Vocabulary from the Eighth Democratic Debate, March 9, 2016

The Eighth Democratic Debate was held on March 9, 2016 in Miami and it focused on issues of concern to Latino voters. Immigration and education were topics of focus, but the moderators were forceful on all issues, including when they brought up scandals and candidates' previous statements, complete with videotape evidence. These tools were used to guard against what moderator Maria Elena Salinas called "Hispandering" ("Hispanic" + "pandering") - "telling Hispanics what they want to hear just so they will vote for you." Here are twenty vocabulary words from the Eighth Democratic Debate.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. retroactive
    having an effect on events that occurred previously
    What you are talking about is retroactive classification.
    And some other parts of the government, we're not exactly sure who, has concluded that some of the emails should be now retroactively classified. They've just said the same thing to former Secretary Colin Powell. They have said, we're going to retroactively classify emails you sent personally.
    - Secretary Hillary Clinton
    Secretary Clinton was responding to a question about the nature of emails she sent over her personal, and therefore less secure, email account, and whether any of these emails contained classified information.
  2. comprehensive
    including all or everything
    And I also look forward to discussing comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship that will be one of my priorities in my first 100 days as president.
    - Sec. Clinton
  3. resilience
    ability of a material to return to its original shape
    So we do have to invest in resilience and mitigation while we are trying to cut emissions and make up for the fact that this is clearly man-made and man-aggravated.
    -Sec. Clinton
    "Resilience" has a special meaning here in regards to environmental protection. "Resilience" refers to using natural features of the coastline, like coral reefs, beaches and dunes to help combat coastal erosion, which is a threat because it leads to flooding.
  4. vigilante
    a person who takes the law into his or her own hands
    And in 2006, when Senator Sanders was running for the Senate from Vermont, he voted in the House with hard-line Republicans for indefinite detention for undocumented immigrants, and then he sided with those Republicans to stand with vigilantes known as Minute Men who were taking up outposts along the border to hunt down immigrants.
    - Sec. Clinton
  5. xenophobia
    a fear of foreigners or strangers
    But I would hope very much, that as we have that debate, we do not, as Donald Trump and others have done, resort to racism and xenophobia and bigotry.
    - Senator Bernie Sanders
  6. authoritarian
    characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule
    Look, let's look at the facts here. Cuba is, of course, an authoritarian undemocratic country, and I hope very much as soon as possible it becomes a democratic country. But on the other hand... it would be wrong not to state that in Cuba they have made some good advances in health care. They are sending doctors all over the world. They have made some progress in education
    - Sen. Sanders
  7. horrendous
    causing fear or dread or terror
    Wasn't an issue really for the state of Vermont to expose the horrendous working conditions and the semi slavery, if you like, that those workers [tomato pickers in Immokalee, Florida] lived under.
    - Sen. Sanders
  8. detention
    a state of being confined (usually for a short time)
    I did say we needed to be very concerned about little children coming to this country...many of them not making it. And when they got here, they needed, as I have argued for, legal counsel, due process, to make a decision. We need to end private detention, we need to end family detention. And in 2006, when Senator Sanders was running for the Senate from Vermont, he voted in the House with hard-line Republicans for indefinite detention for undocumented immigrants...
    - Sec. Clinton
  9. codify
    organize into a system, such as a body of law
    Of course not. There was a piece of legislation supported by dozens and dozens of members of the House which codified existing legislation. What the secretary is doing tonight and has done very often is take large pieces of legislation and take pieces out of it.
    - Sen. Sanders
    The legislation at issue here is the bill which authorized indefinite detention for illegal immigrants.
  10. dissident
    a person who objects to some established policy
    I do think meeting with dissidents, meeting with people who have been voices, tribunes of freedom and opportunity is important.
    The Cuban people deserve to have their human rights respected and upheld, they deserve to be able to move towards democracy where they pick their own leaders.
