Bernie Sanders Challenges Hillary Clinton to Debate in New York

[Omaha Steve]

Source: NY Times

By Patrick Healy

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont challenged Hillary Clinton on Sunday to a debate in New York before the state’s primary on April 19 and expressed concern that Mrs. Clinton might not debate him now that she is far ahead in the race to win the Democratic nomination.

Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Sanders said he wanted to have a debate in “New York City, upstate, wherever, on the important issues facing New York and, in fact, the country.” The Democrats have held eight debates so far, the last one on March 9 in Miami, and the two campaigns pledged to hold an additional debate in April and another one in May before the final primaries in June.

Asked by Chuck Todd, the host, if he was worried that Mrs. Clinton would not debate him again, Mr. Sanders replied, “Yeah, I do have a little bit of concern about that. But I certainly would like to see a debate in New York State.”

A Clinton campaign spokesman declined to comment about the debate proposal on Sunday.

FULL story at link.


Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton during the Democratic presidential debate in Miami this month.Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/27/bernie-sanders-challenges-hillary-clinton-to-debate-in-new-york/?_r=0

[billhicks76]

1. Hillary Has Already Lost The People

[SFnomad]

11. That's why she has 2+ million more votes than Sanders has in the primaries. #smh n/t

[tecelote]

17. So far. Hillary's Bernie problem is...

The more exposure he gets, the more votes he gets.

He's real and it resonates.

Hillary has the opposite problem. The more exposure she gets, the more votes she loses.

[SFnomad]

19. LOL, yeah, ok ...

Just 5 days ago she won the largest state in that group (Arizona) and only a week earlier she did a clean sweep, 5 out of 5 states.

If that's "losing votes" ... what does it say about Sanders? And I'd take her losing votes like that all the way to the Presidency.

[tecelote]

21. If Bernie had her exposure, there would not be a contest.

[SFnomad]

23. Call the waaaaaambulance

It's one excuse (or conspiracy theory) after another. She has been First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State. She's been on the world stage for over 20 years. Few people in the world have had the exposure she has had ... and that's not her fault.

[tecelote]

28. Not her fault at all. I have respect for her. I would support her now...

But, she's a hawk.

I would proudly support her if she would speak about peace. Sadly, she does not.

Bernie does and people are listening.

Remember, Barack was behind at this point too. 'Far from over.

For the sake of the world, I hope people listen to Bernie. If they do, we will be better for it.

[SFnomad]

31. Please quit rewriting history

Senator Obama was ahead by this point and surging (with 22 states left to go). And since the order of the states now and 2008 were different, if you only look at the states in 2008 that have had their primaries already in 2016, Senator Obama had a nearly 200 delegate lead over Clinton just looking at those states.

Clinton did better than Obama with the states left to go now in 2016 by a margin of over 100 delegates.

[chwaliszewski]

34. I never understood that...

How could Obama have been ahead when he was a relative unknown and she was known to all?

[tomm2thumbs]

74. I think her

'assassination' comment in '08 was the final straw for folks

to me, it appeared she panicked when cornered - imagine that in the White House

that incident will endure in history as her trip-and-fall moment

[billhicks76]

25. Hilarious How Clintonites Now Support Disenfrachising Voters

I thought I had seen it all.

[SFnomad]

27. You obviously don't have a clue in what you're talking about

I don't support voter disenfranchising at all. And if you're one of those that thinks that it's Clinton's fault about the fiasco in Maricopa County in Arizona ... you need to come back to reality.

[billhicks76]

49. Yawn

She may not have caused it but she is a silent supporter of it during the primary.

[KittyWampus]

98. Using your reasoning, Sanders was a silent supporter of voter suppression

in Michigan amongst people of color.

They ran out of ballots in a district with a certain demographic that doesn't particularly favor Sanders.

Blaming Clinton for Republican malfeasance and incompetence is dishonest.

[billhicks76]

54. Relax People

I didn't hide the comment in this thread even though it was preposterous and hateful. The bottom line is democrats will get behind whoever the nominee is...I assume. But none of us controls anyone else and whatever happens happens. That's just reality regardless of what any one person thinks. Most people who vote in the general aren't very committed or political regardless of their party. Most people don't even think their votes matter anymore so we need to bear that in mind when we get upset at the electorate. It should be noted that people who threaten to boycott Hillary were mostly not registered democrats until now and ONLY joined the party because of their interest in Bernie. They were independents which there are a lot of since most people are disgusted with the two parties. Hillary would never have had those votes anyway in all likelihood. What could get crazy is if the republicans run as a third party. Or if trump gets screwed and runs as a 3rd party. That event could easily sequence into a liberal stepping up and running as a 4th party candidate. We could easily lose our grip on our democracy if that occurs...or what's left of our illusory democracy.

