Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went head-to-head in Flint, Michigan Sunday as they met for the party's seventh debate of the 2016 election season.
SPRINGFIELD ‒ Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went head-to-head in Flint, Michigan Sunday as they met for the party's seventh debate of the 2016 election season.
The prime time event, broadcast from the University of Michigan-Flint's Whiting Auditorium, offered the White House hopefuls a chance to appeal to Michigan voters -- particularly those affected by Flint's drinking water crisis -- before they head to the polls on Tuesday.
Aside from touching on an array of domestic policy issues, Clinton and Sanders, who have blasted Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's response to the city's lead-contaminated drinking water in previous forums, continued to criticize his leadership during the CNN-hosted debate.
The two Democratic challengers squared-off just two days after more than 20 Congressional Democrats traveled to the Michigan city to hear firsthand from residents impacted by the water crisis and to witness the federal government's response.
Here are five takeaways from the prime time event:
Both candidates called for the Michigan governor to resign and offered plans for how they would address the water crisis.
Sanders used his opening comments at the debate to echo his call that Snyder step down, saying while there's "a lot of blame to go around," the governor needs to be held accountable for his response.
"I believe the governor of this state should understand his dereliction of duty was irresponsible. He should resign," he said.
Clinton, who has previously stopped short of calling on the governor to resign, joined Sanders in urging for his resignation.
"I agree, the governor should resign or be recalled and we should support the efforts of citizens attempting to achieve that," she said.
The former first lady, however, said it's not enough to ask for Snyder to leave his post and called on the state to immediately send money to help fix the city's water infrastructure and address the crisis.
"I know the state of Michigan has a rainy day fund for emergencies, what is more important than the health and well-being of the people, particularly children?" she said. "It is raining lead in Flint, and the state is derelict in not coming forward with the money that is required."
Clinton added that if elected president she would help build up public trust in the government by working with local officials she trusts and concentrating federal resources on the city for economic development, as well as health and education interventions.
Sanders, meanwhile, said he would end water bills for the people of Flint and make that policy retroactive. The Vermont senator said he would further bring in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine and evaluate every resident who drank the water, as well as focus on rebuilding crumbling infrastructure.
Clinton called Sanders a single-issue candidate.
The former secretary of state continued to paint her Democratic rival as a single-issue candidate, suggesting he focuses solely on Wall Street regulations over other policies.
Taking aim at Sanders' opposition to the auto industry bailout, Clinton agreed that there were things she didn't like in the bill, but felt overall it was worth supporting.
"When I talk about Sen. Sanders being a one-issue candidate, I mean very clearly -- you have to make hard choices when you're in positions of responsibility. The two senators from Michigan stood on the floor and said, 'we have to get this money released.' I went with them, and I went with Barack Obama. You did not," she said. "If everybody had voted the way he did, I believe the auto industry would have collapsed, taking four million jobs with it."
Sanders agreed that he's focused on one issue: rebuilding a disappearing middle-class.
The Vermont senator defended his opposition to the auto industry bill, arguing that the "recklessness, greed and illegal behavior of Wall Street drove this country into the worst economic downturn in the modern history of the United States of America" and that middle-class families should not have been on the hook.
"I will be damned if it was the working people of this country who had to bail out the crooks on Wall Street," he said.
Sanders called on Clinton to release transcripts of speeches she delivered on Wall Street.
The Vermont senator took issue with his competitor's past relationship with Wall Street, contending that aside from taking campaign contributions from the financial industry, she has collected speaking fees from it.
"One of us has given speeches on Wall Street for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, I kind of think if you get paid a couple hundred thousand dollars for a speech, it must be a great speech," he said. "I think we should release it and let the American people see what that transcript was."
Clinton quipped that she'd be happy to release everything, as long as everyone else in the presidential race who delivered similar speeches does as well.
Taking aim at the suggestion that she cannot stand up to Wall Street, the former New York senator said she called on the financial industry to close loopholes and place a moratorium on foreclosures.
Sanders took Clinton up on her challenge.
"All right, look, Secretary Clinton wants everybody else to release it, well, I'm your Democratic opponent, I release it, here it is," he said. "There ain't nothing. I don't give speeches to Wall Street for hundreds of thousands of dollars, you got it."
Sanders contended that Democrats "are not always right."
The independent Vermont senator, who's seeking Democratic party's nomination for president, blasted Democrats for supporting certain policies.
"I don't want to break the bad news, Democrats are not always right. Democrats have often supported corporate welfare, Democrats have supported disastrous trade agreements, but on this issue I do not believe in corporate welfare," he said.
Sanders, later in the debate, pointed to support his opponent has received from various Democratic Party officials and leaders, saying he's "not part of that establishment."
Both candidates criticized how their Republican counterparts have approached the debate process.
Acknowledging that she and Sanders differ on various policies, Clinton lauded the focus on issues in the Democratic Party's debate.
"We have our differences and we get into vigorous debate about issues, but compare the substance of this debate with what you saw on the Republican stage last week," she said.
Sanders, who joined Clinton in taking aim at the GOP candidates, questioned their mental health.
"We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health and when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health," he said.
The Vermont senator added he would love to run against GOP front-runner Donald Trump, pointing to polls that show him beating the front-runner by a larger margin than his Democratic opponent.