Relevant Vocabulary from Fourth Democratic Debate, January 17, 2016

The fourth Democratic debate took place on January 17, 2016 in South Carolina, the last before primary voting begins on February 1st in Iowa. This debate was a little more heated than the others, with disagreements between the candidates on gun control and healthcare reform highlighted and voting records questioned. (Words #1-#15 are the most relevant according to our list maker's algorithm.)
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. proactive
    causing something to happen rather than waiting to respond
    We need a much more proactive national security strategy that reduces these threats before they rise to a level where it feels like we need to pull for a division of marines.
    - Governor Martin O'Malley
  2. comprehensive
    including all or everything
    Equal pay for equal work, making it easier rather than harder for people to join labor unions and bargain collectively for better wages; getting 11 million of our neighbors out of the underground shadow economy by passing comprehensive immigration reform, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, however we can, wherever we can.
    - Gov. O'Malley
  3. horrendous
    causing fear or dread or terror
    We have seen in this city a horrendous tragedy of a crazed person praying with people... and shooting nine people.
    - Senator Bernie Sanders
  4. contentious
    showing an inclination to disagree
    I do not to want see the Republicans repeal it, and I don't to want see us start over again with a contentious debate.
    - Secretary Hillary Clinton
  5. foment
    try to stir up
    When Putin came back in the fall of 2011, it was very clear he came back with a mission. And I began speaking out as soon as that happened because there were some fraudulent elections held, and Russians poured out into the streets to demand their freedom, and he cracked down. And in fact, accused me of fomenting it. So we now know that he has a mixed record to say the least and we have to figure out how to deal with him
    -Sec. Clinton
  6. iteration
    the act or process of doing or saying again
    So we have a better sense of what the heck happens after a dictator topples and can take action to prevent another safe haven and another iteration of terror.
    -Gov. O'Malley
  7. disingenuous
    not straightforward or candid
    Well, I think Secretary Clinton knows that what she says is very disingenuous. I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA. I was in 1988, there were three candidates running for congress in the state of Vermont, I stood up to the gun lobby and came out and maintained the position that in this country we should not be selling military style assault weapons.
    - Sen. Sanders
    This answer was in response to a question that quoted Secretary Clinton as saying that Sanders is "a pretty reliable vote for the gun lobby." This is the statement Sanders is objecting to and calling Secretary Clinton "disingenuous" over.
  8. systemic
    affecting an entire structure, network, or complex of parts
    There needs to be a concerted effort to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice system. And, that requires a very clear, agenda for retraining police officers, looking at ways to end racial profiling...
    -Sec. Clinton
  9. deregulate
    lift the authoritative rules on
    Senator Sanders, you're the only one on this stage that voted to deregulate the financial market in 2000... to make the SEC and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission no longer able to regulate swaps and derivatives, which were one of the main cause of the collapse in '08.
    -Sec. Clinton
  10. revitalize
    give new life or vigor to
    We've got to get rid of Super PACs, we've got to get rid of Citizens' United and what we've got to do is create a political revolution which revitalizes American democracy; which brings millions of young people and working people into the political process.
    -Sen. Sanders
  11. repeal
    cancel officially
    I repealed the possession of marijuana as a crime in our state. I drove our incarceration rate down to 20-year lows, and drove violent crime down to 30-year lows...
    -Gov. O'Malley
  12. tertiary
    coming third in position
    And that is that we still don't have the human intelligence: overt, in terms of diplomatic intelligence or covert, to understand even what the heck happens as the secondary and tertiary effects of some of these things.
    -Gov. O'Malley
  13. loophole
    an ambiguity that makes it possible to evade an obligation
    One says it's OK to take millions from big banks and tell them what to do. My plan, break up the big banks, close the tax loopholes and make them pay their fair share.
    -Sen. Sanders
  14. concerted
    involving the joint activity of two or more
    So making community college free, making it possible to attend a public college or university with debt free tuition, looking for ways to protect our rights especially from the concerted Republican assault; on voting rights, on women's rights, on gay rights, on civil rights, on workers rights. And I know how much young people value their independence, their autonomy, and their rights.
    -Sec. Clinton
  15. unmitigated
    not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity
    To get American young men and women involved in perpetual warfare in... Syria and the Middle East would be an unmitigated disaster that as president, I will do everything in my power to avoid.
    - Sen. Sanders
  16. deplorable
    bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure
    And I mean this seriously. You know that. We've been through this. Yes, his [President Clinton's] behavior was deplorable. Have I ever once said a word about that issue? No, I have not. I'm going to debate Secretary Clinton, Governor O'Malley, on the issues facing the American people, not Bill Clinton's personal behavior.
    - Sen. Sanders
  17. immutable
    not subject or susceptible to change or variation
    But there are certain immutable principles that will not become antique things in our country so long as we defend our country and its values and its freedoms. And one of those things is our right to be secure in our homes, and our right to expect that our federal government should have to get a warrant.
    -Gov. O'Malley
  18. divert
    turn aside; turn away from
    We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead, move it to where it belongs, as a health issue. And we need to divert more people from the criminal justice system into drug courts, into treatment, and recovery.
    - Sec. Clinton
  19. profusion
    the property of being extremely abundant
    Your profusion of comments about your feelings towards President Obama are a little strange given what you said about him in 2011.
    -Sec. Clinton
  20. proxy
    a person authorized to act for another
    So, I think we are in the midst of great turmoil in this region. We have a proxy conflict going on between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
    - Sec. Clinton
    A proxy conflict, or "proxy war" is a war instigated by a major power that doesn't itself participate in the conflict. Secretary Clinton is saying that different factions that are fighting in the middle east are supported by Saudi Arabia on one side and Iran on the other, but that neither of these countries are actually involved in the conflict militarily.
Created on Sun Jan 17 23:23:32 EST 2016 (updated Mon Jan 18 09:06:08 EST 2016)

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