've seen more autopsy photographs than I care to tell you. I have attended more police officer funerals than I care to tell you. I have hugged more mothers of homicide victims than I care to tell you.

                            And the idea that we would wait for this Congress, which has just done nothing, to act, is just — it is overlooking the fact that every day in America, our babies are going to school to have drills, elementary, middle and high school students, where they are learning about how they have to hide in a closet or crouch in a corner if there is a mass shooter roaming the hallways of their school.

                            I was talking about this at one of my town halls, and — and this child who was eight years old, probably, came up to me — it was like it was a secret between the two of us, and he tugged on my jacket and he said, "I had to have one of those drills."

                            It is traumatizing our children. El Paso — and, Beto, God love you for standing so courageously in the midst of that tragedy. You know, people asked me...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            ... in El Paso — they said, you know, because I have a long-standing record on this issue. They said, "Well, do you think Trump is responsible for what happened?"

                            And I said, "Well, look, I mean, obviously, he didn't pull the trigger, but he's certainly been tweeting out the ammunition."

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            MUIR: Senator Harris, thank you.

                            Vice President Biden, do you still stand by what you said on an executive order?

                            BIDEN: No, what I said was — the question — speak to constitutional scholars. If in fact we could say, "By the way, you can't own the following weapons, period; they cannot be sold anymore" — check with constitutional scholars. Now, you can say...

                            MUIR: Mr. Vice President, thank you.

                            Congressman O'Rourke, I want to get to you on this.

                            (CROSSTALK)

                            HARRIS: John, could I tell you what you could do in 100 days?

                            MUIR: I'm going to — I'm going to work down the row here. But I do want to come to Congressman O'Rourke, because I know this is personal to you. El Paso is your hometown. Some on this stage have suggested a voluntary buy-back for guns in this country.

                            You've gone further. You've said, quote, "Americans who own AR-15s and AK-47s will have to sell them to the government, all of them." You know that critics call this confiscation. Are you proposing taking away their guns? And how would this work?

                            O'ROURKE: I am, if it's a weapon that was designed to kill people on a battlefield...

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            If the high impact, high velocity round, when it hits your body, shreds everything inside of your body, because it was designed to do that, so that you would bleed to death on a battlefield and not be able to get up and kill one of our soldiers.

                            When we see that being used against children, and in Odessa, I met the mother of a 15-year-old girl who was shot by an AR-15, and that mother watched her bleed to death over the course of an hour because so many other people were shot by that AR-15 in Odessa and Midland, there weren't enough ambulances to get to them in time, hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            We're not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            MUIR: Congressman, thank you.

                            O'ROURKE: And I want to say this. I'm listening to the people of this country. The day after I proposed doing that, I went to a gun show in Conway, Arkansas, to meet with those who were selling AR-15s and AK-47s and those who were buying those weapons. And you might be surprised, there was some common ground there, folks who said, I would willingly give that up, cut it to pieces, I don't need this weapon to hunt, to defend myself. It is a weapon of war.

                            So, let's do the right thing, but let's bring everyone in America into the conversation, Republicans, Democrats, gun-owners, and non-gun owners alike.

                            (UNKNOWN): May I make a point?

                            MUIR: Congressman, thank you. I want to bring in Senator Klobuchar on this, because you've often talked about your uncle and the proud hunters back home in Minnesota. So I wanted to get your response to Congressman O'Rourke tonight. Where do you stand on mandatory gun buybacks?

                            KLOBUCHAR: I so appreciate what the congressman's been doing. And I want to remind people here that what unites us is so much bigger than what divides us.

                            Everyone up here favors an assault weapon ban. Everyone up here favors magazine limitations, which, by the way, would have made a huge difference if that was in place in El Paso, in that store, where all those ordinary people showed such extraordinary courage. And certainly in Dayton, Ohio, where in 30 seconds, one man guns down innocent people. The cops got there in one minute, and it still wasn't enough to save those people. That's what unites us.

                            You know what else unites us? And I'll tell you this. What unites us is that right now, on Mitch McConnell's desk, are three bills — universal background checks, closing the Charleston loophole, and passing my bill to make sure that domestic abusers don't get AK-47s.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            MUIR: Senator Klobuchar?

                            KLOBUCHAR: So if we want to get something done — and I personally think we should start with a voluntary buyback program. That's what I think, David. But I want to finish this, because if you want action now, if you want action now, we got to send a message to Mitch McConnell. We can't wait until one of us gets in the White House. We have to pass those bills right now to get this done.

                            MUIR: Senator Klobuchar...

                            KLOBUCHAR: Because we cannot spare another innocent life.

                            MUIR: Thank you. Thank you.

                            I want to turn to Senator Booker, because you have said just this week about guns and about the candidates on this stage, that the differences do matter. Those were your words.

                            You have argued, if you need a license to drive a car in this country, you should have a license to buy a gun. Gun-owners would not only have to pass a background check, they would have to obtain a federal license to buy a gun. This would require, as you know, Congress to pass legislation.

                            If Democrats can't get universal background checks, how would you get this done? And can you name one Republican colleague of yours in the Senate right now who would be onboard with this idea?

                            BOOKER: So, background checks and gun licensing, these are agreed to by overwhelmingly the majority of Americans. Eighty-three percent of Americans agree with licensing. This is the issue.

                            Look, I grew up in the suburbs. It was about 20 years ago that I came out of my home when I moved to inner city Newark, New Jersey, and witnessed the aftermath of a shooting. It's one of the reasons why shooting after shooting after shooting in neighborhoods like mine for decades, this has been a crisis for me. It's why I was the first person to come out for gun licensing. And I'm happy that people like Beto O'Rourke are showing such courage now and coming forward and also now supporting licensing.

                            But this is what I'm sorry about. I'm sorry that it had to take issues coming to my neighborhood or personally affecting Beto to suddenly make us demand change. This is a crisis of empathy in our nation. We are never going to solve this crisis if we have to wait for it to personally affect us or our neighborhood or our community before we demand action.

                            You want to know how we get this done? We get this done by having a more courageous empathy, where people don't wait for this hell to visit upon their communities. They stand up and understand the truth of what King said, that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

                            I will lead change on this issue, because I have seen what the carnage creates in communities like mine, because we forget, national shootings, these mass shootings are tragedies, but the majority of the homicide victims come from neighborhoods like mine. Nobody has ascended to the White House that will bring more personal passion on this issue. I will fight this and bring a fight to the NRA and the corporate gun lobby like they have never seen before.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            MUIR: Senator Booker, thank you. A quick follow-up, though, because Americans watching tonight know the reality of Congress in Washington. I asked do you have a Republican colleague in the Senate who would be onboard with this idea to get this done?

                            BOOKER: You know, if that was the attitude when Strom Thurmond had the longest filibuster ever on civil rights, if it was this idea that we can’t get it done because of the situation in the Senate, I’m looking to lead a movement. The number-one reason why governments are formed is to protect the citizenry.

                            Think about this. We have had more people die due to gun violence in my lifetime than every single war in this country combined, from the Revolutionary War until now. This is not a side issue to me. It is a central issue to me.

                            That is the kind of fight — because the majority of homicide victims — we have a mass shooting every single day in communities like mine. We must awaken a more courageous empathy in this country so that we stand together and fight together and overwhelm those Republicans who are not even representing their constituency. Because the majority of Americans, the majority of gun-owners agree with me, not the corporate gun lobby. It is time for a movement on this issue, and I will lead it.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            BIDEN: Go beat them.

                            MUIR: Senator Booker, thank you. Senator Warren, I want to come to you next, because you have actually said in recent days that there are things you can get done with Republicans in the Senate. What can you get done on gun control?

                            WARREN: So let’s start by framing the problem the right way. We have a gun violence problem in this country. The mass shootings are terrible, but they get all the headlines. Children die every day on streets, in neighborhoods, on playgrounds. People die from violence, from suicide and domestic abuse. We have a gun violence problem in this country.

                            And we agree on many steps we could take to fix it. My view on this is, we're going to — it's not going to be one and done on this. We're going to do it, and we're going to have to do it again, and we're going to have to come back some more until we cut the number of gun deaths in this country significantly.

                            But here's the deal. The question we need to ask is, when we've got this much support across the country, 90 percent of Americans want to see us do — I like registration — want to see us do background checks, want to get assault weapons off the streets, why doesn't it happen? And the answer is corruption, pure and simple.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            We have a Congress that is beholden to the gun industry. And unless we're willing to address that head-on and roll back the filibuster, we're not going to get anything done on guns. I was in the United States Senate when 54 senators said let's do background checks, let's get rid of assault weapons, and with 54 senators, it failed because of the filibuster.

                            Until we attack the systemic problems, we can't get gun reform in this country. We've got to go straight against the industry and we've got to change Congress, so it doesn't just work for the wealthy and well-connected, so it works for the people.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            MUIR: Senator Warren, thank you. You bring up eliminating the filibuster, which means you would need simply a simple majority in a Republican Senate to get something done. I want to turn to Senator Sanders on this, because you've said before of this, if Donald Trump supports ending the filibuster, which he's talked about himself, you should be nervous. Would you support ending the filibuster?

                            SANDERS: No. But what I would support, absolutely, is passing major legislation, the gun legislation the people here are talking about, Medicare-for-all, climate change legislation that saves the planet. I will not wait for 60 votes to make that happen, and you can do it in a variety of ways. You can do that through budget reconciliation law. You have a vice president who will, in fact, tell the Senate what is appropriate and what is not, what is in order and what is not.

