Bernie and Hillary Twitter Debate Asks: What Makes a "Progressive"?

"You can be a moderate. You can be a progressive," says Bernie Sanders. "But you cannot be a moderate and a progressive." (Image: Twitter/@HillaryClinton/with overlay)

Bernie and Hillary Twitter Debate Asks: What Makes a "Progressive"?

Candidates have a few things to say on the subject... and they're not the only ones

Bernie Sanders has a few things to say about what makes a progressive a progressive. And he would like potential voters to know more precisely what he means when the specific term is used.

What started initially as a question from a campaign reporter in New Hampshire resulted on Wednesday afternoon with a sparring match on Twitter between Sanders and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Subsequently, during a rally in Derry, New Hampshire on Wednesday morning Clinton responded to Sanders by describing his remarks as a "low blow" and defending her record of what she called "progressive" accomplishments:

But just hours later, Sanders took to his Twitter account to highlight some of Clinton's past decisions that directly contradict stances he would place in the "progressive" category.

Specifically, he continued:

Though Sanders subsequently posted another tweet blasting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that is on the verge of being signed by Asian and Pacific rim nations in New Zealand on Thursday, the Clinton campaign rebutted his litany of tweets questioning her progressive bona fides by arguing that defining the word "progressive" is less important than one's ability to get things done. In four-parts, her campaign tweeted:

The contrasts were also made as the Clinton camp tweeted a list of "Some days" of her career they were really proud of, which only allowed the Sanders campaign to fire back with a retort under the banner "Some other days":

Meanwhile, it was impossible that Twitter users at large would allow the candidates and their campaign staffers have all the fun.

And the proof of that? The hashtag #HillarySoProgressive was definitely feeling the bern:

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