Last night, the top Democratic presidential candidates took to a stage in Las Vegas for a fiery debate moderated by journalists from NBC News, MSNBC, Telemundo, and The Nevada Independent. Candidates tried to woo Nevadans—especially the powerful Culinary Workers local—ahead of the state's Feb. 22 caucuses, so rural issues were less prominent than in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Still, there was plenty of material of interest to rural residents. So, here's a quick recap of rural issues mentioned in the debate, along with fact-checking. Click here for a full transcript.
The candidates debated vigorously about environmental regulations and energy.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont promised to bring working-class people together to "take on the fossil fuel industry, because their short-term profits are not more important than the future of this planet and the need to combat climate change." Later, Sanders elaborated that he supports a total ban on hydraulic fracturing within five years, and scientists warn that the U.S. must take bold action within the next six or seven years to avoid irreparable damage to the climate. The proposed Green New Deal would created up to 20 million good-paying jobs, he said, and implied that extractive-industry workers could take those jobs. FactCheck.org said Sanders overstated the threat to the planet; many scientists disagree that the planet will become uninhabitable because of climate change, though they generally agree that the current way of life would no longer be possible.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who stressed her record of political success in rural areas, said she doesn't support a total ban on fracking, and calls fracked oil and gas transitional fuels on the way toward using more renewable energy. She said the government must make sure all existing fracking operations are operating safely and not grant new permits until they can make sure each is safe.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts noted that 85 percent of Nevada is managed by the federal government, and said the U.S. should stop all new drilling and mining on public lands. Rare exceptions could be made if specific minerals are needed, she said, but they would have to be carefully executed to disturb the land as little as possible. She called for increasing investment in green tech development and said more renewable energy buildout would create manufacturing and infrastructure jobs. She also called for an anti-corruption bill and killing the filibuster to decrease the lobbying power of fossil-fuel industries.
Former Vice President Joe Biden said global warming is an "existential threat" and promoted expansion of solar energy. He also promised to immediately reinstate all Environmental Protection Agency regulations eliminated by the Trump administration and eliminate all oil and gas subsidies.
Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, said it's unlikely the U.S. will cease fracking anytime soon. He agreed with Klobuchar that it's a transition fuel and said enforcing current rules on fracking to reduce methane leaks would help a great deal. He said the increasing closure of coal-fired power plants is "making a difference" with climate change and implied that his financing of the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign was at least partly responsible for the coal-plant closures. However, market forces are far more responsible for the coal industry's decline in the U.S., according to fact-checkers at The Associated Press.
Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said the current election is critical "because if we don't elect a president who actually believes in climate science now, we will never meet any of the other scientific or policy deadlines that we need to." His plan to transition to renewable energy would ensure plenty of jobs, he said. He also noted that farmers must be viewed as partners, not adversaries, in the fight to reduce pollution.
Buttigieg said Trump "rose to power by cynically exploiting the frustration of ordinary Americans feeling like leaders weren't speaking to them."
On taxes, health care and the economy:
Biden promised that taxes on small businesses would not increase during his presidency. He said many poor and middle-class voters are hurting even though the economy looks good on paper. That's not entirely true, according to FactCheck.org, which noted that weekly paychecks for rank-and-file workers have been rising. FactCheck acknowledged that CEO pay has increased much more.
Warren, a former special-education teacher, said that a small tax on the ultra-wealthy would fund universal preschool, increase wages for child-care workers, better fund public schools (including programs for children with disabilities), and cancel student-loan debt.
Sanders, who is a Democratic Socialist, said voters who fear the label "socialist" don't understand that, in many ways, we already live in a socialist society. But socialist benefits generally flow to the very rich, while the poor are encouraged to be rugged individuals, he said. "When . . . we have to subsidize Walmart's workers who are on Medicaid and food stamps because the wealthiest family in America pays starvation wages, that's socialism for the rich," he said.
Sanders said he favors a single-payer health care system because health is a human right, and because the U.S. spends twice as much per person on health care as any other country but 87 million Americans are uninsured or under-insured. Over 60,000 die each year because they can't get to the doctor, he said. Sanders also criticized pharmaceutical prices, and said people are going broke because they can't afford medication. FactCheck.org said Sanders overstated statistics on health-care spending and medical bankruptcies.
Buttigieg said that the government couldn't pay for a single-payer plan, and said he supports a public option for Medicare because it's wrong to force people off their health insurance plans.
Bloomberg said he had praised Obamacare since the beginning, but thought it didn't go far enough. He also favors a public option for health insurance.
Biden agreed with a public option and noted his role in getting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed. He alleged that Bloomberg had called Obamacare a disgrace when it was passed. Fact-checkers from The Washington Post said Biden left out critical context: In a speech at Dartmouth College, Bloomberg called the ACA a disgrace because it didn't cover enough people.
Klobuchar, who also supports a public option, said converting to a single-payer system would cause 149 million Americans to lose their current health insurance. She said her plan would reduce premiums for 12 million people immediately and expand coverage for about the same number.
Warren said Buttigieg and Klobuchar's plans were poorly thought-out, and Buttigieg's plan would leave millions unable to afford health care. Sanders' plan "has a good start," she said, but noted that even his own advisers acknowledged that he was unlikely to make it happen. However, AP fact-checkers say Buttigieg's plan would cover virtually all U.S. citizens and legal residents. Warren promoted a single-payer health care plan at the beginning of her campaign, but switched to the public option, saying that more data had convinced her it was the correct path.