                            But I want to get back to a point that Elizabeth made and that, in fact, in terms of gun issues, picking up on Cory and Beto and everybody else, what we are looking at is a corrupt political system, and that means whether it is the drug companies or the insurance companies or the fossil fuel industry determining what's happening in Washington or, in this case, you've got an NRA which has intimidated the president of the United States and the Republican leadership.

                            (APPLAUSE)

                            I am proud — I am proud that, year after year, I had an "F" rating from the NRA. And as president, I will not be intimidated by the NRA.

                            MUIR: Senator Sanders, thank you.

                            HARRIS: May I respond...

                            RAMOS: We've been hearing a lot about what's been happening here in Texas. Only a few weeks ago, the deadliest massacre of Latinos, Latinos, in modern U.S. history happened in this state, in El Paso. So the fear among Latinos — and you know this — is very real.

                            .

                            There Can Be Only One Head ZOGtard Left

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                            • #15
                              3d Democrat Debates 12 Sept 2019 Part 2

                              3d Democrat Debates 12 Sept 2019 Part 2


                              https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...cratic-debate/
                              http://christian-identity.net/forum/...0387#post20387
                              http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...0387#post20387


                              Immigruntation:
                              .

                              RAMOS: We've been hearing a lot about what's been happening here in Texas. Only a few weeks ago, the deadliest massacre of Latinos, Latinos, in modern U.S. history happened in this state, in El Paso. So the fear among Latinos — and you know this — is very real.

                              So let me start with an issue that is causing a lot of division in this country: immigration. Vice President Biden, as a presidential candidate, in 2008, you supported the border wall, saying, "Unlike most Democrats, I voted for 700 miles of fence." This is what you said.

                              Then you served as vice president in an administration that deported 3 million people, the most ever in U.S. history. Did you do anything to prevent those deportations? I mean, you've been asked this question before and refused to answer, so let me try once again. Are you prepared to say tonight that you and President Obama made a mistake about deportations? Why should Latinos trust you?

                              BIDEN: What Latinos should look at is — comparing this president to the president we have is outrageous, number one. We didn't lock people up in cages. We didn't separate families. We didn't do all of those things, number one.

                              Number two — number two, by the time — this is a president who came along with the DACA program. No one had ever done that before. This is the president that sent legislation to the desk saying he wants to find a pathway for the 11 million undocumented in the United States of America. This is a president who's done a great deal. So I'm proud to have served with him.

                              What I would do as president is several more things, because things have changed. I would, in fact, make sure that there is — we immediately surge to the border. All those people who are seeking asylum, they deserve to be heard. That's who we are. We're a nation who says, if you want to flee, and you're freeing oppression, you should come.

                              I would change the order that the president just changed, saying women who were being beaten and abused could no longer claim that as a reason for asylum.

                              And by the way, retrospectively, you know, the 25th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act is up. The Republican Congress has not reauthorized it. Let's put pressure on them to pass the Violence Against Women Act. Now (inaudible) back...

                              RAMOS: Yeah, but you didn't answer the question.

                              BIDEN: Well, I did answer the question.

                              RAMOS: No, did you make a mistake with those deportations?

                              BIDEN: The president did the best thing that was able to be done at the time.

                              RAMOS: How about you?

                              BIDEN: I'm the vice president of the United States.

                              RAMOS: Secretary Castro, would you want to respond to Vice President Biden?

                              CASTRO: I mean, look...

                              RAMOS: And let me put this in context, because your party controlled the White House and Congress in 2009 and didn't pass immigration reform, and this broke a promise made by President Barack Obama to Latinos. So why should voters trust Democrats now? I mean, now it is even more difficult, as you know, because you need Republican votes in the Senate. So are you willing, for instance, to give up DACA or give up a path to citizenship or even agree to build a wall in order to legalize 10.5 million undocumented immigrants?

                              CASTRO: Jorge, thank you very much for that question. And, look, I agree that Barack Obama was very different from Donald Trump. Donald Trump has a dark heart when it comes to immigrants. He built his whole political career so far on scapegoating and fearmongering and otherizing migrants, and that's very different from Barack Obama.

                              But my problem with Vice President Biden — and Cory pointed this out last time — is every time something good about Barack Obama comes up, he says, oh, I was there, I was there, I was there, that's me, too, and then every time somebody questions part of the administration that we were both part of, he says, well, that was the president. I mean, he wants to take credit for Obama's work, but not have to answer to any questions. I mean...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              RAMOS: Vice President Biden, you have — you have 45 seconds.

                              CASTRO: Let me just say...

                              BIDEN: That's not what I said.

                              CASTRO: Let me just say...

                              BIDEN: That's not what I said.

                              CASTRO: Jorge, let me just say that I would — I was the first candidate in early April to put forward an immigration plan. You know why? Because I'm not afraid of Donald Trump on this issue. I'm not going to back pedal. I'm not going to pretend like I don't have my own vision for immigration.

                              So we're not going to give up DACA. We're not going to give up protections for anybody. I believe that on January 20, 2021, we're going to have a Democratic president, we're going to throw out Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn and have a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic House, and we're going to pass immigration reform within the first 100 days.

                              RAMOS: Vice President, 45 seconds.

                              BIDEN: I did not say I don't — I stand with Barack Obama all eight years, good, bad and indifferent. That's where I stand. I did not say I did not stand with him.

                              RAMOS: Okay, Senator Warren, hundreds of children have been separated from their parents at the border. And recently, in Mississippi, we saw the largest immigration raid in a decade.

                              You want ICE, the agency in charge of rounding up undocumented immigrants.

                              So how would you deal with the millions of immigrants who arrive legally but overstay their visas? And how would you stop hundreds of thousands of Central Americans who want to migrate to the U.S.?

                              WARREN: Well, I start with a statement of principles, and that is, in this country, immigration does not make us weaker, immigration makes us stronger.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I want to see us expand legal immigration and create a pathway to citizenship for our DREAMers, but also for their grandparents, and for their cousins, for people who have overstayed student visas, and for people who came here to work in the fields. I want to have a system that is a path to citizenship that is fair and achievable.

                              Down at the border, we've got to rework this entirely. A system right now that cannot tell the difference in the threat posed by a terrorist, a criminal, and a 12-year-old girl is not a system that is keeping us safer, and it is not serving our values.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              RAMOS: Mr. Yang...

                              WARREN: We need — I want to add one more part on this, because I think we have to look at all the pieces. Why do we have a crisis at the border? In no small part because we have withdrawn help from people in Central America who are suffering.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              We need to restore that help. We need to help establish and re-establish the rule of law so that people don't feel like they have to flee for their lives. We have a crisis that Donald Trump has created and hopes to profit from politically. We have to have the courage to stand up and fight back.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              RAMOS: Mr. Yang? It is true that in the last few years we have seen the most severe anti-immigrant measures, from putting kids in cages to limiting asylum for people fleeing gangs and domestic violence. But it is also true about 1 million immigrants enter the U.S. legally every year. So, are you willing to raise the number of legal immigrants from 1 million to 2 million per year? And should there be a merit system, as President Trump wants?

                              WARREN: So, yes — oh, I'm sorry. Did you me or...

                              YANG: It was me.

                              WARREN: Oh, he said it. Okay. Sorry.

                              YANG: My — my father grew up on a peanut farm in Asia with no floor and now his son is running for president. That is the immigration story that we have...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              ... to be able to share with the American people.

                              If you look at our history, almost half of Fortune 500 companies were founded by either immigrants or children of immigrants. And rates of business formation are much higher in immigrant communities. We have to say to the American people, immigrants are positive for our economic and social dynamism, and I would return the level of legal immigration to the point it was under the Obama-Biden administration.

                              I think we have to compete for talent and I am the opposite of Donald Trump in many ways. He says, build a wall. I'm going to say to immigrants, come to America, because if you come here, your son our daughter can run for president. The water is great. And this is where you want to build a company, build a family, and build a life.

                              This country has been a magnet for human capital for generations. If we lose that, we lose something integral to our continued success. And that is where I would lead as president.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              RAMOS: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

                              BUTTIGIEG: Gracias.

                              RAMOS: (INAUDIBLE) Pete, eight out of 10 Latinos in Texas for another mass shooter targeting them. This is according to a new Univision poll. President Trump has called Mexican immigrants rapists and killers, tried to ban Muslims from entering the country separated children from their parents.

                              He supporters have chanted, build a wall and send her back. Do you think that people who support President Trump and his immigration policies are racist?

                              BUTTIGIEG: Anyone who supports this is supporting racism.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              (SPEAKING SPANISH)

                              The only people, though, who actually buy into this president’s hateful rhetoric around immigrants are people who don’t know any. We have an opportunity to build an American majority around immigration reform. In my community, a group of conservative Republicans rallied around an individual, a beloved local individual who was deported when he went into ICE to try to get his paperwork sorted out, because they never thought it would happen to him.

                              In some of the most conservative, rural areas of Iowa, I have seen communities that embraced immigration grow. And that's why part of my plan for revitalizing the economies of rural America includes community renewal visas that would allow cities and towns and counties that are hurting not only for jobs but for population to embrace immigration as we have in my city.

                              You know, the only reason that South Bend is growing right now, after years of shrinking, is immigration. It's one of the reasons we acted, not waiting for Washington, to create city-issued municipal IDs, so that people, regardless of immigration status in our city, had the opportunity to have the benefits of identification.

