U.S.
Melina Mara / The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Despite the flashy locale, when the five leading 2016 Democratic presidential candidates meet on the debate stage for the first time Tuesday night in Las Vegas, fewer fireworks are promised than when the boisterous GOP field sparred in their last two meetings.
The race for the Democratic nomination has thus far has not been dominated by the heated personal clashes and rivalries that have characterized the Republican contest. And of course, one must factor in the conspicuous absence of GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who predicted the debate will be “a very boring two hours” but nonetheless promised to live-tweet the proceedings.
Whatever the ratings, Tuesday night’s event, sponsored by CNN, is expected by most observers to be a more staid affair and focus on substantive policy differences between the contenders.
“I don’t think these are candidates who have a track record of really taking each other on like how we’ve seen on the Republican side, so you have to factor that into account,” Anderson Cooper, the debate moderator, told The New York Times this week.
For Hillary Clinton, the prime-time event could be a welcome opportunity to demonstrate a keen understanding of policy, an arena that the former secretary of state has been more comfortable tackling than the months-long scandal plaguing her campaign over her use of a private email server while in public office. Nevertheless, Clinton will likely be asked to address allegations of wrongdoing.
For Bernie Sanders, the independent socialist senator from Vermont who has surprised many with his strong showing in the Democratic contest, the debate provides a rare opening to challenge the front-runner head on and present himself as the most persistently liberal voice in the field, although he has vowed not to attack or go negative on Clinton.
And for the other three candidates on stage — former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, all languishing in the national polls with numbers smaller than most polls’ margin of error — Tuesday night is a pivotal opportunity to deliver a breakthrough performance that resonates among primary voters, much as former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina did in the previous two GOP debates, catapulting her into the top ranks.
O’Malley in particular has been aggressive about offering up a well-rounded liberal platform in contrast with Clinton and highlighting a consistently progressive record in Maryland — a case he can now make to millions of viewers.
On the issues, there are a number of significant differences among the contenders.
O’Malley and Sanders have long been against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-country trade deal that they say will favor corporations over U.S. workers. Clinton has only recently announced her opposition, after once calling the agreement “the gold standard” as secretary of state.
While O’Malley and Sanders have thrown their support behind a $15 national minimum wage, Clinton has endorsed a $12 federal wage floor. She has, however, backed regional exceptions where the cost of living is higher, supporting a $15 per hour wage for fast-food workers in New York state.
Her leftward moves on a host of domestic issues, from same-sex marriage to income inequality, could open her up to charges of political opportunism throughout the evening.
On gun control, however, it is Sanders who is likely to be playing defense. O’Malley and Clinton have offered multipronged plans to put greater restrictions on firearms, while Sanders has adopted a much more muted tone on the issue, in contrast to his passion on other causes, like income inequality and campaign finance reform. Hailing from a hunting state, Sanders voted against the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which established the current background check system for guns in 1993, and for a 2005 law, backed by the National Rifle Association, that shields gun manufacturers from legal liability from victims of gun violence.
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