The Story:
Seven candidates for the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of the United States met in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday February 25. One of the features distinguishing this debate from its precursors was this: Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) has taken on the role of leader of the pack. He took his jabs from the others present, as a front runner must.
Background:
The Charleston debate, the third just in the month of February, was co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus.
In addition to Senator Sanders, the candidates were: former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and philanthropist Tom Steyer. This followed by just three days the Nevada caucus, which showed a lot of rank-and-file union support for Sanders, despite the criticism Sanders had received from Nevada union officials.
The Thing to Know:
In a dramatic exchange early on, Biden connected votes by Senator Sanders against certain gun control bills to a massacre in a church in Charleston in June 2015. With the tone of someone being generous, Biden said, “I’m not saying he’s responsible for the nine deaths.” He certainly suggested Sanders’ votes and those deaths were not unrelated.