Still, there was plenty of material of interest to rural residents. So, here's a quick recap of rural issues mentioned in the debate, along with fact-checking. Click here for a full transcript.
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| Bloomberg, Warren, Sanders, Biden, Buttegeig, Klobuchar (NPR) |
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont promised to bring working-class people together to "take on the fossil fuel industry, because their short-term profits are not more important than the future of this planet and the need to combat climate change." Later, Sanders elaborated that he supports a total ban on hydraulic fracturing within five years, and scientists warn that the U.S. must take bold action within the next six or seven years to avoid irreparable damage to the climate. The proposed Green New Deal would created up to 20 million good-paying jobs, he said, and implied that extractive-industry workers could take those jobs. FactCheck.org said Sanders overstated the threat to the planet; many scientists disagree that the planet will become uninhabitable because of climate change, though they generally agree that the current way of life would no longer be possible.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who stressed her record of political success in rural areas, said she doesn't support a total ban on fracking, and calls fracked oil and gas transitional fuels on the way toward using more renewable energy. She said the government must make sure all existing fracking operations are operating safely and not grant new permits until they can make sure each is safe.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts noted that 85 percent of Nevada is managed by the federal government, and said the U.S. should stop all new drilling and mining on public lands. Rare exceptions could be made if specific minerals are needed, she said, but they would have to be carefully executed to disturb the land as little as possible. She called for increasing investment in green tech development and said more renewable energy buildout would create manufacturing and infrastructure jobs. She also called for an anti-corruption bill and killing the filibuster to decrease the lobbying power of fossil-fuel industries.
Former Vice President Joe Biden said global warming is an "existential threat" and promoted expansion of solar energy. He also promised to immediately reinstate all Environmental Protection Agency regulations eliminated by the Trump administration and eliminate all oil and gas subsidies.
Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, said it's unlikely the U.S. will cease fracking anytime soon. He agreed with Klobuchar that it's a transition fuel and said enforcing current rules on fracking to reduce methane leaks would help a great deal. He said the increasing closure of coal-fired power plants is "making a difference" with climate change and implied that his financing of the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign was at least partly responsible for the coal-plant closures. However, market forces are far more responsible for the coal industry's decline in the U.S., according to fact-checkers at The Associated Press.
Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said the current election is critical "because if we don't elect a president who actually believes in climate science now, we will never meet any of the other scientific or policy deadlines that we need to." His plan to transition to renewable energy would ensure plenty of jobs, he said. He also noted that farmers must be viewed as partners, not adversaries, in the fight to reduce pollution.
Buttigieg said Trump "rose to power by cynically exploiting the frustration of ordinary Americans feeling like leaders weren't speaking to them."
On taxes, health care and the economy:
Biden promised that taxes on small businesses would not increase during his presidency. He said many poor and middle-class voters are hurting even though the economy looks good on paper. That's not entirely true, according to FactCheck.org, which noted that weekly paychecks for rank-and-file workers have been rising. FactCheck acknowledged that CEO pay has increased much more.
Warren, a former special-education teacher, said that a small tax on the ultra-wealthy would fund universal preschool, increase wages for child-care workers, better fund public schools (including programs for children with disabilities), and cancel student-loan debt.
Sanders, who is a Democratic Socialist, said voters who fear the label "socialist" don't understand that, in many ways, we already live in a socialist society. But socialist benefits generally flow to the very rich, while the poor are encouraged to be rugged individuals, he said. "When . . . we have to subsidize Walmart's workers who are on Medicaid and food stamps because the wealthiest family in America pays starvation wages, that's socialism for the rich," he said.
Sanders said he favors a single-payer health care system because health is a human right, and because the U.S. spends twice as much per person on health care as any other country but 87 million Americans are uninsured or under-insured. Over 60,000 die each year because they can't get to the doctor, he said. Sanders also criticized pharmaceutical prices, and said people are going broke because they can't afford medication. FactCheck.org said Sanders overstated statistics on health-care spending and medical bankruptcies.
Buttigieg said that the government couldn't pay for a single-payer plan, and said he supports a public option for Medicare because it's wrong to force people off their health insurance plans.
Bloomberg said he had praised Obamacare since the beginning, but thought it didn't go far enough. He also favors a public option for health insurance.
Biden agreed with a public option and noted his role in getting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed. He alleged that Bloomberg had called Obamacare a disgrace when it was passed. Fact-checkers from The Washington Post said Biden left out critical context: In a speech at Dartmouth College, Bloomberg called the ACA a disgrace because it didn't cover enough people.
Klobuchar, who also supports a public option, said converting to a single-payer system would cause 149 million Americans to lose their current health insurance. She said her plan would reduce premiums for 12 million people immediately and expand coverage for about the same number.
Warren said Buttigieg and Klobuchar's plans were poorly thought-out, and Buttigieg's plan would leave millions unable to afford health care. Sanders' plan "has a good start," she said, but noted that even his own advisers acknowledged that he was unlikely to make it happen. However, AP fact-checkers say Buttigieg's plan would cover virtually all U.S. citizens and legal residents. Warren promoted a single-payer health care plan at the beginning of her campaign, but switched to the public option, saying that more data had convinced her it was the correct path.
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