[Zira]

60. Arizona may get lawsuits for blatant voter fraud. There was massive vote supression in that state.

Out of 200 places to vote they shut down all but 60? I don't think they wanted people to vote. And way too many people said they didn't get a chance too because the lines were too long and they were out of forms.

[SFnomad]

79. And this is Clinton's fault, how?

This is hardly voter fraud, but it is certainly voter suppression/disenfranchisement. But tell me why? It's not like this was a general election.

[Dont call me Shirley]

99. Voter suppression ensured that.

[SFnomad]

100. You guys have excuses for every loss

Do you feel that Clinton was the cause of the voter suppression? Or do you feel she was a victim of it as well?

[billhicks76]

18. So Does Trump

So what. She is on the decline. She has name recognition that's it. It's common in politics to start off well with that and then when people tune in to lose support if a bad candidate. Hillarys only good attribute is that she's a woman and that just won't be enough when people feel insecure economically.

[billhicks76]

24. First Time In History

A candidate won 3 primary contests in a row with 70+% in each. Wait. Add HW and now it's 4. Clintonites are in major denial.

[SFnomad]

36. I don't know if that true or not ... but it really doesn't matter

In a couple of months Sanders is going to return to Vermont as its Senator and Clinton will go on the General Election.

[billhicks76]

50. Your Attitude Betrays You

And your ignorance. Do your homework.

[billhicks76]

52. It's True. Unprecedented.

Not smart to ignore.

[SFnomad]

53. Then he will be the first to get that ... and lose the primaries anyway. n/t

[billhicks76]

55. That's Possible Too

I seem to recall Clintonites telling me a Black guy with a middle eastern sounding name couldn't win in 2008 also and that Hillary was inevitable. Remember the photos of Obama in a turban? Those were democrats who paraded those photos around.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

80. You hope... The dynamics of this election are eluding you.

[SFnomad]

86. Not likely ... it sounds more likely that math is eluding you. n/t

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

88. Oh, yes the math. The situation and the MATH are changing daily. You believe what you want.

[SFnomad]

90. Changing daily? Try more like once or twice a week.

And it's not changing significantly enough to change what will be the outcome. It is enough to keep Sanders supporters hopes alive, but not enough to change the outlook.

Which dynamics did you feel were eluding me? The one where Sanders mostly wins caucuses and that Clinton mostly wins primaries. And that nearly all of the contests left are primaries.

Or maybe the dynamic where Clinton is winning the more diverse states and Sanders is winning the less diverse states ... and that the remaining states are more diverse.

Or maybe the dynamic where if you look at the remaining states and how Clinton did in those specific states in 2008 ... they were states where Clinton did better as a whole against Obama and beat him by about 100 delegates.

None of those dynamics change the math, even if you are challenged by it.

[hrmjustin]

26. In your mind but not in reality.

Playing pretend can always be fun though.

[billhicks76]

51. In Millions Of People's Minds

And that's where it counts. You cannot destroy an idea.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

81. I can truly understand their denial.

If I were in their position, I can guarantee I'd be saying the same things they are saying. Unfortunately for them, it doesn't make it true.

[Henhouse]

2. What remains undecided is where the Democrats will hold the April debate.

Just to be clear. Sander's is twisting the story a bit. It has not been decided where the April debate is to be held. This article is from February....

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders agree to four more debates

by Dylan Byers @CNNMoney
February 3, 2016: 3:54 PM ET

What remains undecided is where the Democrats will hold the April debate. The Clinton campaign is pushing for a debate in Pennsylvania, given the state's importance in the general election. The Sanders campaign wants to hold that debate in Brooklyn, New York.

[appal_jack]

5. Sanders is also catching-up.

Hillary's delegate lead has shrunk since this article was published.

-app

[magical thyme]

3. to those who think he's being "arrogant" and demanding an "extra" debate,

please read the quoted paragraphs closely.

