Best Lines From Night 2 of Democratic Debates

'I'm going to harness love for political purposes'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2019 11:44 PM CDT
Updated Jun 28, 2019 6:29 AM CDT
Best Lines From Night 2 of Democratic Debates
Joe Biden, left, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris, all talk at the same time during the Democratic primary debate hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Thursday, June 27, 2019, in Miami.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

For the second night in a row, 10 Democratic presidential candidates took to the stage in Miami, debating issues including guns, abortion, and immigration. Many pundits said Sen. Kamala Harris, who clashed with Joe Biden on racial issues, had the best night on Thursday. Some of the best lines:

  • Kamala Harris. As other candidates squabbled, she said: "America does not want to witness a food fight, they want to know how we are going to put food on their table." When she called out Joe Biden for his record on racial issues, she said: "There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me."
  • Joe Biden. Asked about the three million deportations under Obama, Biden defended the administration's policies, ABC reports. "President Obama, I think, did a heck of a job, to compare him to what this guy's doing is absolutely, I find close to immoral," he said. In his closing remarks, he said: "I’m ready to lead this country because I think it’s important to restore the soul of this nation. This president has ripped it out."
  • Bernie Sanders. "We need a political revolution. People have got to stand up and take on the special interests. We can transform this country." In his closing statement, he said: "Nothing will change unless we have the guts to take on Wall Street, the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the military-industrial complex, and the fossil fuel industry."
  • Pete Buttigieg. "For a party that associates itself with Christianity, to say that it is OK to suggest that God would smile on the division of families at the hands of federal agents, that God would condone putting children in cages has lost all claim to ever use religious language again."
  • John Hickenlooper. "You don't need big government to do big things ... If we turn towards socialism, we run the risk of helping to re-elect the worst president in American history."

  • Kirsten Gillibrand. On anti-abortion laws, the senator said: "We have to stop playing defense and start playing offense ... I have been the fiercest advocate for woman's reproductive rights over the last decade." In her closing remarks, she said: "I will take on the fight that no one else will," the Washington Post reports.
  • Eric Swalwell. "Joe Biden was right when he said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans 32 years ago, he’s still right today," said the 38-year-old House lawmaker. Fox notes that Biden grinned as he replied: "I'm still holding on to that torch."
  • Michael Bennet. "When I see these kids at the border, I see my mom, because I know she sees herself because she was separated from her parents for years during the Holocaust in Poland."
  • Andrew Yang. "I think Russia is our greatest geopolitical threat, because they have been hacking our democracy successfully and they've been laughing their asses off about it for the last couple of years."
  • Marianne Williamson: Addressing President Trump, the author said: "You have harnessed fear for political purposes and only love can cast that out … I’m going to harness love for political purposes and I will meet you on that field, sir, and love will win."
(More Democratic debate stories.)

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