                              We have an opportunity to actually get something done. But we cannot allow this continue to be the same debate with the same arguments and the same clever lines often among the same people since the last real reform happened in the 1980s. We have to actually engage the American majority around the opportunities for not just growth in small communities, but our values. Values of welcome, values of faith that all argue for us to manage this humanely and in a way that marries our values with our laws.

                              RAMOS: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

                              In an interview eight months ago, you were asked to asked what to do with the so-called "over-stayers," people who come with a visa and then stay. And you said, I don't know. Do you have an answer now?

                              O'ROURKE: I do. And if you read the rest of that article in The Washington Post, I talked about harmonizing our entry/exit system with Mexico in the same way that we do with Canada. I think that could help us to keep a handle on visa over-stays.

                              But I think the larger question that we're trying to get at is, how do we rewrite this country's immigration laws in our own image? In the image of Houston, Texas, the most diverse city in the United States of America.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              In the image of El Paso, Texas, one of the safest cities in the United States of America. Safe, not despite the fact that we are a city of immigrants, safe because we are a city of immigrants.

                              (SPEAKING SPANISH)

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I will lead an effort to make sure that we rewrite our immigration laws in that way. Never cage another child. Make sure that there is accountability and justice for the seven lives lost under our care and our custody, but also face the fact that Democrats and Republicans alike voted to build a wall that has produced thousands of deaths of people trying to cross to join family or to work a job.

                              That we have been part of deporting people, hundreds of thousands just in the Obama administration alone, who posed no threat to this country, breaking up their families. Democrats have to get off the back foot, we have to lead on this issue, because we know it is right.

                              Legalize America, begin with those more than 1 million DREAMers, make them U.S. citizens right now in this, their true home country...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              ... and extend that to their parents, their sisters and their brothers, and ensure that we have a legal, safe, orderly system to come to this country and add to our greatness here.

                              RAMOS: Thank you. George.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Jorge, thank you.

                              We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, national security, foreign policy, homeland security, the impact on American jobs and U.S. troops.

                              (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

                              Tariffs and China Policy:
                              .

                              ANNOUNCER: Live from Texas Southern University in Houston, the "Democratic Debate."

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Welcome back. We want to turn now to national security and the foreign policy issue that has such a direct impact here at home. The U.S. relationship with China, trade, and President Trump's tariffs. We received more than 100 questions from viewers wanting to know how all of you are going to handle these tariffs.

                              And, Mr. Yang, let me begin with you. Would you repeal the tariffs on your first day in office? And if so, would you risk losing leverage in our trade relationship with China?

                              YANG: I would not repeal the tariffs on day one, but I would let the Chinese know that we need to hammer out a deal, because right now, the tariffs are pummeling producers and farmers in Iowa who have absolutely nothing to do with the imbalances that we have with China.

                              A CEO friend of mine was in China recently and he said that he saw pirated U.S. intellectual property on worker workstations to the tune of thousands of dollars per head. And he said, one, how can my workers compete against that? And, two, think about all the lost revenue to American companies.

                              So, the imbalances are real. But we have to let the Chinese know that we recognize that President Trump has pursued an arbitrary and haphazard trade policy that has had victims on both sides.

                              So, no to repealing the tariffs immediately, but yes to making sure we come to a deal that addresses the concerns of American companies and American producers.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Mayor Pete, let me take that question — let me take that question to you, because you've seen President Trump's tweets. He says what's going to happen here is the Chinese are just going to wait him out so that they can get a Democrat who they can take advantage of.

                              How do you think about China? We've seen President Trump call President Xi both an enemy and a friend.

                              BUTTIGIEG: Well, the president clearly has no strategy.

                              You know, when I first got into this race, I remember President Trump scoffed and said he'd like to see me making a deal with Xi Jinping. I'd like to see him making a deal with Xi Jinping.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              Is it just me, or was that supposed to happen in, like, April? It's one more example of a commitment not made. When that happens on the international stage, people take note, not just our competitors, our adversaries, but also our allies take note of the inability of the United States to keep its word or follow through on its plans. And when that happens, there are serious consequences.

                              We saw it at the G7. The leaders of some of the greatest powers and economies of the world sitting to talk about one of the greatest challenges in the world, climate change, and there was literally an empty chair where American leadership could have been.

                              The problem is, this is a moment when American leadership is needed more than ever, whether it's in Hong Kong, where those protesters for democracy need to know that they have a friend in the United States, or anywhere around the world where increasingly we see dictators throwing their weight around. The world needs America, but it can't be just any America.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Would you repeal the tariffs?

                              BUTTIGIEG: I would have a strategy that would include the tariffs as leverage, but it's not about the tariffs. Look, what's going on right now is a president who has reduced the entire China challenge into a question of tariffs, when what we know is that the tariffs are coming down on us more than anybody else and there's a lack of a bigger strategy.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Klobuchar, you've actually supported the tariffs on steel.

                              KLOBUCHAR: What we've got right now, though, George, it's not a focused tariff on steel. What he has done here, he has assessed these tariffs on our allies. He has put us in the middle of this trade war and he is treating our farmers and our workers like poker chips in one of his bankrupt casinos. And if we are not careful, he is going to bankrupt this country.

                              One forecast recently says that it has already cost us 300,000 jobs, all right? There is soybeans that are mounting up in bins all over the Midwest, in my state of Minnesota and in Iowa.

                              So what I think we need to do is to go back to the negotiating table — that's what I would do. I wouldn't have put all these tariffs in place. And I wouldn't have had a trade policy where on August 1st he announces he's going to have tariffs on $300 billion of goods, on August 13th, he cuts it in half, a week later, he says he's going to reduce taxes, the day after that, he says he's going to do it.

                              The leaders of the world are watching this, and it undermines our strength as a nation. And, yes, we want fair trade, but we must work with the rest of the world. And he has made a mockery of focused trade policy, which I think means enforcement, like we've done in northern Minnesota, passing bills, getting President Obama to do more on that, so that our workers can benefit, so we are importing, exporting goods and making sure that it's a competitive policy where our goal is that we are making things, inventing things, and exporting to the world. He is defeating that goal.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Secretary Castro, you actually, in one of the previous debates, identified China as the most serious national security threat to our country. I want to pick up on what Senator Klobuchar was saying. She said she would go back to the negotiating table. The question is, what do you do for leverage? Where do you get it?

                              CASTRO: Well, look, I agree with those who have said that this erratic, haphazard trade war is hurting American families. As Senator Klobuchar said, 300,000 American jobs. It's estimated that it's cost $600 to the average American family. Just a couple of days ago, 60 percent of Americans said that they believe that we're in for a recession next year.

                              So when I become president, I would immediately begin to negotiate with China to ratchet down that trade war. We have leverage there. I also believe, though, that we need to return to a leader when it comes to things like human rights.

                              We have millions of Uighurs, for instance, in China that right now are being imprisoned and mistreated.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              And in North Korea, this president is elevating a dictator. We need to stop that. We need to return to ensuring that America leads again on human rights. When it comes to this trade war, I would immediately begin ratcheting that trade war down. We have leverage in that discussion.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Warren, let me bring you in on this conversation. President Obama signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In part, it was designed to rein in China, to bring China into some kind of regulation. What do you think he got wrong?

                              WARREN: So our trade policy in America has been broken for decades, and it has been broken because it works for giant multinational corporations and not for much of anyone else. These are giant corporations that, shoot, if they can save a nickel by moving a job to a foreign country, they'll do it in a heartbeat.

                              And yet for decades now, who's been whispering in the ears of our trade negotiators? Who has shaped our trade policy? It's been the giant corporations. It's been their lobbyists and their executives.

                              The way we change our trade policy in America is, first, the procedures. Who sits at the table? I want to negotiate trade with unions at the table. I want to negotiate it with small farmers at the table. I want to negotiate it with environmentalists at the table. I want to negotiate with human rights activists at the table.

                              And you asked the question about leverage. If I can just respond to that one, the leverage, are you kidding? Everybody wants access to the American market. That means that we have the capacity to say right here in America, you want to come sell goods to American consumers? Then you got to raise your standards. You've got to raise your labor standards. You've got to raise your environmental standards...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              ... so our companies can compete on a level playing field. We can use trade not to undermine American workers and not to undermine American farms and not to undermine small businesses in this country. We can use trade to help build a stronger economy.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Harris, how would your trade policy differ from President Obama's?

                              HARRIS: Well, first of all, I have no criticism of that more than just looking at where we are now, which is we've got a guy in the White House who has been erratic on trade policy. He conducts trade policy by tweet, frankly born out of his fragile ego. It has resulted in farmers in Iowa with soybeans rotting in bins, looking at bankruptcy.

                              When we look at this issue, my trade policy, under a Harris administration, is always going to be about saying, we need to export American products, not American jobs. And to do that, we have to have a meaningful trade policy.

                              I am not a protectionist Democrat. Look, we need to sell our stuff. And that means we need to sell it to people overseas. That means we need trade policies that allow that to happen.

                              You asked earlier about China. It's a complicated relationship. We have to hold China accountable. They steal our products, including our intellectual property. They dump substandard products into our economy. They need to be held accountable.

                              We also need to partner with China on climate and the crisis that that presents. We need to partner with China on the issue of North Korea. I am on — and I think the only person on this stage — the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Homeland Security Committee. We need a partner on the issue of North Korea.