They had already agreed to an additional debate in April. He's simply asking that it be held in NY, versus some other location.

And he has been asking for one of the new debates to be in NY from the moment that DWS decided to hold additional debates.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

13. It does make sense for it to he held in one of the next primary states,

and why not the most populous one for April primaries? It sounds like a logical place.

[billhicks76]

4. Less Debates Are For Losers

[QC]

6. She'll have to practice her Brooklyn accent first, though. n/t

[dorkzilla]

15. Hahahahaha, I'd love to hear that!

She makes me cringe when she does the fake Southern thing, I can imagine her trying to figure out whether to use Yiddish or not. I can imagine her telling Bernie he's meshuganah, and he will tell her she's a gonif.

[QC]

16. She's just like your bubbe! n/t

[elljay]

22. Nah. She'll do the Israel pander

This would be the drinking game - have a shot every time Hillary inserts a comment about our good ally Israel in a question about foreign policy or terrorism (for non-drinkers, I'd recommend eating a one-bite cupcake!) Plus, if she were a Member of the Tribe she'd clearly be one of those snobby Western European Jews my bubbe would have called a "yekke." They didn't speak Yiddish (it was the language of the Eastern European peasants aka Bernie's family and mine).

[dorkzilla]

29. You're right!

That's the way she'd go, and she'd keep referring to her good friend Chuck Schumer.

But I'm still going to giggle to myself about Hillary speaking about how she blew the debate because she was schpilkes.

[elljay]

30. To which I would quote my mother

and tell her "ze zol voksen vi a tsibele mit zein kup in der erd un zein fees en hecht." (She should grow like an onion with her head in the ground and her feet pointing up.). Love those Yiddish curses!

[dorkzilla]

32. Yiddish rocks!

Another thing I missed when I left N.Y. for the west coast for a few years...my language is peppered with Yiddish, and no one knew wtf I was talking about.

[elljay]

33. Same here!

I don't even have English words to describe some things. Yiddish is much more descriptive, especially when describing the precise type of jerk.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

82. OMG, if she does that, she will lose Brooklyn.

[Jackilope]

7. NY Debate sounds reasonable. It was requested when additional debates were agreed upon.

N/T

[RoccoR5955]

8. Let's have it in the Hudson Valley, at the FDR home

It's a perfect place for a debate among members of the Democratic Party.
Bernie could use FDR and Clinton could use Eleanor for talking points.
It's centrally located, and accessible to all.
I would think that there are undecideds here, and folks from NYC could take the train up.
Did I mention, it's about a half hour from my place, and about fifteen minutes from work? Well it is.

[oberliner]

10. Are these debates generally open to the public?

I thought they were invitation-only.

[Kalidurga]

9. I would vote NYC rather than outside the city

It will be easier that way for Hillary to wrap herself up in the flag and 9/11.

[Land of Enchantment]

12. Bring it On! nt

[pnwmom]

14. They've had plenty of debates. Why should she help him get more free publicity?

He's got plenty of money to run more ads.

And he only has four or five things to say and he's already said them. Over and over, and on national television.

[AlbertCat]

20. They've had plenty of debates.

Says you.

Fortunately, you have no clout in this area.


The debates are for voters, not the candidates.

[pnwmom]

40. You have no more clout than I do. And I noticed you didn't dispute

that Bernie's just been repeating himself anyway. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've already heard his spiel. Voters in 50 states have heard that spiel. Enough already!

[AlbertCat]

44. They already decided to do more debates a while ago.

And those old debunked David Brock memes don't deserve the effort it takes to dispute them....again....

[pnwmom]

48. They haven't yet agreed on when and where, but I think anymore would be a waste of time. nt

[billhicks76]

56. Your Solution...Limit Debate

And you think Bernie is the communist lol? Limiting debate in Un-American. Candidates used to debate much more. The only folks on DU I've ever seen that support limiting debate were the NSA people who kept chiming in a while ago. Usually people on any side aren't afraid of debating because they believe in what they say and think and assume it can stand scrutiny. It's a sign of weakness to want to curtail debating.

