Democratic Debate Jan. 17,2016

First of all, kudos to Martin O'Malley.  He is the first one in all the debates, of both parties, to mention the crucial issue of unions. In the list of things he said he wanted to do he included "make it easier to join labor unions and bargain collectively for better wages." 

In the "debate" itself there was minimal disagreement.  Bernie Sanders reiterated his support for a single-payer health system while Clinton wants to "build on Obamacare."  As Sanders pointed out, Obamacare still leaves 29 million people uninsured.  Hillary is obviously still feeling the wounds from her healthcare efforts in the 90's and doesn't want a "contentious situation."  When Hillary objected to the tax increases that would be necessary for a single-payer system Sanders correctly pointed out that any increased taxes would be more than canceled out by the savings of insurance premiums, as even employer insurance is costing the employee more and providing less, with more and more people postponing doctor visits because of the high co-payments. 

On foreign policy and the armed forces Sanders pointed out that we still have an army based on what we needed during the cold war and this needs to be looked at.  Clinton is still apologizing for her support of the Iraq war and feels a different wind blowing now, as she bends with it.  O'Malley correctly put the emphasis on the increased intelligence needed to fight ISIS and Sanders emphasized the need to learn from the past (what a concept!) and to have a good idea of what will happen after we topple a despot before we do it as an end in itself.

Sanders emphasized that we need a Congress that responds to the needs of the people and not just the billionaires and for that we need detailed campaign finance reform, a subject on which Clinton continues to be quiet, as much of her money comes from super PACs and from Wall Street. Both Sanders and Clinton attacked the systematic racism in our criminal justice system and Sanders emphasized the "de-militarization" of the police, emphasizing community and diversity.