Kevin Hardy

kmhardy@dmreg.com

MARSHALLTOWN, Ia. — Describing Hillary Clinton's campaign as "nervous" and "panicky," Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday sought to combat recent criticism from the front-runner's campaign and position himself as the best candidate to face a Republican in the fall.

Sanders defended himself against the Clinton campaign, which on Friday said Sanders was at odds with President Barack Obama's recent executive orders on gun safety because of his 2005 vote to protect gun manufacturers against liability in gun deaths. Clinton repeated the refrain Sunday morning on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"It's the only industry in our country where we have given that kind of carte blanche to do whatever you want to do with no fear of legal consequences," Clinton said. " You know, President Obama and I and Senator Sanders were all in the Senate at the same time. Two of us voted against what the NRA says was the most important piece of legislation in 20 years for the gun lobby."

The two campaigns have ramped up their rhetoric in recent days as some polls suggest the race between Clinton and Sanders is tightening in Iowa and New Hampshire.

On Sunday, Sanders sought to paint his rival as a flip-flopper on gun issues when an audience member asked him to explain his position on gun control.

"Now, I know I’ve been attacked by Secretary Clinton on this issue, but I would remind all of you — especially here in Iowa who are always in the middle of these campaigns — way back in 2008 … Senator Obama was criticizing Secretary Clinton, who was then a senator and calling her Annie Oakley," Sanders said. "You remember that? She was criticizing him (because) he was too strong on guns. So I think we’ve seen some vacillation there."

During a heated 2008 primary battle, then-U.S. Sen. Obama criticized Clinton's rhetoric surrounding gun rights.

"She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She's talking like she's Annie Oakley," he said at the time.

Sanders, in the middle of a four-day Iowa campaign swing, continued holding up his D-minus voting record from the National Rifle Association and pointed to his longtime support for instant background checks.

"Bottom line is that people who should not own guns should not be able to buy guns," he said. "And I believe in that very strongly."

On Sunday, Sanders also directly responded to a Clinton television ad running in Iowa in which Clinton positions herself as the most electable candidate to take on Republicans in the general election. After his campaign event in Boone, Sanders told reporters he agrees with her that electability is an issue.

"The point of Secretary Clinton's ad is to say she is that candidate, she is the candidate who is most electable, she is the candidate who can beat Donald Trump or another Republican candidate" Sanders said. "Well, she is wrong. And the facts tell us she is wrong."

Sanders pointed to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll that showed him performing better than Clinton in potential general election matchups in Iowa and New Hampshire.

"It doesn't sound to me like here in Iowa, a battleground state, that she is the most electable candidate," Sanders said. "… I find it rather ironic that in the midst of all the contrary evidence, Secretary Clinton is running an ad suggesting she is the most electable."

Sanders told reporters that the Clinton campaign is both "nervous and panicky," about his momentum in the early states.

"They're throwing out a lot of stuff," he said.

Sanders went on Sunday to hold a discussion on climate change at Boone High School and an evening rally on the Des Moines Area Community College campus in Ankeny — the second large rally in the Des Moines metro in as many days for the Vermont senator. He continued invoking the electability argument throughout the day. He said both candidates want to prevent a "right-wing Republican" from winning the White House.

"I certainly agree with Secretary Clinton on that," Sanders said in Ankeny, "but I kind of disagree with her on which candidate stands the best chance to make that happen."

AT THE EVENTS

SETTINGS: Best Western Regency Inn in Marshalltown; Boone High School auditorium

CROWDS: Sanders attracted more than 400 to the Marshalltown event, more than 500 to the Boone event and nearly 800 to the Ankeny event.

REACTIONS: The crowds in Marshalltown and Boone were warm and receptive, occasionally interrupting his speeches with applause and shouts of support. Sanders had a rowdy crowd in Ankeny on its feet several times throughout the night.

WHAT'S NEXT: Sanders will hold campaign events in Des Moines and Pleasantville on Monday, as well as attend the Brown and Black Forum at Drake University. See DesMoinesRegister.com/CandidateTracker for more details.