[pnwmom]

58. Your solution: unlimited repetitive debates. It might be different if

Bernie hadn't sounded like a broken record through 8 debates and 10 town halls.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_presidential_debates_and_forums,_2016

[billhicks76]

59. I Did Not Say That

But I did quote you correctly. Kindly do the same. Didn't you claim earlier they didn't agree to more debates and then when it was pointed out you were wrong you brought up time and place. I'm sure you would prefer Anarctica at 3am. Like I said it's a sign of weakness. Clinton should not be afraid of more debates. The ones we have had were scheduled at the worst times. The Univision one most people never saw or even heard about. Voters want to see the issues debated even if you yourself or I have made up our minds. All you're doing is allowing Trump to suck up all the airtime which is stupid.

[pnwmom]

61. You did not quote me correctly. I never said they didn't agree to more debates.

I said they've had plenty of debates. And then I said they had never agreed on time and place for the other debates -- that I think are redundant and unnecessary.

We've already had 18 nationally televised debates and Town Halls that have gotten incredibly repetitive.

Hillary always shows herself in command of the issues and Bernie always shows himself in command of scolding and finger wagging.

[billhicks76]

63. Look At It This Way

In NY the TV commercial will be ,"Hillary refuses to debate me in NY...what is she afraid of?" Trust me that's always a winner. People will feel ripped off. And it will make her look weak. Don't forget Bernie was born in NY...Hillary emigrated there.

[pnwmom]

64. He can flood the airwaves with negative ads, but NY voters had eight years of experience

with Senator Clinton, and re-elected her with more than 67% of the vote -- including even higher numbers of Democrats.

There will be no last minute swarm of Independent voters registering as Dems on April 19. Registration has already closed for new voters. And the date to change registration from Independent or non-affiliated to Democrat was last October. (They only update their records once a year.)

So if some Independents, Libertarians, or never-voters feel ripped off, too bad. They won't be voting in the NY primary.

[billhicks76]

65. Not So Fast

Yes Hillary has the edge and is expected to win. Asking for debates isn't really a negative ad in the true sense of the word. And I'm sorry but people feel ripped off when they are reminded someone won't debate them. It's a classic political tactic and has been used countless times. I bet like most candidates Clinton will actually capitulate on this one. She should want to anyway right? Maybe she will win the debate

[pnwmom]

66. We didn't get a debate or Town hall in my state or anywhere near it and no one here

feels "ripped off."

Why should anyone feel ripped off when we've had 18 nationally televised events?

[billhicks76]

67. Simple

Because they will be reminded of it. And NY is a big state playing a pivotal role in April.

[pnwmom]

69. So Bernie's going negative. Fine. New Yorkers know Hillary

just like Vermonters know Bernie. They're not going to turn on her now.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

84. She ran uncontested. Anyone could dem win that seat. Most NYers can't stand her.

[billhicks76]

68. And Town Halls Aren't Debates

They are a joke and shouldn't be included in your "stats".

[pnwmom]

70. If they're a joke why has Bernie pushed for so many of them? n/t

[billhicks76]

96. You Miss This?

Between March 10 and 20 Bernie got 41,000 new voters registered. I don't know of that will beat Hillarys advantage but either way we should be thanking Sanders because Hillary isn't registering anyone new.

[pnwmom]

97. In NY that number's a drop in the bucket.

I admit it might be impressive in WA or AL.

But in NY there were already more than $13.6 MILLION eligible Democratic voters. If all 41K go for Bernie (unlikely, but possible), that will be okay.

http://www.electproject.org/2016P

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

83. Maybe a waste of your time. You don't seem too keen on democracy.

[laureloak]

35. He's looking for free publicity

And the chance to put a woman down. Don't do it, Hillary.

[femmedem]

37. "And the chance to put a woman down"...wow.

Do you honestly think that's why he wants a debate? An exercise in misogyny?

[pnwmom]

41. He better not stand too close to Hillary or he might slip and do this:

http://bluenationreview.com/bernie-dont-stand-next-to-me/

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

87. He asks his wife to move over a bit - he's the fucking candidate! He didn't yell or bitch slap her.

You people are so feverishly grasping at straws. I thought the election was basically over? Right?

And telling Hillary not to interrupt him -ooooooo that's BAD! VERY BAD!!!! You people kill me.

[pnwmom]

91. Asks? "Don't stand there!" he growls, waving her off.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

92. He didn't growl, he told her to move. Don't be a moron, please!

[pnwmom]

93. Look at his irritated face. It was a growl. n/t

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

94. Jesus! I'm not going to get a post hidden over this nonsense.

I sure would love to tell you where to go, though!

