{"id":173771,"date":"2020-01-15T12:16:18","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T09:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whaj24.com\/?p=173771"},"modified":"2020-01-15T12:16:18","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T09:16:18","slug":"warren-makes-debate-case-democratic-woman-can-beat-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mennews.net\/?p=173771","title":{"rendered":"Warren makes debate case: Democratic woman can beat Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whaj 24 – DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) \u2014 Elizabeth Warren made a forceful case for a female president and stood behind her accusation suggesting sexism by progressive rival Bernie Sanders Tuesday night in a Democratic debate that raised gender as a key issue in the sprint to Iowa\u2019s presidential caucuses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanders vehemently denied Warren\u2019s accusation, which threatened to split the Democratic Party\u2019s left flank — as well as the senators\u2019 longtime liberal alliance — at a critical moment less than three weeks before voting begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at the men on this stage. Collectively they have lost 10 elections,\u201d Warren exclaimed. \u201cThe only people on this stage who have won every single election that they\u2019ve been in are the women.\u201d<\/p>\n

An incredulous Sanders responded: \u201cDoes anybody in their right mind think a woman can\u2019t be elected president?\u201d he asked. \u201cOf course a woman can win.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a final moment of tension between Sanders and Warren after the debate ended. Having shaken the hands of her other competitors, Warren was shown in video declining to shake Sanders\u2019 extended hand.<\/p>\n

With the Democratic field tightly bunched among four leading candidates, the debate offered an opportunity for separation. But none of the six candidates on stage had the kind of moment likely to reshape the race in the final weeks before voting starts. Instead, the debate was\u00a0generally marked by a focus on weighty issues of foreign policy, climate change and how to provide health care<\/a>\u00a0for all Americans. Even when disputes emerged, most candidates quickly pivoted to note their larger differences with President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

For his part, Trump spent Tuesday night campaigning in Wisconsin, a state that is critical to his reelection effort. He tried to encourage the feud between Sanders and Warren from afar.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said that Bernie stated strongly that a woman can\u2019t win,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that Bernie said that, I really don\u2019t. It\u2019s not the kind of thing Bernie would say.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talk Tuesday after a Democratic presidential primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa., as businessman Tom Steyer looks on. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Despite such prodding, the debate stage drama was far from the explosion some Democrats feared. Candidates moved with ease through a variety of topics, disagreeing with each other but generally avoiding personal attacks.<\/p>\n

Sanders did step up his attacks on former Vice President Joe Biden over his past support of the Iraq War and broad free-trade agreements. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who was mired in the middle of the pack, seized on Warren\u2019s shifting positions on health care. Billionaire Tom Steyer acknowledged making money from investments in the fossil fuel industry, but highlighted his decade-long fight to combat climate change, an issue that came up repeatedly throughout the night.<\/p>\n

Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, sometimes struggled for attention in a debate that often featured points of conflict between his rivals. Perhaps his strongest moment came when he described how, as a military veteran who is vocal about his faith, he could stand up to Trump in a general election.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready to take on Donald Trump because when he gets to the tough talk and the chest thumping, he\u2019ll have to stand next to an American war veteran and explain how he pretended bone spurs made him ineligible to serve,\u201d Buttigieg said. \u201cAnd if a guy like Donald Trump keeps trying to use religion to somehow recruit Christianity into the GOP, I will be standing there not afraid to talk about a different way to answer the call of faith and insist that God does not belong to a political party.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during Tuesday’s Democratic debate. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Questions surrounding war and foreign policy dominated early on. Sanders drew a sharp contrast with Biden by noting his own opposition to a 2002 measure authorizing military action against Iraq.<\/p>\n

Sanders called the Iraq invasion \u201cthe worst foreign policy blunder in the modern history of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did everything I could to prevent that war,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cJoe saw it differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden acknowledged that his 2002 vote to authorize military action was \u201ca mistake,\u201d but highlighted his role in the Obama administration helping to draw down the U.S. military presence in the region.<\/p>\n

Several candidates condemned Trump\u2019s recent move to kill Iran\u2019s top general and his decision to keep U.S. troops in the region.<\/p>\n