flint hosts a democratic presidential debate

hannah rubenstein and matthew ferraro

grace jensen photo

photo above courtesy of CNN

embers of the Democratic National Committee

(DNC), Hillary Clinton,
Bernie Sanders and their respective campaign staffers gathered in
Flint on March 6 for this election cycles
seventh Democratic Presidential Debate. The party decided to hold the debate in Flint primarily because of the crisis concerning Flints water supply being
poisoned with lead and other toxins.
We as a party felt that once we added
Flint to our debate schedule, that coming [here] would shine a spotlight on the
crisis, said Debbie Wasserman Schultz,
the DNC Chair and U.S. Representative
from Florida. Using this national stage
to be able to highlight the crisis here will
be able to show whats going on in Flint
but also that this is a problem that exists
in many other cities across the country.
She added that the Democratic Party in24

t he c o m m uni c a t o r

tended on helping Flint with short-term

solutions to the problem and that longterm solutions were going to be much
more complex.
The debate, which was moderated by
CNNs Anderson Cooper and featured
many questions from Flint residents, began at 8 P.M. At approximately 6:30, the
Sanders campaign held a press conference where long-time Flint resident and
former Michigan Senator Donald Riegle
endorsed Bernie Sanders. Senator Riegle, who worked under seven presidents
ranging from Lyndon B. Johnson to Bill
Clinton, cited many aspects of Senator
Sanders policies and voting record as his
reasons for the endorsement.
I think the most important fact about
Bernie is that he is honest and trustworthy, Senator Riegle said. That is an
essential differentiator to me ... I believe
so strongly the starting point in selecting
a new president is believing in someone
that you can trust that what they say is
what they truly stand for, not just at elec-

tion time, but that will keep their word.

Bernie has proven over the decades that
his integrity and trustworthiness is rock
solid.
Senator Sanders spoke briefly after the
endorsement speech, thanked the former Senator for his support and took
questions from the press.
Both current Michigan Senators Gary
Peters and Debbie Stabenow spoke in
favor of Hillary Clinton on the night of
the debate. Senator Peters addressed the
issue of Secretary Clintons trustworthiness, throwing his full support behind
her.
I believe that Hillary Clinton is very
trustworthy, Senator Peters said. I believe that she has the best interest of
the country in mind. She has a track record over many, many years of standing up and being a voice for folks who
dont have a voice, from dealing with issues of segregation early in her career in
the South of this country to fighting for
womens issues, fighting for childrens

health. She has a long track record of

being there for people who need to have
a voice. I have no reservations about her
trustworthiness or, more importantly,
the thing that motivates her to serve the
public and to serve this country.
The debate itself, which lasted about
two hours, highlighted differences and
similarities between the two candidates,
including policies on gun control, infrastructure, trade and mass incarceration.
Concerning the Flint Water Crisis, Secretary Clinton called for the resignation
or recall of Governor Snyder for the first
time, something that Senator Sanders did
weeks previously. Secretary Clinton did,
however, remind the audience that she
was the one who called for the debate
to be held in Flint in the first place. She
also said that she wanted to remove lead
from all water systems, soil, and paint
in old houses. Anderson Cooper raised
the point that there are currently 10 million lead service pipes distributing water
to American citizens, showing how both
candidates pledges to remove lead pipes
may be incredibly difficult. Issues concerning the state of the countrys infrastructure, including Americas water systems and pipes, continued to come up
for the rest of the night.
Gun control brought out differences
in the candidates. Sanders said that he
believed gun manufacturers should only
be held accountable for deaths that their
products may cause if they sell them illegally or do not properly look into the
person purchasing them. Clinton, on the

other hand, stated that she believed all

gun manufacturers should be held accountable for gun related deaths, regardless of whether the gun was purchased
legally or not.
Giving immunity to gun makers and
sellers was a terrible mistake because it
removed any accountability, she said,

We as a party felt that

once we added Flint
to our debate schedule, that coming [here]
would shine a spotlight
on the crisis.
referring to legal loopholes that allow people to receive guns after a waiting period even if a proper background
check has not been completed. Sanders
shot back to this that he believed Clintons position meant that she wanted to
remove guns from the country entirely,
something he was against.
While the debate brought out differences between Senator Sanders and
Secretary Clinton, there are many similarities in their policies. According to
Wasserman Schultz, some of the main
issues she believes they primarily agree
on are the role the government should
play in peoples lives, creating jobs, raising the minimum wage, health care,

housing and retirement.

Those are the building blocks of a
middle class life, she said, acknowledging that the main difference between
the candidates was in their specific approaches for dealing with those problems.
Much like the previous six debates, this
one showed that, if nothing else, the entire Democratic party agrees that both
of their candidates would be better for
America than any of the candidates on
the Republican side. Clinton and Sanders spoke about this on stage, and their
representatives reiterated the point afterward. Wasserman Schultz said that the
DNC was already making plans on how
they would go about organizing a campaign for whomever wins the nomination. Reuniting the party, she said, was
something that would be primarily up
to whichever candidate does not get the
nomination.
[Bringing together supporters] will be
the responsibility of the candidate that
ultimately is not our nominee, she said.
The two candidates ... have repeatedly
said, like they did again tonight, this isnt
personal between them. They like each
other. They just a have a difference of
opinion on some issues, and on some issues they agree. I cant image which one
of [the Republicans] would even begin
to think about running with Trump or
Cruz. Theyve been so horribly insulting
to one another and so vulgar and disgusting. They have absolutely no credibility left.

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insidethedebate
Debbie Wasserman
Schultz - DNC Chair

[The DNC has] a sustained commitment to communities across

this country and our urban core
all across the nation. Republicans
have absolutely refused to join us
in the infrastructure investments
that we need to prevent crises like
what happened in Flint. Were not
going anywhere.

Gary Peters - Michigan Senator

and Clinton supporter
Secretary Clinton truly spoke from
her heart today and talked about
how difficult it would be for her to
know exactly how to walk in the
shoes of somebody who has a
different perspective. I think what
folks want to see is someone who
cares, someone who tries to walk
in other peoples shoes.

Mark Ruffalo - Actor and

Sanders supporter

I think a strong primary makes a

strong contender. Weve seen both
of our candidates become better and better. Ill tell you, tonight, I
was proud to be a Democrat.
26 t the
he ccoommunica
m m uni c at toor r

Jeff Weaver - Sanders

Campaign Manager

[Bernie is] exciting the base as

well as new voters. Hes bringing
out young people, hes bring out
working class people, hes bringing
out independents. These are the
people that the Democratic Party
is gonna need to win in November.
Not just the presidency, but up and
down the ballot.

Tad Devine - Senior Advisor

for the Sanders Campaign

Bernie is going to be Bernie.

Thats who he is. I think thats one
of the reasons people like him so
much. Because hes genuine. Because hes authentic. Because hes
honest. Because hes real.

Debbie Stabenow - Michigan

Senator and Clinton supporter
I have to say that as seen in Flint,
Michigan, Republicans are horrible
at governing, but they are great at
creating a crisis. I give em an A+ at
making up things.

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