Dylan Brogan
The temperatures were frigid, but a heated exchange flared between groups of political demonstrators gathered on the UW-Milwaukee campus hours before the Democratic presidential debate Thursday night.
“Feel the Bern!” chanted a throng of mostly college-age supporters of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), the self-described democratic socialist who has gained support among young voters for his calls to end economic inequality, his blunt derision of the “rigged economy” and his promises of free college tuition.
“Deal me in,” shouted back supporters of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, referencing remarks made by the candidate last year about playing “the gender card” on issues of equal pay, paid leave and women’s health.
And at the center of the skirmish was Paul Anderson, a Rand Paul supporter, holding a homemade sign with the slogan, “Hillary is a criminal.”
“I don’t like Bernie or Hillary,” said Anderson, a UW-Milwaukee graduate, speaking with Isthmus after engaging in a brief shouting match with Clinton supporters.
Jill Huennekens, of Milwaukee, responded to Anderson’s taunts, saying: “[Clinton] will fight for you too.” A Clinton supporter for decades, Huennekens called the candidate “the most qualified” person in the presidential race.”
“[Tonight] the gloves are coming off,” she predicted of Thursday’s contest. Clinton was seeking redemption after narrowly winning the Iowa caucus and suffering crushing, double-digit defeat in the New Hampshire primary; Sanders aimed to keep the momentum going through to the South Carolina primary at the end of the month.
The debate, held before an audience of about 700 in Helen Bader Concert Hall, covered familiar ground, with Clinton and Sanders in agreement — and at times “vigorous” agreement — on issues like criminal justice reform, improving race relations and combating income inequality.
Dylan Brogan
But the candidates sparred on health care, immigration and foreign policy, with Clinton calling Sanders a “one-issue candidate” whose plans lack specific solutions. But one of the sharpest exchanges came when Sanders criticized Clinton for her relationship with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
“I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend,” Sanders said.
Clinton, perhaps hoping to rally support with black voters and cast herself as a presidential successor, made clear her support for President Barack Obama. She slammed Sanders for previous comments in which he questioned Obama’s leadership and accused him of failing to close the gap between Congress and American citizens.
"The kind of criticism I hear from Sen. Sanders, I expect from Republicans. I do not expect it from someone seeking the Democratic nomination," Clinton said.
Sanders called her remark “a low blow,” adding that Clinton was the one who ran against Obama in 2008.
Clinton, who dressed in the UW-Milwaukee colors of black and gold, made several mentions of Wisconsin throughout the debate, calling out Gov. Scott Walker for his policies on higher education and chastising him for “[ripping] out the heart of the middle class” with anti-union legislation.
The candidates also fielded a question about Wisconsin’s racial disparity in incarceration rates, which is the worst in the nation for black men, according to a UW-Milwaukee study. Clinton called the statistics from Wisconsin “particularly troubling” and brought up Dontre Hamilton, who was killed by police in Milwaukee in 2014.
“[He] should still be with us,” Clinton said. “His family certainly believes that. And so do I. So we have work to do.
In the spin room after the debate, State Rep. Mandela Barnes (D-Milwaukee) said he was pleased to hear the candidates talking seriously about criminal justice reform rather than the typical “tough-on-crime” stance.
“You look at years past, this isn’t an issue that any presidential candidate would ever touch,” he said.
The spin room was briefly visited by a group of protesters who had marched from Lake Park to the UW-Milwaukee campus in a demonstration calling on candidates to support raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Armed with drums and tambourines, protesters shouted: “We work, we sweat, put $15 on our check” for about a minute before they were escorted out by security.
Among them was Kyesha Lee, a 19-year-old Milwaukee resident who works at McDonald’s. She said a higher minimum wage would help her achieve her dream of going to college. When asked who she preferred, she said neither candidate had earned her support yet.
Said Lee: “I need to see more action.”
Dylan Brogan