[SoapBox]

39. Ridiculous.

This is the type of absurd comment that we have come to expect.

Next!

[AlbertCat]

45. This is the type of absurd comment that we have come to expect.

I know....

Talk about saying the same thing over and over.

Lame

[Zira]

62. And had it been said by the opposite party it would have been hidden immediately by a Hillarian

jury.

[billhicks76]

57. Are You Freaking Serious?

Put a woman down? And you wonder why people here are fed up with Clintonites? Not to mention the fact that Bernies policies are more supportive of women and families than Clintons. And that is what counts.

[Marrah_G]

71. That is a nasty lie.

Shame on you.

[davidpdx]

72. Wow, false accusations of sexism

You are a very desperate person.

[JackInGreen]

76. You do plenty of that

when you blow that whistle, lessening and erasing real threats against women and cheapening the suffering of victims. To the iggy box with you.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

85. Saying that make YOU a misogynist.

[frylock]

102. Remember when Hillary put all those women down that Bill had affairs with?

[SoapBox]

38. Waiting list!

Waiting for...

1. Commitment to a debate.

2. Those Wall Street speech transcripts.

Waitin, Waiting, Waiting.

[Darb]

42. No thanks.

We got it Bernie, free shit.

[davidthegnome]

43. Hmm.

You know who once fought for the progressive policies Bernie is fighting for now? Clinton. You know who went on a bit of a rant about conservatives calling it all "free shit"? Clinton, who made arguments very similar, at the time, to those Bernie is making now.

It's not free shit if it's already being paid for - and then some.

[AlbertCat]

46. free shit.

They decided a while ago to more debates.... just not where.

Is this "free shit" "He wants publicly" the new David Brock memo?

[Darb]

73. So you guys don't like teabagger talking points?

Stop using them.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

89. FREE SHIT is a teabagger talking point. Did you take a wrong turn on the information superhighway?

[Darb]

104. So you bernies don't like bagger talking points? Quit using them.

Until then, Bernie is all about free shit. By the way, who is going to pay for all of Bernie's free shit?

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

106. Why not read for yourself?

https://berniesanders.com/issues/

[Darb]

107. I don't need to read it, it's free shit,

that cannot be passed legislatively and will have consequences far beyond their intentions. There are no free lunches, Bernie is selling free lunches to those who like free lunches. Americans in general understand that there are no free lunches and will vote accordingly.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

111. You've chosen to remain ignorant. Good evening.

[Darb]

112. You have chosen to wish for unicorns.

see ya.

[frylock]

103. Free shit or Taxed Enough Already?

You guys still can't settle on which one it is.

[Darb]

105. Cute, but obvious. If you don't want bagger talking points used

against your guy, then quit parroting them 24/7 about Hillary. Until then, who is going to pay for all that free shit?

[frylock]

108. Let's see some examples of bagger talking points being parroted about Hillary 24/7.

Who the fuck you think is going to pay for all that "free shit?" Who pays for those wars? Who pays for corporate subsidies?

[Darb]

109. As for anti-Hillary bagger talking points, see any email thread.

So you are going to pass laws that makes the taxpayers pay for free shit? Is that it? The taxpayers are going to pay for the free shit? Will we have to raise taxes to pay for it? Will my taxes go up? Will Bernie coattail at 60 percent in the Senate and take the house?

[frylock]

110. Yeah, you said that. Got any examples?

Hey, guess what? My taxes will increase as well. Boohoohoo

[Darb]

113. So you're gonna increase taxes to pay for free shit?

Got it. I will vote for Hillary, thanks.

[frylock]

114. And still no examples.

Thanks for playing.

[shawn703]

75. She would just be outclassed

I don't expect her to agree to a debate in NY

[JackInGreen]

77. FANTASTIC

Of course, she'll never agree, and most of her supporters above me think she should go back on her word for another debate at all. I appreciate these optics 'Clinton running scared, won't debate in own back yard'

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

95. That is what it will become if she chickens out.

BRAWWWKK!!

[liberal N proud]

78. Rinse and Repeat

What more can be debated? At this point it is just an excuse to get some free airtime.

[ViseGrip]

101. Why did he trust her and allow her to chip away in NH before the vote?

She lied about a BAILOUT the night before a vote. She is running scared from such a gentleman?

Sanders, take the gloves off. Some things, people, you cannot change.