                              But the bottom line is this. Donald Trump in office on trade policy, you know, he reminds me of that guy in "The Wizard of Oz," you know, when you pull back the curtain, it's a really small dude?

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay. I’m not even going to take the bait, Senator Harris. But I am going to take...

                              HARRIS: Oh, George, it wasn't about you.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: I'm going to take this to Senator Sanders right now.

                              SANDERS: Well, there is a reason — there is a reason why, in the last 45 years, the average American today, despite an explosion of technology and worker productivity, is not making a penny more than he or she made 45 years ago. And one of the reasons is that, for decades, we have had disastrous trade policies.

                              I got to say to my good friend, Joe Biden, Joe and I strongly disagree on trade. I helped lead the opposition to NAFTA and PNTR, which cost this country over 4 million good-paying jobs.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              And what happened is people who had those jobs ended up getting other jobs making 50 percent of what they made in manufacturing.

                              So Trump, obviously, hasn't a clue. Trump thinks that trade policy is a tweet at 3 o'clock in the morning. What we have got to do is develop a trade policy that represents workers, represents the farmers in the Midwest and elsewhere, who are losing billions right now because of Trump's policy, a trade policy which understands that if a company shuts down in America and goes abroad, and then thinks they're going to get online to get a lucrative federal contract, under Bernie Sanders, they got another guess coming.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Vice President Biden, he invoked your name.

                              BIDEN: Yeah, well, look, we're either going to make policy or China's going to make the rules of the road. We make up 25 percent of the world economy. We need another 25 percent to join us.

                              And I think Elizabeth — Senator Warren is correct. At the table has to be labor and at the table have to be environmentalists. The fact of the matter is, China — the problem isn't the trade deficit, the problem is they're stealing our intellectual property. The problem is they're violating the WTO. They're dumping steel on us. That's a different issue than whether or not they're dumping agricultural products on us.

                              In addition to that, we're in a position where, if we don't set the rules, we, in fact, are going to find ourselves with China setting the rules. And that's why you need to organize the world to take on China, to stop the corrupt practices that are underway.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Booker, close out this round.

                              BOOKER: Sure. There’s one point we’re really missing on the stage right now, which is the fact that Donald Trump’s America first policy is actually an America isolated, an America alone policy.

                              BIDEN: Exactly right.

                              BOOKER: From trade to battling China to the global crisis of climate change, the challenges in the Middle East, he is pulling us away from our allies, out of the Iran deal, out of the Paris climate accords.

                              And on trade, he's deciding to take on China, while at the same time taking on tariff battles with all of our allies. You literally have him using a national security waiver to put tariffs on Canada. Now, look, I'm the only person on this stage that finds Trudeau's hair very menacing, but they are not a national security threat.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              We cannot go up against China alone. This is a president that has a better relationship with dictators, like Duterte and Putin, than he does with Merkel and Macron. We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth, and our strength is multiplied and magnified when we stand with our allies in common cause and common purpose. That's how we beat China. That's how we beat climate change on the planet Earth, and that's how American values are the ones that lead on issues of trade and workers' rights.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: David?

                              Afghanistan:
                              .

                              MUIR: George, thank you. I want to turn now to our troops overseas and to America's longest war in Afghanistan. U.S. talks with the Taliban are dead, according to the president. Secret talks at Camp David have been canceled before they could happen. Many of you have weighed in on that already, so I want to move past that tonight to what all of you have promised on the campaign trail.

                              Many of you on this stage have said you'd bring the troops home in your first term. Others have said in your first year. Senator Warren, we all know the presidency is much different from the campaign trail. President Obama wanted to bring the troops home. President Trump promised to bring the troops home. And you have said of Afghanistan, let's help them reach a peace settlement. It is time to bring our troops home, in your words, starting right now. Would you keep that promise to bring the troops home starting right now with no deal with the Taliban?

                              WARREN: Yes. And I'll tell you why. What we're doing right now in Afghanistan is not helping the safety and security of the United States. It is not helping the safety and security of the world. It is not helping the safety and security of Afghanistan. We need to bring our troops home.

                              And then we need to make a big shift. We cannot ask our military to keep solving problems that cannot be solved militarily.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              We're not going to bomb our way to a solution in Afghanistan. We need to treat the problem of terrorism as a worldwide problem, and that means we need to be working with all of our allies, our European allies, our Canadian allies, our Asian allies, our allies in Africa and in South America. We need to work together to root out terrorism.

                              It means using all of our tools. It means economic investment. It means expanding our diplomatic efforts instead of hollowing out the State Department and deliberately making it so we have no eyes and ears in many of these countries. We need a foreign policy that is about our security and about leading on our values.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Warren, a quick follow on that, because top U.S. leaders, military leaders on the ground in Afghanistan told me you can't do it without a deal with the Taliban. You just said you would, you would bring them home. What if they told you that? Would you listen to their advice?

                              WARREN: I was in Afghanistan with John McCain two years ago this past summer. I think it may have been Senator McCain's last trip before he was sick. And I talked to people — we did — we talked to military leaders, American and local leaders, we talked to people on the ground and asked the question, the same one I ask on the Senate Armed Services Committee every time one of the generals comes through: Show me what winning looks like. Tell me what it looks like.

                              And what you hear is a lot of, "Uh," because no one can describe it. And the reason no one can describe it is because the problems in Afghanistan are not problems that can be solved by a military.

                              I have three older brothers who all served in the military. I understand firsthand the kind of commitment they have made. They will do anything we ask them to do. But we cannot ask them to solve problems that they alone cannot solve.

                              We need to work with the rest of the world. We need to use our economic tools. We need to use our diplomatic tools. We need to build with our allies. And we need to make the whole world safer, not keep troops bombing in Afghanistan.

                              MUIR: Senator Warren, thank you.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I do want to stay on this, and I want to turn to Mayor Buttigieg, because you're the only veteran on this stage. You served in Afghanistan. We heard in recent days from General Joseph Dunford, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said in recent days, "I'm not going to use the word withdrawal right now. It's our judgment the Afghans need support to deal with the level of violence." If he's not even using the word withdrawal, would you put your promise to bring troops home in the first year on hold to follow the advice?

                              BUTTIGIEG: You know, I served under General Dunford, way under General Dunford, in Afghanistan.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              And today, September 12, 2019, means that today you could be 18 years old, old enough to serve, and had not been alive on 9/11. We have got to put an end to endless war.

                              And the way we do it is see to it that that country will never again be used for an attack against our homeland, and that does not require an open-ended commitment of ground troops.

                              Let me say something else, because if there's one thing we've learned about Afghanistan, from Afghanistan, it's that the best way not to be caught up in endless war is to avoid starting one in the first place.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              And so when I am president, an authorization for the use of military force will have a built-in three-year sunset. Congress will be required to vote and a president will be required to go to Congress to seek an authorization. Because if our troops can summon the courage to go overseas, the least our members of Congress should be able to do is summon the courage to take a vote on whether they ought to be there.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              By the way, we also have a president right now who seems to treat troops as props, or worse, tools for his own enrichment. We saw what's going on with flights apparently being routed through Scotland just so people can stay at his hotels?

                              I'll tell you, as a military officer, the very first thing that goes through your mind, the first time you ever make eye contact with somebody that you are responsible for in uniform, is do not let these men and women down. This president is doing exactly that. I will not.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              MUIR: Mayor Buttigieg, thank you.

                              I want to turn to Vice President Biden, because the concerns about any possible vacuum being created in Afghanistan, if you pulled the U.S. troops out, has been heightened by what we've seen in recent days on the ground in Iraq.

                              When you were vice president, President Obama turned to you to bring the troops home from Iraq. You have said on the campaign trail, quote, "I made sure the president turned to me and said, Joe, get our combat troops out of Iraq." There was a major drawdown of U.S. troops, and then ISIS seized by some estimates 40 percent of the territory in Iraq. You then had to send thousands of troops back in. Was it wrong to pull out of Iraq that quickly? And did the move actually help ISIS take hold?

                              BIDEN: No, it wasn't wrong to pull out. But I want to answer your Afghanistan question. I've been in and out of Afghanistan, not with a gun, and I admire my friend for his service. But I've been out of Afghanistan I think more than anybody on this — and it's an open secret, you reported a long time ago, George, that I was opposed to the surge in Afghanistan.

                              The whole purpose of going to Afghanistan was to not have a counterinsurgency, meaning that we're going to put that country together. It cannot be put together. Let me say it again. It will not be put together. It's three different countries. Pakistan owns the three counties — the three provinces in the east. They're not any part of — the Haqqanis run it. I will go on and on.

                              But here's the point. The point is that it's a counterterrorism strategy. We can prevent the United States from being the victim of terror coming out of Afghanistan by providing for bases — insist the Pakistanis provide bases for us to air lift from and to move against what we know.

                              We don't need those troops there. I would bring them home. And Joe Dunford's a fine guy, but this has been an internal argument we've had for eight years.

                              With regard to — with regard to Iraq, the fact of the matter is that, you know, I should have never voted to give Bush the authority to go in and do what he said he was going to do. The AUMF was designed, he said, to go in and get the Security Council to vote 15-0 to allow inspectors to go in to determine whether or not anything was being done with chemical weapons or nuclear weapons. And when that happened, he went ahead and went anyway without any of that proof.

                              I said something that was not meant the way I said it.

