Sanders, Clinton agree on emails, clash on gun control, Patriot Act

By Scott Lucas, Megan Messerly, Kyle Roerink

Published Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 | 4:30 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 | 8:37 p.m.

On the economy, gun control, the Patriot Act and other issues, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders found plenty of room to disagree today during the Democratic presidential debate.

But where they found common ground — on Clinton's email controversy — they drew one of the biggest hands of the night.

Given a chance to go for front-runner Clinton's throat on the controversy over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, Sanders acted like anything but a competitor. He defended Clinton, saying voters weren't interested in it and that it deflected attention from issues that mattered.

"The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails," the Vermont senator said. Clinton turned to Sanders, shook his hand and said, "Thank you, Bernie."

The comment came hours after the Associated Press added fuel to the email controversy, saying Clinton's private server was connected to the Internet in ways that made it more vulnerable to hackers while using software that could have been exploited.

When the subject was broached by moderator Anderson Cooper, Clinton suggested the controversy was a partisan attack and that she didn't believe it was of critical significance to voters. Asked by Cooper if she was saying the issue was illegitimate, she said: "I never said it wasn't legitimate, I said I have answered all the questions and I will be doing it again in front of (a congressional) committee."

Clinton said she preferred to discuss health care, college costs and issues that were more relevant to voters.

James Ahumada, who traveled from Long Beach, Calif., to watch the debate, said he enjoyed that the candidates were delving into policy issues. But his favorite moment was the back-and-forth between Sanders and Clinton over her emails.

“I really liked that conversation,” Ahumada said. “That was the moment of the debate.”

Ahumada said it seemed like Clinton was performing far better than anyone else in the debate.

In contrast to the moment of agreement between Clinton and Sanders, the two split sharply on the Patriot Act. Clinton was for it. Sanders was not.

Clinton said there was a fine line between protecting the homeland and protecting civil liberties and individual rights.

She said the Patriot Act "was necessary to make sure we were able after 9/11 to put in place the security we needed," but "we have to balance the of civil liberties privacy and security."

Sanders said flatly, "I would shut down what exists right now."

"Every telephone call in the country ends up in a file," he said. "The government is involved in our emails."

Finally, he said, "There are ways to (be free) without impinging on our privacy right."

Clinton and Sanders were joined by Maryland Gov. Mike O’Malley, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and Virginia Sen. Jim Webb for the debate, held at Wynn Las Vegas and televised on CNN. The event got underway at 5:30 p.m. with a taped message from President Barack Obama, followed by pop vocalist Sheryl Crow singing the national anthem.

Sanders and Clinton opened the event by staking out territory on economic issues and gun control.

Asked by Cooper whether he was a capitalist, Sanders — who bills himself as a Democratic socialist — said he was not a supporter of the "casino capitalist" economy and lamented vast inequities in the distribution of wealth in the U.S.

"You can have all the growth you want, but it doesn’t mean anything when all of the income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent," he said.

Clinton took advantage of Sanders' response to position herself as a more mainstream, possibly more electable candidate.

Clinton said the nation's economic system fostered opportunities for small businesses to launch and take root. The responsibility of the government, she said, was to occasionally "rein in the excesses of capitalism so it doesn't run amok."

On gun control, Clinton characterized Sanders as soft, saying he'd voted against the Brady Bill five times. But Sanders countered that he had received a D-minus rating from the NRA as a senator. He called for better mental health services, stricter background checks and closing the loophole that exempts gun shows from background checks.

Clinton opened the debate by denying that she changes her views to match the mood of voters.

"Like most human beings, I do absorb new information, I do look at what's happening in the world," Clinton said. Pressed on her newly announced opposition to a Pacific Rim trade deal she touted while serving as secretary of state, Clinton said she had hoped to support it but ultimately decided it did not meet her standards.

Clinton entered the debate a weakened front-runner, having spent months answering questions about her email practices. She'd also faced an unexpectedly tough challenge from Sanders, who has energized liberals with his calls to break up big Wall Street banks and offer free tuition at public colleges and universities.

On marijuana, Sanders positioned himself well to the left, saying he'd vote to legalize recreational use of the drug.

"Too many lives have been destroyed for nonviolent (drug) offenses," he said.

Clinton said she wasn't ready to take a position on recreational marijuana use but did support legalization of medical marijuana.

Next door to the Wynn Las Vegas, more than 200 Clinton supporters — many clad in bright blue campaign T-shirts with “Fighting for you in Nevada” printed across the back — cheered on their candidate. The crowd applauded Clinton as she touted her record as secretary of state, pushed for equal pay for women and came down on gun control.

However, Sanders’ remarks on income inequality and raising minimum also resonated with Clinton’s supporters, some of whom earlier in the day had said they were reluctant to choose a side.

“I’m supporting Democrats, period,” said Las Vegas resident Tatanesha Johnson. “We’re lost as a nation and a people.”

O'Malley's evening began with him defending his record despite the unrest this year in Baltimore, where he served as mayor before his two terms in Annapolis.

He said he "didn't make our city immune to setbacks," but "we saved over 1,000 lives in Baltimore in the last 15 years and the vast majority of them were young and poor and black."

O'Malley went on to note that he enacted gun legislation in Maryland "by leading with principle, not by pandering to the NRA."

On national security issues, Clinton said she would "take more of a leadership position" and stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin over Syria.

Asked about Russia's increasing involvement in the Syrian civil war, Clinton said she would take a harder line against Putin. "We have to stand up to his bullying" and "make clear" that Russia has to be part of the solution, she said.

Clinton's comments were her first criticism during the debate of her former boss, Obama.

Clinton also said she would create "safe zones" to try to ease the massive refugee crisis destabilizing the region.

Gaia Shildmeyer, a Henderson resident who works for a major airline she declined to name, said she was supporting Clinton for economic reasons.

“I can’t retire until 66 because of problems with my pension,” she said. “Nevada is a working state and labor issues are so important.”

Inside the Wynn, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid focused on the Republican candidates, taking a swipe at Florida Sen. Marco Rubio over his shifting positions on immigration reform.

“Republicans are walking away from their own legislation,” Reid said.

Reid gave no inkling of which Democratic presidential candidate he planned to support, calling the debate participants "five of my friends."

Meanwhile, one of the most talked-about Democrats in the 2016 race wasn't on the stage.

Vice President Joe Biden had planned to watch the debate from the Naval Observatory, his official residence in Washington. Biden's office said he also was hosting a high school reunion.

Biden is months into serious deliberations about whether to join the Democratic field. It's unclear what role the outcome of today's debate will play in his decision.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.