Warren and Sanders face fierce challenges by moderates over healthcare
Progressive Democratic 2020 frontrunners Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren faced fierce challenges from moderate candidates on Tuesday night in the second round of televised presidential debates.
Few have wielded as much influence in shaping the Democratic party’s progressive agenda as Sanders and Warren. But their overlapping platforms on issues such as universal healthcare and immigration were swiftly contested by the party’s centrists, who contended Democrats were lurching too “far-left” to wrench the White House from Donald Trump’s grasp.
Former Maryland congressman John Delaney came out swinging by accusing Warren and Sandersof promising “bad policies” that, in his words, amounted to“free everything and impossible promises that will turn off independent voters and get Trump reelected.”
Warren countered the Democrats cannot win the White House with “small ideas and spinelessness”.
Warren and Sanders were among the first ten candidates to debate on Tuesday night. The second set of ten candidates, which includes former vice president Joe Biden and California senator Kamala Harris,will debate on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s debate saw Warren and Sanders avoid conflict with one another and instead defend themselves against a circular firing squad of centrists.
The two senators and longtime friends wereflanked by moderates such as Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, Ohio congressman Tim Ryan, former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, and Montana governor Steve Bullock – a new face in the debates – with all seeking to make a splash on the national stage.
Rising stars Pete Buttigieg and Beto O’Rourke, both of whom have positioned themselves as next-generation candidates,also appeared on Tuesdayand found themselves middling between the progressive and centrist wings of the party.
The debate was at times contentious and often scrappy, as candidates jockeyed for more time to air their disagreements amid an ideological divide on issues ranging from healthcare and immigration to gun violence.
Within moments, the discussion was dominated by Medicare-for-All, thesingle-payer healthcare proposal championed by Sanders and embraced by a number of Democratic 2020 candidates. Bullock, appearing in his first debate, wasted little time in dismissing the plan as “wish list economics”.
Delaney also piled on, likening support for Medicare-for-All to “political suicide” and characterizing it as “the creep toward socialism.”
Sanders, who has made the proposal a central plank of his campaign, told Delaney he was “wrong” and complained that the debate was being framed by Republican talking points.
The exchange quickly grew heated, as Delaney suggested Sanders was unfamiliar with the details of his plan, to which the Vermont senator emphatically replied: “I do know. I wrote the damn bill!”
Warren, a co-sponsor of Sanders’ Medicare-for-All bill, also hit back at the moderates, stating: “We are the Demo
crats. We are not about trying to take away health care from anyone. That’s what the Republicans are trying to do.”
“And we should stop using Republican talking points in order to talk with each other about how to best provide that healthcare,” she added, as the audience erupted in applause.
Sanders and Warren have been the architects of sweeping changes to address healthcare, taxes and income inequality. Both senators are proponents of debt-free college tuition and breaking up big banks. Warren has also pushed a wealth tax on the ultra-rich.
But Klobuchar, who serves alongside Sanders and Warren in the US Senate, argued in favor of what she sees as a more pragmatic approach.
“You’re going to hear a lot of promises up here, but I’m going to tell you this: Yes, I have bold ideas, but they are grounded in reality,” she said.
While the intra-party fissures were a fixture of the debate’s first half, there were also areas of broad agreement.
On immigration, the candidates did not spell out any notable differences – Democrats remain largely in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. They also forcefully spoke out against Trump’s so-called ‘zero tolerance policy’, which has led to the separation of families at the US-Mexico border.
There were, however, attempts by some candidates to clarify their positions on how to address the unfolding crisis at the southern border.
After signaling in the first debate he was in favor of decriminalizing illegal border crossings, Buttigieg appeared to walk back that position on Tuesday. The candidate said his view was more nuanced and suggested he would treat illegal border crossings as a civil offense as opposed to criminal.
Asked if his proposals to provide free health care services and free college tuition to undocumented immigrants would incentivize more migrants to cross the border illegally, Sanders pivoted to the president.
“The main point I want to make is what Trump is doing through his racism and xenophobia is demonizing a group of people,” he said.
With the threshold to qualify for the third round of debates in September expected to grow tighter, the Detroit debates could be the last chance for some candidates to make an impression before the American public.
Hickenlooper, Ryan, Bullock, Delaney, and self help author Marianne Williamson have yet to qualify for September.
Wednesday’s debate will see Biden and Harris split centerstage once again, following their contentious encounter at the first debates in Miami last month over race and segregation. Biden, who continues to hold a commanding lead in the polls, is expected to be a top target yet again after stumbling through that confrontation.
Wednesday’s debate will also feature New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who has traded his own barbs with Biden on race, as well as candidates in desperate need of a breakthrough, such as former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Washington governor Jay Inslee.
In order to qualify for the next debates, scheduled for 12-13 September in Houston, Texas, candidates will need to amass 130,000 donors and reach 2% or more in at least four qualifying polls. Should no more than 10 candidates meet those requirements, the debate will be limited to just one night.