Hillary Clinton noted during Thursday’s PBS Democratic debate that it was the first ever primary debate to feature “a majority of women.”
“We’ve had like 200 presidential primary debates, and this is the first time there have been a majority of women on the stage,” Clinton said. “So we’ll take our progress wherever we can find it.”
PBS NewsHour anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff moderated the debate, where presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was the only man on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee stage.
Clinton’s answer came in response to a question about former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright resurfacing a favorite line while campaigning for Clinton in New Hampshire: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women.”
Female Sanders supporters took issue with the notion that they were being urged to vote for Clinton solely based on gender.
Clinton refuted the claim, pointing to her record on women’s rights and support for equal pay and paid family leave, even as Sanders jumped in to say that he supported the same policies and has a “lifetime 100% pro-choice voting record.”
Sanders also pushed back on a moderator saying he could be an “instrument of thwarting history” if he prevented Clinton from being the first female president.
“I think from an historical point of view, somebody with my background, somebody with my views, somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big money interests, I think a Sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as well.”
Clinton then broke in again to say, “I am not asking people to support me because I’m a woman. I am asking people to support me because I think I am the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be the president and the commander in chief.”
Red-faced Bernie seems to have a problem allowing HRC to have the last word in any exchange…ist-ish.
That is not a bad point. Men seem to reject the notion that women are marginalized in the political process, but it’s true from every angle – the candidates, the questioners, the organizers, the directors, whatever position that doesn’t require fetching coffee.
I just want to say, as a 59-year-old man, I’ve known just as many smart and capable women in my lifetime as smart and capable men. I think it’s high time we let a woman run this damn country, if not right now, then very soon! And, thus, while I support and believe in Bernie Sanders, I refuse to trash Secretary Clinton.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a serious candidate make so many faces as he does during debates. Very bad form, I’d say; rather immature, in fact.
Always feeling the need to get in the last word is generally a sign of insecurity. You feel you didn’t make your point previously, so you keep repeating whatever it is, or try to restate things slightly. Not very convincing, I’d say.
I thought it was thoughtlessly disrespectful and about as programmed as Marco Repeateo…