Democrats battle over who's most progressive

Five days before the New Hampshire primary, Democratic presidential hopefuls former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., squared off one-on-one Thursday night to debate their progressive credentials.

Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic-socialist, attempted to discredit Clinton as a progressive by linking her with corruption on Wall Street and accepting money from special interest groups.

“Sen. Sanders is the only person who would describe me, a woman running to be the first woman president, as exemplifying the establishment,” Clinton retorted.

With 600 onlookers packed into an auditorium at the University of New Hampshire, America got to see the aftermath of one of the closest opening caucuses in history. Clinton won in Iowa by less than 1 percent—a virtual tie. But it was Sanders who came into last night’s debate with a 20-point lead in New Hampshire polls. Both candidates took advantage of the spotlight and the less crowded stage after the Democratic field spun off its third wheel—former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Neither candidate made mention of O’Malley, nor much reference to potential GOP opponents. They stuck to their core messages.

“I am very proud to be the only candidate up here that does not have a Super PAC,” Sanders said. “Three and half million individual contributions averaging $27 a piece—that is what the political revolution is all about.”

Clinton stood her ground, proclaiming herself an experienced leader with a proven record. She accused Sanders of promising lofty ideas, such as free public college, for which “the numbers just don’t add up.”

The first half of the more than two-hour debate was heavy on domestic policy. Sanders answered each question with his usual attack on Wall Street executives, whom he claims rig our economy, and lumped in Clinton’s campaign with the special interest groups.

Clinton declared Sanders’ attempt to link her with dirty money an “artful smear” campaign.

“If you’ve got something to say, say it directly, but you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received,” she said.

MSNBC’s debate moderators, Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow, had a hard time getting a word in edgewise as the two candidates delivered quick-fire responses about the need for economic reform.

“Thirty seconds and then we have to go to a break,” Maddow interjected. “Obviously, we’ve touched a nerve.”

Sanders’ message connected with the audience as he recounted his usual themes of going after the 1 percent and leveling the playing field for America’s most vulnerable.

But then Todd asked about foreign policy.

Clinton pounced on Sanders’ weak response on terrorism when he redirected the question to who had better judgment on the war in Iraq.

“A vote in 2002 is not a plan to defeat ISIS,” she said. “We have to look at the threats that we face right now, and we have to be prepared to take them on and defeat them.”

Before the debate started, reports spilled out with details about the exorbitant amount of money Clinton has made from giving speeches over the years. In particular, she made hundreds of thousands of dollars from big banks, such as Goldman Sachs.

The moderators did not probe Clinton about specific donors, but Todd asked if she is willing to release the transcripts from all her paid speeches.

“I’ll look into it,” she responded.

Sanders followed suit by not mentioning Goldman Sachs and also neglected to confront Clinton’s other scandal—mishandling classified emails while heading the State Department.

He told the audience groups ask him every day to go after Clinton’s emails, but he will not succumb to the pressure: “There is a process underway, I will not politicize it.”

Throughout the debate, Sanders made a point to say he is in agreement with much of what Clinton stands for and has a great deal of respect for her. He earned his biggest applause of the night when he pandered to the left-wing audience: “On our worst days, we’re both a hundred times better than any Republican candidate.”

This is the last Democratic debate before Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. The crowded-but-thinning Republican field will take the debate stage on Saturday night in Manchester.