                              I said — from that point on — what I was argued against in the beginning, once he started to put the troops in, was that in fact we were doing it the wrong way; there was no plan; we should not be engaged; we didn't have the people with us; we didn't have our — we didn't have allies with us, et cetera.

                              And it was later, when we came into office, that Barack turned — the president turned to me and said, "Joe" — when they said we've got a plan to get out, he turned to the whole security and said, "Joe will organize this. Get the troops home."

                              My son spent a year in Iraq, and I understand. It made — and we were right to get the combat troops out. The big mistake that was made, which we predicted, was that you would not have a circumstance where the Shia and the Kurds would work together to keep ISIS from coming — from moving in.

                              MUIR: Mr. Vice President, thank you.

                              I want to turn to Senator Sanders on this. Because the concern over Afghanistan is very similar to what we saw in Iraq when the troops came out. ISIS filled that vacuum.

                              What do you make of people out there who are worried that if we pull out U.S. troops too quickly from Afghanistan, it will create safe haven all over again, like the plotters of 9/11?

                              SANDERS: David, let me answer that, but let me just comment on something that the vice president said.

                              You talked about the big mistake in Iraq and the surge. The truth is, the big mistake, the huge mistake, and one of the big differences between you and me, I never believed what Cheney and Bush said about Iraq...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              BIDEN: You're right.

                              SANDERS: I voted against the war in Iraq

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              ... and helped lead the opposition. And it's sad to say — I mean, I, kind of, you know, had the feeling that there would be massive destabilization in that area if we went into that war.

                              As the former chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, I want to pick up on what Pete said. We cannot express our gratitude to all of the men and women who have put their lives on the line to defend them — defend us, who have responded to the call of duty. But I think, also, I am the only person up here to have voted against all three of Trump's military budgets.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I don't think we have to spend $750 billion a year on the military when we don't even know who our enemy is.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I think that what we have got to do is bring this world together — bring it together on climate change, bring it together in fighting against terrorism. And make it clear that we as a planet, as a global community, will work together to help countries around the world rebuild their struggling economies and do everything that we can to rid the world of terrorism. But dropping bomb on Afghanistan and Iraq was not the way to do it.

                              MUIR: Senator Sanders, thank you.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I want to take this to Mr. Yang. You share the stage, as you know, when when we talk about troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the vice president, who was in the Situation Room, with senators who were on the Senate Armed Services, the Foreign Relations Committees, with an Afghanistan veteran who is on the stage tonight.

                              As you share the stage with these candidates, what makes you the most qualified on this stage to be commander in chief?

                              YANG: I've signed a pledge to end the forever wars. We've been in a state of continuous armed conflict for 18 years, which is not what the American people want. We have to start owning what we can and can't do. We're not very good at rebuilding countries.

                              And if you want proof, all you have to do is look within our own country of Puerto Rico.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              We've spent trillions of dollars to unclear benefits, lost thousands of lives — and thank you, Pete, for your service. And the goal has to be to rebuild the relationships that have made America strong for decades.

                              I would lead our armed forces with restraint and judgment. What the American people want is simply a president who has the right values and point of view and they can trust to make the right decisions when it comes to putting our young men and women into harm's way. And that's what I would do as president.

                              MUIR: Mr. Yang, thank you.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Venezula:
                              .

                              Jorge?

                              RAMOS: Thank you very much.

                              (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

                              You haven’t been asked about Latin America in the previous debates, so let’s begin. Senator Sanders, one country where many immigrants are arriving from is Venezuela. A recent U.N. fact-finding mission found that thousands have been disappeared, tortured and killed by government forces in Venezuela.

                              You admit that Venezuela does not have free elections, but still you refuse to call Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a dictator. Can you explain why?

                              And what are the main differences between your kind of socialism and the one being imposed in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua?

                              SANDERS: Well, first of all, let me be very clear. Anybody who does what Maduro does is a vicious tyrant. What we need now is international and regional cooperation for free elections in Venezuela so that the people of that country can make — can create their own future.

                              In terms of democratic socialism, to equate what goes on in Venezuela with what I believe is extremely unfair. I'll tell you what I believe in terms of democratic socialism. I agree with goes on in Canada and in Scandinavia, guaranteeing health care to all people as a human right.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I believe that the United States should not be the only major country on earth not to provide paid family and medical leave.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I believe that every worker in this country deserves a living wage and that we expand the trade union movement.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I happen to believe also that what, to me, democratic socialism means, is we deal with an issue we do not discuss enough, Jorge — it's not in the media and not in Congress. You've got three people in America owning more wealth than the bottom half of this country. You've got a handful of billionaires controlling what goes on in Wall Street, the insurance companies and in the media.

                              Maybe, just maybe, what we should be doing is creating an economy...

                              RAMOS: Thank you.

                              SANDERS: ... that works for all of us, not 1 percent. That's my understanding of democratic socialism.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              RAMOS: Secretary, you wanted to say a quick response — 45 seconds?

                              CASTRO: Sure, thank you, Jorge. I'll call Maduro a dictator, because he is a dictator.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              And what we need to do is to, along with our allies, make sure that the Venezuelan people get the assistance that they need, that we continue to pressure Venezuela so that they'll have free and fair elections, and also, here in the United States, offer temporary protected status, TPS, to Venezuelans.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              That is something that the Trump administration has failed to do. For all of his big talk about supporting the Venezuelan-American community, he has failed. I will not.

                              I also believe that we need to do things like a 21st century Marshall plan for Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              ... so that people can find safety and opportunity at home instead of having to make the dangerous journey to the United States. And under my administration, we're going to put renewed focus on Latin America. It makes sense. They're our neighbors and we have a lot of things in common. It also makes sense that, because we have a country like China that is going around the world to places like Africa and Latin America, making their own relationships, strengthening those, the United States needs to strengthen its partnerships in Latin America immediately.

                              RAMOS: Thank you, Senator.

                              CASTRO: And I will

                              RAMOS: Senator Booker, let me ask you about Brazil. After the recent fires in the Amazon, some experts suggested that eating less meat is one way to help the environment. You are a vegan since 2014. That's obviously a personal choice, but President Trump and Brazil's President Bolsonaro are concerned that climate change regulations could affect economic growth.

                              So should more Americans, including those here in Texas, and in Iowa...

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              ... follow your diet?

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              BOOKER: Um, you know, first of all, I want to say no. Actually, I want to translate that into Spanish. No.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Look, on — let's just be clear. The factory farming going on that's assaulting this corporate consolidation of the agricultural industry, one of the reasons why I have a bill to put a moratorium on this kind of corporate consolidation is because this factory farming is destroying and hurting our environment. And you see independent family farmers being pushed out of business because of the kind of incentives we are giving that don't line up with our values. That's what I'm calling for.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              But I want to — I want to switch, because we don’t have — a crowded debate stage, we were talking about Afghanistan and Iraq. It annoys me that we had a conversation about our troops overseas and we didn’t say one word about veterans in our country.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              We have a shameful reality in America that we send people off to war and they often come home with invisible wounds, hurts and harms. They're disproportionately homeless. You hear stories about women waiting for months for gynecological care through the VA. It is very important that, as we — as a country, understand that we are not going to solve every problem with this outrageous increased militarism, that we also make sure that we stand up for the people that stood for us.

                              We end our national anthem with "home of the brave." It's about time we make this a better home for our bravest.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              Climate Change:
                              .

                              Congressman O'Rourke, Hurricane Harvey hit this town two years ago. And not only is the Amazon burning, Greenland is melting at a record pace. The last five years have been the hottest ever recorded. And we have a viewer's question about this.

                              What meaningful action will you take to reverse the effect of climate change? And can we count on you to follow through if your donors are against it?

                              O'ROURKE: Yes, we will follow through, regardless of the political consequences or who it offends, because this is the very future of our planet and our ability for our children and grandchildren to be able to survive on it.

                              We will make sure that we get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than the year 2050. That we are halfway there by 2030. That we mobilize $5 trillion over the next 10 years to do that. That we invest here in Houston, Texas, with pre-disaster mitigation grants to protect those communities that are vulnerable to flooding given the fact that this town has seen three 500-year floods in just five years, you'd like to think you're good for 1,500 years, but you're not. They're coming faster and larger and more devastating than ever.

                              We're also going to make sure that we free ourselves from a dependence on fossil fuels and embrace renewable wind and solar energy technology, as well as the high-paying, high-skill, high-wage jobs that come along with that. And that we're going to pay farmers for the environmental services they want to provide. Planting cover crops, keeping more land under conservation, using no-till farming, regenerative agriculture can pull carbon out of the air and can drive it and sequester it into the soil.

                              That's the way that we're going to meet this challenge and we're going to bring everyone into the solution.

                              RAMOS: Many of you want to comment. Let's see if we can go very fast. Senator Klobuchar?

                              KLOBUCHAR: Thank you.

                              This is the existential crisis of our time. It's — you know that movie "The Day after Tomorrow"? It's today. We have seen a warming in our world like never before. We're seeing flooding in the Midwest, flooding in Houston, fires in the West. And I think having someone leading the ticket from the Midwest will allow us to talk about this in a different way and get it done.

                              On day one, I will get us back into the international climate change agreement. On day two, I will bring back the clean power rules that President Obama had worked on. On day three, I will bring back the gas mileage standards. You can do all that without Congress, which is good.

