Last night during the Democratic Debate held in Flint, MI, Bernie Sanders shut Hillary Clinton down by saying, “Excuse me, I’m talking.”
It was an uncomfortable moment, to be sure. I personally grit my teeth when he said it. I know The Young Turks (whose livestream I was watching at the time) all groaned. Nobody liked that moment. I’m sure Hillary didn’t, and I’m equally certain that it caused Bernie no pleasure, either.
Here’s the moment, in case you missed it:
For those who can’t watch video, here’s a short transcript (cuts in at the end of Hillary’s answer, bold/emphasis mine):
Hillary Clinton: [T]he money that ended up saving the auto industry.
(Cheers and applause)
Bernie Sanders: Oh, [trails off]
Hillary Clinton: I think that is a pretty big difference.
Bernie Sanders: Well, I tell you. If you were talking about the Wall Street bailout, where some of your friends destroyed this economy —
Hillary Clinton: You know —
Bernie Sanders: Pretty much — Excuse me, I’m talking.
Anderson Cooper: Let him [unclear, run?].
(Cheering/Jeering from the crowd.)
That being said, after some introspection, my initial feelings of unease abated, for several reasons:
1. It was a moderated debate, during Sanders’ time to talk.
2. Anderson Cooper clearly also stepped in at nearly the same time Sanders did to cut Clinton off.
Today, having seen the cry of “sexism!” which went up after this moment, I wanted to take a second to register some strong objections to that characterization of the exchange. This is going to take a little time, as it should, so follow me if you would below the fold.
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