Hillary Sidesteps the Elusive ‘Democrat v. Socialist’ Question

On Hardball with Chris Matthews Tuesday night, the host peppered Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton with the same question that party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz dodged from Matthews in August (and before that in July, too).

“What’s the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist?” was Matthews’ question, and Clinton opted to identify her own distinctions as a Progressive Democrat instead. With self-described Democratic-Socialist Bernie Sanders trailing in the race for the party nomination, Clinton was careful not to offer too harsh a separation that might, seemingly, ostracize supporters of the populism-driven Sanders effort.

“Is that a question you’d rather not answer?” pressed Matthews after asking for the distinction.

Secretary Clinton’s ultimate response resulted in an audible groan of disappointment from Matthews as she began saying, “I can tell you what I am…”

It was the same question that Schultz has been unable or unwilling to respond to in the past, while sitting for interviews with both Matthews and Chuck Todd.

Watch the above video from MSNBC.

[image via screengrab]
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