                              On day four, five, and six I will, working with Congress and mayors and business people all over the country, introduce sweeping legislation to get at that 2050 goal. And on day seven, you're supposed to rest, but I won't. This is what we need to do if we're going to get at climate change. We have to take this on as a crisis that's happening right now.

                              RAMOS: Senator Warren, should American foreign policy be based around the principle of climate change?

                              WARREN: Yes. We need to work on every front on climate change. It is the threat to every living thing on this planet and we are running out of time. Every time the scientists go back, they say, we have less and less time than we thought we had.

                              But that means we've got to use all the tools. One of the tools we need to use are our regulatory tools. I have proposed following Governor Inslee, that we, by 2028, cut all carbon emissions from new buildings. By 2030, carbon emissions from cars. And by 2035, all carbon emissions from the manufacture of electricity. That alone, those three, will cut our emissions here in the United States by 70 percent.

                              We can do this. We also need to help around the world to clean, but understand this one more time. Why doesn't it happen? As long as Washington is paying more attention to money than it is to our future, we can't make the changes we need to make. We have to attack the corruption head-on so that we can save our planet.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              RAMOS: Sen. Harris, 45 seconds.

                              HARRIS: When I think about this issue, it really is through the lens of my baby nieces who are one-and-a-half and 3 years old. When I look at what is going to be the world if we do nothing, when they turn 20, I am really scared. And when I’ve been in the United States Senate for now the last two-and-a-half years and I look at our counterparts, the Republicans in the United States Senate, they must be looking at their children and then when they look at the mirror, I don’t know what they see, but it’s a lack of courage.

                              And this is an issue that, yes, it represents a existential threat. It is also something that we can do something about. This is a problem that was created by human behaviors. And we can change our behaviors in a way that saves our planet. I've seen it happen in California.

                              I took on — as the attorney general of California, I ran the second-largest department of justice in the United States, second only to the United States Department of Justice. I took on the big oil companies and we saw progress. If any of you have been to Los Angeles, 20 years ago, you'll remember, that sky was brown. You go there now, the sky is blue and you know why? Because leaders decided to lead and we took on these big fossil fuel companies.

                              We have some of the most important and strongest laws in the country and we made a difference. And my point being, I've done it before and I will lead as president on this issue because we have no time, the clock is ticking, but we need courage, and we need courageous leadership. We can get this done.

                              RAMOS: Mr. Yang?

                              YANG: So, to follow up on what Elizabeth said, why are we losing to the fossil fuel companies?

                              WARREN: Yes.

                              YANG: Why are we losing to the gun lobby and the NRA? And is answer is this, we all know, everyone on this stage knows that our government has been overrun by money and corporate interests. Now, everyone here has a plan to try to curb those corporate interests, but we have to face facts. Money finds a way.

                              Money will find its way back in. So, what is the answer? The answer is to wash the money out with people-powered money.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              My proposal is that we give every American 100 "Democracy Dollars" that you can only give to candidates and causes that you like. This would wash out the lobbyist cash by a factor of eight to one. That is the only way we will win. And as someone running for president, I'll tell you, there's the people on one side and the money on the other, the only way for us to win is if we bring them together.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              RAMOS: Thank you, Mr. Yang.

                              Linsey.

                              DAVIS: I'd like to have an academic discussion now about education.

                              Mr. Yang, we'll stay with you. Here in Houston, the school district is facing yet another year of spending cuts. Like schools across the country, the system faces many challenges. One of them, thousands of students are leaving traditional public schools and going to charter schools.

                              You're the most vocal proponent on this stage for charter schools. You have said that Democrats who want to limit them are, quote, "just jumping into bed with teachers unions and doing kids a disservice." Why isn't taxpayer money better spent on fixing traditional public schools?

                              YANG: Let me be clear, I am pro-good school. I've got a kid, one of my little boys just started public school last week and I was not there because I was running for president.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              So, we need to pay teachers more, because the data clearly shows that a good teacher is worth his or her weight in gold.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              We need to lighten up the emphasis on standardized tests, which do not measure anything fundamental about our character or human worth.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              But here's the big one. The data clearly shows that 65 to 70 percent of our students outcomes are determined outside of the school. We're talking about time spent at home with the parents, words read to them when they're young, stress levels in the house, income, type of neighborhood.

                              We're putting money into schools, and educators know this, we're saying you're 100 percent responsible for educating your kids but you can only control 30 percent. They all know this. The answer is to put money directly into the families and neighborhoods to give our kids a chance to learn and our teachers a chance to teach.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              DAVIS: Mayor Buttigieg, 45 seconds to respond.

                              BUTTIGIEG: Step one is appoint a secretary of education who actually believes in public education.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I believe in public education. And in order to strengthen it, some things are very complex, for preparing for a future where knowledge is at your fingertips, but we have got to teach more to do with critical thinking and social and emotional learning. Some of it is extremely simple, we have just got to pay teachers more. And we have got to lift up the teaching profession.

                              I always think of a story from South Bend of friends who hosted exchange students from Japan. They had a student one year who wanted to be a teacher. And they kept in touch with her when she went back to Japan and to college. She took the exam to try to become a teacher in a society that really regards teachers and compensates teachers well. And she came up just short.

                              So, you know what she did? Since she was academically good but couldn't quite make the cut to be a teacher, she had a fall-back plan, she became a doctor. That is how seriously some countries treat the teaching profession. If we want to get the results that we expect for our children, we have to support and compensate the teaching profession. Respect teachers the way we do soldiers and pay them more like the way we do doctors.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              DAVIS: Sen. Warren, to use Mr. Yang’s term, are you just jumping into bed with teachers unions?

                              WARREN: You know, I think I'm the only person on this stage who has been a public school teacher.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I had wanted to be a public school teacher since I was in second grade. And let's be clear in all the ways we talk about this, money for public schools should stay in public schools, not go anywhere else.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I've already made my commitment. I will — we will have a secretary of education who has been a public school teacher.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              I think this is ultimately about our values. I have proposed a two-cent wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one percent in this country. That would give us enough money to start with our babies by providing universal child care for every baby age zero to five, universal pre-K for every three-year-old and four-year-old in this country...

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              WARREN: ... raise the wages of every child-care worker and preschool teacher in this country, cancel student loan debt for 95 percent of the folks who’ve got it...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              WARREN: ... and strengthen our unions. This is how we build an America that reflects our values, not just where the money comes from with the billionaires and corporate executives.

                              DAVIS: Sen. Harris, 45 seconds to respond.

                              HARRIS: My first-grade teacher, Mrs. Frances Wilson, God rest her soul, attended my law school graduation. I think most of us would say that we are not where we are without the teachers who believed in us.

                              I have offered in this campaign a proposal to deal with this, which will be the first in the nation, federal investment, in closing the teacher pay gap, which is $13,500 a year. Because right now, in our public schools, our teachers, 94 percent of them are coming out of their own pocket to help pay for school supplies. And that is wrong.

                              I also want to talk about where we are here at TSU, and what it means in terms of HBCUs. I have, as part of my proposal that we will put $2 trillion into investing in our HBCUs for teachers, because...

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Because — because, one, as a proud graduate of a historically black college and university, I will say — I will say that it is our HBCUs that disproportionately produce teachers and those who serve in these may professions, but also...

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              HARRIS: But this is a critical point, if a black child has a black teacher before the end of third grade, they're 13 percent more likely to go to college.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              If that child has had two black teachers before the end of third grade, they're 32 percent more likely to go to college. So, when we talk about investing in our public education system, it is at the source of so much. When we fix it, that will fix so many other things. We must invest in the potential of our children...

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              Sen. Sanders, 45 seconds.

                              HARRIS: ... and I strongly believe you can judge a society based on how it treats its children. And we are failing on this issue.

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              SANDERS: Guess what?

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              You're guessing, all right, here's the answer. We are the wealthiest country in the history of the world. And yet, we have the highest child poverty rate of almost any country on earth. We have teachers in this country who are leaving education because they can't work two or three jobs to support themselves.

                              Which is why, under my legislation, we'll move to see that every teacher in America makings at least $60,000 a year.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              What we will also do is not only have universal pre-K, we will make public colleges and universities and HBCUs debt-free. And what we will always also do, because this is an incredible burden on millions and millions of young people who did nothing wrong except try to get the education they need, we are going to cancel all student debt in this country.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator.

                              SANDERS: And we are going to do that by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculation.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              Mr. Vice president, I want to come to you and talk to you about inequality in schools and race. In a conversation about how to deal with segregation in schools back in 1975, you told a reporter, "I don't feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather, I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation, and I'll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago."

                              You said that some 40 years ago. But as you stand here tonight, what responsibility do you think that Americans need to take to repair the legacy of slavery in our country?

                              BIDEN: Well, they have to deal with the — look, there's institutional segregation in this country. And from the time I got involved, I started dealing with that. Red-lining banks, making sure that we are in a position where — look, you talk about education. I propose that what we take is those very poor schools, the Title I schools, triple the amount of money we spend from 15 to $45 billion a year. Give every single teacher a raise, the equal raise to getting out — the $60,000 level.

                              Number two, make sure that we bring in to help the teachers deal with the problems that come from home. The problems that come from home, we need — we have one school psychologist for every 1,500 kids in America today. It’s crazy.

                              The teachers are — I'm married to a teacher. My deceased wife is a teacher. They have every problem coming to them. We have — make sure that every single child does, in fact, have 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds go to school. School. Not daycare. School. We bring social workers in to homes and parents to help them deal with how to raise their children.