    - Sec. Clinton
  11. mitigation
    the action of lessening in severity or intensity
    So we do have to invest in resilience and mitigation while we are trying to cut emissions and make up for the fact that this is clearly man-made and man-aggravated.
    -Sec. Clinton
    "Mitigation" here refers to lessening the severity of natural disasters, by limiting loss of life and trying to prevent as much property damage as possible.
  12. resonate
    evoke or suggest a strong meaning or belief
    And I believe that our message of the need for people to stand up and tell corporate America and Wall Street that they cannot have it all is resonating across this country.
    - Sen. Sanders
  13. oligarchy
    a political system governed by a few people
    Is it acceptable that Wall Street and billionaires are spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to buy elections? Is that democracy or this that oligarchy? Which is why I believe we've got to overturn Citizens United and move to public funding of elections.
    - Sen. Sanders
    Citizens United ( Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ) is the Supreme Court case that held that corporations (including nonprofit corporations and unions) are allowed to spend money on "electioneering communications" like television and radio ads.
  14. grave
    requiring serious thought
    have been calling for months that the Congress must give authority to Puerto Rico to restructure its debts. Just like it has enabled states and cities to restructure their debt. And it's a grave injustice for the Congress, led by the Republicans to be refusing to enact that opportunity within the bankruptcy law.
    - Sec. Clinton
    "Grave" here means "serious" or "extreme"
  15. staunch
    firm and dependable especially in loyalty
    Imagine how much more secure families would be in our country, no longer fearing the deportation of a loved one; no longer fearing that they would be found out. So I am staunchly in favor of comprehensive immigration reform and have been so over the course of my public career.
    - Sec. Clinton
  16. hoax
    something intended to deceive
    ...when you have Republican candidates for president and in Congress telling you that climate change is a hoax, which is Donald Trump and other candidates' position, what they are really saying is, we don't have the guts to take on the fossil fuel industry.
    - Sen. Sanders
  17. vulgar
    lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
    This idea of suddenly, one day or maybe a night, rounding up 11 million people and taking them outside of this country is a vulgar, absurd idea that I would hope very few people in America support.
    - Sen. Sanders
    Senator Sanders is referring to an Idea proposed by Donald Trump and since endorsed by Ted Cruz of rounding up and deporting the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants that currently reside in America.
  18. remittance
    a payment of money sent to a person in another place
    Well, first of all, I supported the president's moves [ with regards to Cuba] I helped to implement some of them leading up to the announcements when I was secretary of state, expanding travel opportunities, remittances. And I certainly told the president toward the end of my time that I hoped he would be able to move toward diplomatic relations and to make more of an impact by building up the relationship.
    - Sec. Clinton
    Secretary Clinton is specifically talking about the fact that people in the U.S. are permitted to send small amounts of money into Cuba to aid family members with their business or with their lives, etc. despite the fact that there has been an official ban on U.S. trade with Cuba for decades.
  19. imperative
    some duty that is essential and urgent
    And so from my perspective, it is imperative that we put enormous pressure on the Republicans in the Senate to do their constitutional duty. Now, obviously you look for people who are not only qualified on paper, but have a heart, have life experience, understand what these decisions mean in the lives of Americans.
    - Sec. Clinton
    Secretary Clinton was asked about the qualifications she would look for in a Supreme Court nominee. The first part of her answer addressed the issue of whether the Senate will hold hearings on President Obama's nominee to fill the current court vacancy. Some in Congress believe that the new president should get to nominate the new justice, while others hold that President Obama still has several months left in his presidency and it is his right to do it and the senate's job to hold hearings.
  20. habitable
    fit to be lived in
    ...here in Miami as much as any city in America, we know that we have got to combat climate change, transform our energy system, and leave this planet in a way that is healthy and habitable for our kids and our grandchildren.
    - Sen. Sanders
Created on Wed Mar 09 23:27:21 EST 2016 (updated Thu Mar 10 08:40:56 EST 2016)

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