Financing of campaigns hot issue at debate

Issues such as campaign financing and income inequality provoked passionate responses at the sixth Democratic presidential debate on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The debate at Loyola Marymount University, sponsored by Politico and PBS News, opened with a question of whether impeaching US President Donald Trump, which the House did on Wednesday, was the right move for the country.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Trump has "documentedly lied thousands of times since he has been president".

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota referred to the case against Trump as a "global Watergate".

While six of the seven candidates on the stage supported Trump's impeachment, entrepreneur Andrew Yang said Democrats would do better focusing on economic and social issues and "stop being obsessed over impeachment … like a ballgame you know what the score is going to be".

"The media networks didn't do us any favors by missing a reason why Donald Trump became our president in the first place," he said, which Yang said was the loss of manufacturing jobs. "If you turn on cable news today, you would think he's our president because of some combination of Russia, racism, Facebook, Hillary Clinton and emails all mixed together."

Yang, the son of immigrants from China, who got his most speaking time Thursday in a debate so far, said candidates should be concerned about issues such as suicides and drug overdoses overtaking vehicle accidents as causes of death in the US.

On climate change, former vice-president Joe Biden said: "We should not build another highway in America that doesn't have charging stations on it," adding that the US should "own" the electric vehicle market.

"The issue is whether we save the planet for our children and our grandchildren," Sanders said. "Paris Agreement? That's fine. Ain't enough.

"And maybe just maybe instead of spending $1.8 trillion a year globally on weapons of destruction, maybe a American president, i.e., Bernie Sanders, can lead the world instead of spending money to kill each other; maybe we pool our resources and fight our common enemy, which is climate change."

On race, Yang was asked how it felt to be the only candidate on the stage who isn't white.

"It's both an honor and disappointment to be the only candidate of color on the stage tonight," Yang said. "If we had a freedom dividend of $1,000 a month, I would not be the only person of color on the stage tonight."

Over the divide between the main political parties, Biden said: "I refuse to accept the notion that we can never get to the place where we have cooperation again."

On US foreign policy in the Middle East, and on Israel in particular, Sanders said: "US foreign policy must not only be pro-Israel, but we must be pro-Palestinian as well. We need a level playing field in the Middle East," Sanders said.

"We have to put pressure constantly on the Israelis to move to a two-state solution, Biden said.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, said Trump was looked at with "contempt and pity" by other world leaders.

On the economy, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said Trump has done "everything he can to help the wealthy and connected".

PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff asked Warren how she would respond to critics of her proposed 2 percent wealth tax on Americans who have more than $50 million, who say it would have a negative effect on the economy.

"Oh, they're just wrong," Warren responded.

"The middle class is getting killed. The middle class is getting crushed," Biden said.

"Where I live, folks aren't measuring how they're doing by how the Dow Jones is doing," Buttigieg said.

Another question was in reference to recent comments by former President Barack Obama, who said women could be better leaders and how older politicians often don't make way for younger ones.

Biden, Sanders and Warren are all in their 70s, as is Trump.

Moderators first asked two men — Sanders and Biden — to respond to Obama's comments.

"The issue is not old or young or male or female," Sanders said. "The issue is working people standing up and taking on the billionaire class and creating an economy" for all.

Biden said he wasn't willing to commit "either way" when asked if he would run for a second term if he were elected in November.

When Klobuchar was asked, she replied sarcastically: "Thank you for asking a woman this question. First of all, we have not had enough women in our government."

Warren was told she would be the oldest person inaugurated if she were elected.

"I'd also be the youngest woman ever inaugurated," she responded, to loud applause.

Warren and Buttigieg also were involved in a dramatic exchange.

"Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States," Warren said in a jibe at Buttigieg, who she said hosted a $900-a-bottle wine fundraiser.

"I am the only candidate on the stage who is not a billionaire or a millionaire," Buttigieg responded. "We need the support of everyone who is helping us defeat Donald Trump," he said, while also denouncing "purity tests" for candidates.

On campaign finance, Sanders said he has received more individual contributions that any candidate in US history. He also chided Biden and Buttigieg for their donations from billionaires, which he said were from 44 and 39 billionaires, respectively.

Biden responded that all of his fundraisers were open to the media and the largest contribution he has accepted is $2,800.

Tom Steyer, a billionaire and environmental activist, said: "I'm running because the government is broken and is being financed by corporations. We're going to have to take him on (Trump) on the economy and not tear each other down."

Biden and Sanders got into a shouting match over Medicare for All near the debate's end.