                              It's not want they don't want to help. They don't — they don't know quite what to do. Play the radio, make sure the television — excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, the — the — make sure that kids hear words. A kid coming from a very poor school — a very poor background will hear 4 million words fewer spoken by the time they get there.

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

                              BIDEN: There’s so much we — no, I’m going to go like the rest of them do, twice over, okay?

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Because here's the deal. The deal is that we've got this a little backwards. And by the way, in Venezuela, we should be allowing people to come here from Venezuela. I know Maduro. I've confronted Maduro.

                              Number two, you talk about the need to do something in Latin America. I'm the guy that came up with $740 million to see to it those three countries, in fact, changed their system so people don't have to chance to leave. You're all acting like we just discovered this yesterday. Thank you very much.

                              DAVIS: Thank you very much.

                              Secretary Castro?

                              CASTRO: Thank you very much. Well, that's — that's quite a lot.

                              BIDEN: (OFF-MIKE)

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              CASTRO: But, you know — I grew up in one of those neighborhoods that folks have talked about and a neighborhood that was grappling with the legacy of segregation. In fact, in two public school districts that were involved in a 1973 Supreme Court case challenging how Texas financed its schools.

                              And I know that today our schools are segregated because our neighborhoods are segregated. Now, I have an education plan, like a lot of folks up here, that would pay teachers more, that would recruit diverse ranks of teachers, that would invest in our public schools, but I also believe that we have to connect the dots to uplift the quality of life to invest in housing opportunity, to invest in job opportunity, to invest in community schools that offer resources like parents able to go back and get their GED, and health care opportunities, and those things that truly ensure that the entire family can prosper.

                              Those are the types of things that we need to do, in addition to lifting up our public schools. You asked a second ago about charter schools. Look, it is a myth that charter schools are better than public schools. They're not.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Secretary.

                              CASTRO: And so while I'm not categorically against charter schools, I would require more transparency and accountability from them than is required right now.

                              DAVIS: Senator Booker, coming to you now. It was 65 years ago this year that the Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in public schools. Yet for millions of students of color today, segregation remains a reality.

                              Nonwhite districts typically receive $2,200 less per student than those in white districts. This means older books, less access to computers, and often worse outcomes. What is your plan to address segregation? And I'm not just talking about the achievement gap, but I'm talking about the opportunity gap in education.

                              BOOKER: So, I’m hearing a lot of conversations on the stage that — and the way we talk about communities of color. Look, I live in a black and brown community below the poverty line. I’ve lived in public housing projects almost for a decade and saw the anguish of parents who are just so deeply frustrated that they don’t have a school that serves their genius.

                              I think I'm the only person on the stage — even though I had no formal authority as mayor to run a school system — I stepped up and took responsibility for our schools, and we produced results. A lot of folks here are talking about raising teacher salary. We actually did it in Newark, New Jersey.

                              And we didn't stop there. Yeah, we closed poor-performing charter schools, but, dagnabbit, we expanded high-performing charter schools. We were a city that said we need to find local solutions that work for our community. The results speak for themselves. We're now the number-one city in America for Beat the Odds schools, from high poverty to high performance.

                              Strategies like investing in our children work. And I'll tell you this. I am tired of us thinking about these problems isolated, disconnected from other issues.

                              That's why my friend, Secretary Castro, is 100 percent right. We are in the reality we are right now because, Mr. Vice President, of overtly racist policies, not 400 years ago, just in my lifetime, that were red-lining communities, disinvesting in communities, and more than just that, my kids are not only struggling with racial segregation and housing and the challenges of underfunded schools, but they're also struggling with environmental injustice.

                              If you've talked to someone who's a parent of a child has had permanent brain damage because of lead, you'll know this is a national problem, because there's over 3,000 jurisdictions in America where children have more than twice the blood lead levels of Flint, Michigan.

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              BOOKER: And so if I’m president of the United States, it is a holistic solution to education, from raising teacher salary, fully funded special education, but combating the issues of poverty, combating the issues of racial segregation, combating the issues of a criminal justice system...

                              DAVIS: Thank you, Senator.

                              BOOKER: ... that takes parents away from their kids, and dealing with environmental justice as a major pillar of any climate policy.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Thank you, Linsey. One final question coming up. We'll be right back.

                              (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: And we are now back now for a final round of questions. One question for each candidate. We're going to go in reverse order from the opening statement.

                              And, candidates, the question is on the quality of resilience. No president can succeed without resilience. Every president confronts crises, defeats, and mistakes. So I want to ask each of you, what's the most significant professional setback you've had to face? How did you recover from it? And what did you learn from it?

                              Vice President Biden?

                              BIDEN: I — I never counted any professional setback like I have as a serious setback. There's things that are important. Things that are unimportant.

                              PROTESTERS: (OFF-MIKE)

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: We're going to clear the protesters now. Just one minute.

                              Senator Biden, we'll start the clock again.

                              PROTESTERS: (OFF-MIKE)

                              BIDEN: I'm sorry.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: We're sorry. Go ahead.

                              BIDEN: There's setbacks, and there's setbacks. And I think the most critical setback that can occur to anyone is to lose — well, my dad had an expression. He said, Joey, it's not a question of succeeding, whether you get knocked down, it's how quickly you get up. And he said, you never explain and never complain. And then he would go on to say that the only obligation that really matters, the most important thing, is family.

                              And so I was raised to believe that that was the center of everything, family, and could be judged on based how you treatment your family and how you went from there. And I — it took — you know, Kierkegaard said faith sees best in the dark. Right after I got elected, my wife and daughter were killed in an automobile accident, and my two sons were badly injured. And I just had been elected, not sworn in. And I lost my faith for a while. I came back.

                              And then later, when my son Beau came home from Iraq and — with a terminal disease, and a year later, year-and-a-half later, losing him was like losing part of my soul.

                              But the fact is that I learned that the way you deal with it is you deal with finding purpose, purpose in what you do. And that's why I hope — I hope he's proud of me today, because he wanted to make sure I didn't run for president, but I stayed engaged, because when you get hit badly, whether you're losing a job or you're raising a family like my dad, where you have to make that longest walk up the stairs to tell your kid you can't live here anymore, Dad lost his job, you know, we've all been through that, in some form or another.

                              And it just takes — it just — for me, the way I've dealt with it is finding purpose. And my purpose is to do what I've always tried to do and stay engaged in public policy. And — but there's a lot of people been through a lot worse than I have who get up every single morning, put their feet one foot in front of another, without the help I had. There are real heroes out there. Some real heroes.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Senator Warren?

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              WARREN: I mentioned earlier, I've known what I wanted to be since second grade. I wanted to be a public school teacher. And I invested early. I used to line my dollies up and teach school. I had a reputation for being tough but fair.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              By the time I graduated from high school, my family didn't have money for a college application, much less to send me off to four years at a university. And my story, like a lot of stories, has a lot of twists and turns. Got a scholarship, and then at 19, I got married, dropped out of school, took a minimum wage job, thought my dream was over.

                              I got a chance down the road at the University of Houston. And I made it as a special needs teacher. I still remember that first year as a special needs teacher. I could tell you what those babies looked like. I had 4- to 6-year-olds.

                              But at the end of that first year, I was visibly pregnant. And back in the day, that meant that the principal said to me — wished me luck and hired someone else for the job.

                              So, there I am, I'm at home, I got a baby, I can't have a job. What am I going to do? Here's resilience. I said, I'll go to law school. And the consequence was — I practiced law for about 45 minutes and then went back to my first love, which was teaching.

                              But it let me get into fights. It gave me new tools. And the reason I'm standing here today is because I got back up, I fought back. I know what's broken. I want to be in the fight to fix it in America. That's why I'm here.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Thank you, Senator.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Senator Sanders?

                              SANDERS: Resilience, to me, means growing up in a rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn, New York, the son of an immigrant who came to this country without a nickel in his pocket.

                              Professional resilience means to me, George, running for U.S. Senate in Vermont and getting 1 percent of the vote, running for governor and getting 2 percent of the vote, finally becoming mayor of Burlington, Vermont, with a 10-vote margin.

                              What resilience means to me is that throughout my political career, I have taken on virtually every powerful special interest in this country, whether it is Wall Street, whether it is the insurance industry, whether it is the pharmaceutical industry whose corruption and greed is killing people today, whether it is a military industrial complex or a prison industrial complex.

                              And I feel confident that given a lifelong record of taking on powerful special interests, of standing up for the working families of this country, that I will be able to take on the greed and corruption of the corporate elite and create a government and an economy that work for all of us, not just the 1 percent.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Thank you, Senator Sanders.

                              Senator Harris?

                              HARRIS: You know, every office I've run for, whether it be district attorney or attorney general, I was told each time, it can't be done. They said nobody like you has done it before, nobody's ready for you. When I ran for D.A., I won and became the first black woman elected D.A. in a state of 40 million people, in San Francisco.

                              When I ran for attorney general of California, I was elected — because I didn't listen. And I was the only black elected — woman black elected attorney general in the state — in the country.

                              And each time, people would say, it's not your time, it's not your turn, it's going to be too difficult, they're not ready for you, and I didn't listen. And a part of it probably comes from the fact that I was raised by a mother who said many things that were life lessons for me, including don't you let anybody ever tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              And when I look around the town halls that we do in this race for president of the United States, and I look at the — the meetings that we do and the community meetings, and I see these little girls and boys, sometimes even brought by their fathers, and they bring them to me and I talk to them during these events, and they smile and they're full of joy, and their fathers tell them, see, don't you ever listen and let anybody ever tell you what you can or cannot be. You have to believe in what can be unburdened by what has been.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Harris, thank you very much.

                              Mayor Buttigieg?

                              BUTTIGIEG: You know, as a military officer serving under "don't ask/don't tell," and as an elected official in the state of Indiana when Mike Pence was governor, at a certain point, when it came to professional setbacks, I had to wonder whether just acknowledging who I was, was going to be the ultimate career-ending professional setback.

                              I came back from the deployment and realized that you only get to live one life.

                              And I was not interested in not knowing what it was like to be in love any longer, so I just came out. I had no idea what kind of professional setback it would be, especially because inconveniently it was an election year in my socially conservative community.

                              What happened was that, when I trusted voters to judge me based on the job that I did for them, they decided to trust me and re-elected me with 80 percent of the vote. And what I learned was that trust can be reciprocated and that part of how you can win and deserve to win is to know what's worth more to you than winning.

                              And I think that's what we need in the presidency right now. We have to know what we are about. And this election is not about any of us up here. It is not about this president, even though it's hard to talk of anything else some days.

                              It's about the people who trust us with their lives, a kid wondering if we're actually going to make their schools safe when they've learned active shooter drills before they've learned to read, a generation wondering we will actually get the job done on climate change. And if we hold to that, then it doesn't matter what happens to each of us professionally. Together, we will win a better era for our country.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Mayor Buttigieg, thank you.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Mr. Yang?

                              YANG: I was an unhappy lawyer for five whole months and I left to start a business. And I'm going to share with you all one of the secrets to entrepreneurship. If you want to start something, tell everyone you know you're going to do it. And then you don't have a choice. You put your heart and soul into that. And even though I did that, my company flopped, had its mini-rise and maximum fall.

                              I lost investors, hundreds of thousands of dollars, still owed $100,000 in school debt. My parents still told people I was a lawyer. It was a little easier.

                              So I remember lying on my floor looking up wondering, how did it come to this? Eventually, I picked myself back up. I kept working in small growth companies for another 10 years and eventually had some success.

                              Then after I did have some success, I still remembered how hard it was, how isolating it was, how it feels like your friends no longer want to spend time with you. And so I spent seven years starting and running a nonprofit that helped train young entrepreneurs around the country, including Sean Nguyen, who’s here in the audience tonight, who left his gilded Wall Street job to become a food entrepreneur in San Antonio. Sean, I hope I made the process a little bit easier for you than it was for me.

                              But the goal of my campaign is to make this an economy that allows us to live our human values and aspirations.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Yang.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Senator Booker?

                              BOOKER: So my biggest professional setback is embarrassing because a lot of folks know about it. I, with a bunch of tenant leaders in Newark, New Jersey, in 2002 took on the political machine and, boy, did they fight back. I had tires on my car slashed. Our campaign offices were broken into. My phones were tapped. It became a spectacle. And we lost that election.

                              And here's a bit of advice to everybody. If you're going to have a spectacular failure, have a documentary team there to capture it, because it made for an Oscar-nominated documentary called "Street Fight." But then, unfortunately, another setback. It lost in the Oscars to a movie called "March of the Dagnab Penguins," for crying out loud.

                              (LAUGHTER)

                              The people in my community, living in the projects, told me, don't give up on the people and the people won't give up on you. Create bigger and bolder coalitions, and you're going to win. And you know what? We came back four years later and won the largest lopsided victory in our city's history.

                              But more than that, the lesson was there. We didn't give up. We were taking on America's toughest problems, from crime to poverty, and we transformed our city, creating tens of thousands of new jobs, the biggest economic expansion in our city, and as I said before, turned around our school system.

                              There's more work to do, but I haven't given up on the people. I still live in that community. But this is a big lesson. My staff and my friends and my community told me, if you want to go fast, you may have won the mayor's race, but that's not what life is about. There's an old African saying that says, if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.

                              The lesson I learned of resilience is to trust people, because the power of the people is always greater than the people in power. And the test of America right now is not a referendum on Donald Trump, it's a referendum on us and who we are and who we're going to be together. We need to use this moment in history to unite in common cause and common purpose, and then there's nothing we can't do together as a nation.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Booker, thank you.

                              Congressman O'Rourke?

                              O'ROURKE: Thank you, George. Everything that I've learned about resilience I've learned from my hometown of El Paso, Texas. In the face of this act of terror that was directed at our community, in large part by the president of the United States, that killed 22 people and injured many more, we were not defeated by that, nor were we defined by that.

                              The very thing that drew that killer to us is the very thing that helps us set the example for the rest of this country. We don't see our differences as disqualifying or dangerous. We see them as foundational to our success, to our strength, and to our security, and to our safety.

                              Yesterday, I was visiting with one of those victims. He's the head coach of the Fusion. This is a girls soccer team of 10- and 11-year-old girls. His name is Luis. He was shot in the legs multiple times. He was shot in the side multiple times. He's still healing from his wounds in the hospital, but from his hospital bed, he's still trying to coach the Fusion girls soccer team.

                              Memo, his co-coach, is still fighting for his life right now at Del Sol Hospital. Those two men, Jessica and Marcella, their wives, they exemplify resilience to me. And when we end this scourge of gun violence in this country, when we finally confront the racism that exists in America, when we’re defined not by our fears, but instead by our aspirations and our ambitions, it will be, in large part, I think, thanks to the example that El Paso has set.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman, thank you.

                              Senator Klobuchar?

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              KLOBUCHAR: Thank you. My challenges and resilience have brought me up here. I grew up with a dad who struggled with alcoholism his whole life. And after his third DWI, he had a choice between jail and treatment. He chose treatment, with his faith, with his friends, with our family. And in his words, he was pursued by grace. And that made me interested in public service, because I feel like everyone should have that same right, to be pursued by grace.

                              I then got married. My husband's out there somewhere, hopefully smiling, and our daughter. When our daughter was born, I had this expectation, we're going to have this perfect, perfect birth, and she was really sick, and she couldn't swallow. And she was in and out of hospitals for a year-and-a-half.

                              But when she was born, they had a rule in place that you got kicked out of the hospital in 24 hours. She was in intensive care, and I was kicked out. And I thought, this could never happen to any other mom again.

                              So I went to the legislature, our state legislator, not an elected official, a mom, and I advocated for one of the first laws in the country guaranteeing new moms and their babies a 48-hour hospital stay. And when they tried to delay the implementation of that law, I brought six pregnant friends to the conference committee so they outnumbered the lobbyists 2 to 1. And when they said, when should it take place, they all raised their hands and said now.

                              That is what motivated me to go into public service. And when I got to that gridlock of Washington, D.C., I got to work and pass over 100 bills, and I know a lot of my friends here from the left, but remember, I am from the middle of the country. And I believe, if we're going to get things done, that we have to have someone leading the ticket with grit, someone who's going to not just change the policies, but change the tone in the country, and someone who believes in America and believes it from their heart because of where they came from, that everyone should have that same opportunity.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator, thank you.

                              Secretary Castro?

                              CASTRO: And thank you, George, to Jorge, to Linsey, and to David, and to all of y’all for tuning in tonight. In many ways, I shouldn’t be here on this stage. You know, Castro is my mother’s name and was my grandmother’s name before her. I grew up in a single-parent household on the west side of San Antonio, going to the public schools. Eventually, my brother, Joaquin, and I became the first in our family to become professionals.

                              And when I got home, I took a job at the biggest law firm in town. I was making $100,000 a year in the year 2000. A few months later, I got elected to the San Antonio City Council. And the city council at the time was only paying $1,040 a year, so everybody had another job. And my job was at the law firm.

                              Well, a few months after I got elected, the law firm got a client and the client wanted those of us on the city council to vote for a land deal. The land deal was that they wanted to build a golf course over our water supply, because we relied on an underground aquifer. I didn't think the environmental protection plan was strong enough, so I wanted to vote against it and my constituents wanted me to vote against it.

                              But under the ethics rules for lawyers in Texas — because believe it or not, lawyers have ethics rules — you can't just go against the interest of a client. So I was stuck.

                              On the one hand, I wanted to do the right thing. On the other hand, my livelihood, my student loans, my new house payment, my car payment, depended on me shutting up, being conflicted out.

                              So, one day, I walked into my law firm and I quit my job. And then I went and I voted against that land deal on the city council.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              And, you know, it was the first test that I had, and I think back to that, because oftentimes we think of politics and you think of politics as dirty or corrupting. I wondered, before I went in it, whether it was change who I was. And I was proud that when that first test came that I stood up for the people that I was there to represent, and not for big special interests.

                              There's nobody that gets tested more in a position of public trust than the president of the United States. This president has failed that test. But I want you to know that if you elect me president, I won't. I won't serve anybody except you and your family. And together, we can create an American that's better than ever. Thank you very much.

                              STEPHANOPOULOS: Thank you, Secretary Castro. Thank you to all of our candidates. It was a great debate. I think we learned a lot tonight thanks to you. Thanks to Texas Southern University for hosting us tonight. It was a great crowd, as well, tonight, thanks to you.

                              (APPLAUSE)

                              Thanks to everyone at home. The debate is over. Our coverage continues with Tom Llamas.



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