Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders offered an unabashed defense of their progressive policies during a Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, as their more moderate rivals criticized their proposals as unrealistic and politically untenable.<\/p>\n
The debate frequently pitted the two U.S. senators against the other eight candidates on stage, with healthcare and immigration policy highlighting the divisions between the two camps.<\/p>\n
On the first night of back-to-back debates, Democrats were united in stressing the urgency of defeating Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. But they delivered bruising critiques of their party rivals\u2019 positions as detailed policy disagreements dominated the nearly three-hour event.<\/p>\n
The dispute between the moderate and liberal wings of the Democratic Party highlighted the central question of the nominating contest: Which candidate in the field of more than two dozen would be best positioned to beat Trump next year?<\/p>\n
The moderate wing, led at times by Montana Governor Steve Bullock, argued Democrats risk losing voters after moving too far to the left in the opening debate last month in Miami.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching that last debate, folks seemed more concerned about scoring points or outdoing each other with wish-list economics than making sure Americans know we hear their voices and will help their lives,\u201d said Bullock, who emerged as a forceful voice in his first presidential debate.<\/p>\n
Democratic debate highlights: Moderates assail ‘impossible’ liberal agenda
\nIn contrast, progressives argued their policies would excite voters and allow them to draw a distinct contrast to Trump.<\/p>\n
Warren rebuked former U.S. Representative John Delaney, who often played the role of foil to the progressives during the debate, firing back at his criticism of her policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States to talk about what we really can\u2019t do and shouldn\u2019t fight for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Sanders also bristled at arguments that his proposals could not be realistically achieved, saying: \u201cI get a little bit tired of Democrats afraid of big ideas. Republicans are not afraid of big ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has been eager to paint the entire Democratic field as socialists, seeking to make any eventual nominee unsavory for voters by arguing Democrats want to raise taxes, open the U.S. borders and take away private healthcare.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s campaign spokeswoman echoed that sentiment in a statement about the debate on Tuesday night, calling the field \u201cradical Democrats\u201d with a \u201csocialist message.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, encouraged his party to ignore Trump\u2019s inevitable criticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we embrace a far-left agenda, they\u2019re going to say we\u2019re a bunch of crazy socialists,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we embrace a conservative agenda, you know what they\u2019re going to do? They\u2019re going to say we\u2019re a bunch of crazy socialists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Healthcare, Immigration<\/strong> Instead, they often found themselves teaming up to defend policy positions they share instead of drawing contrasts.<\/p>\n The first section of the debate centered on a dispute about the future of the U.S. healthcare system, and whether Democrats should embrace Medicare for All proposals that would have the government take over the health insurance industry.<\/p>\n Democrats have made access to affordable healthcare one of their defining issues as the Trump administration has worked to chip away at former Democratic President Barack Obama\u2019s signature 2010 Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n Delaney attacked the Medicare for All proposal that has been put forward by Warren and Sanders, arguing Americans who like private insurance should be able to keep it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy do we have to be the party of taking something away from people?\u201d said Delaney.<\/p>\n He pointed to Warren and Sanders: \u201cThey are running on telling half the country that your health insurance is illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren interjected to defend a government takeover of health insurance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not trying to take healthcare away from anyone. That\u2019s what Republicans are trying to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Sanders, who has introduced a Medicare for All bill in the U.S. Senate, said: \u201cHealthcare is a human right, not a privilege. I believe that, I will fight for that.\u201d<\/p>\n The candidates also differed on immigration policy – disagreeing on whether illegal border crossings should be decriminalized.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to decriminalize everything,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cWhat you have to do is to have a president in there with the judgment and the decency to treat someone that comes to the border like one of our own.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren disagreed, saying: \u201cWe need to expand legal immigration, we need to create a path for citizenship not just for dreamers but for grandmas and for people who have been working here in the farms and for students who have overstayed their visas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou are playing into Donald Trump\u2019s hands,\u201d Bullock said.<\/p>\n Critical Cutoff<\/strong> Several were hoping to replicate the performance of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, who enjoyed a brief surge after a strong performance in the first debate after confronting Biden on the issue of race.<\/p>\n But no standout moments emerged from the debate.<\/p>\n Candidates like U.S. Representative Tim Ryan and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper remain at risk of failing to qualify for the third debate in September in Houston.<\/p>\n The Democratic National Committee will double its fundraising and polling requirements to qualify for participation in the next debates in September and October.<\/p>\n Eight candidates have so qualified for the next round of debates: Biden, Warren, Sanders, Harris, Buttigieg, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, former congressman Beto O\u2019Rourke and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, according to their campaigns.<\/p>\n Ten more candidates will face off on Wednesday night, including Biden and Harris.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders offered an unabashed defense of their progressive policies during a Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, as their more moderate rivals criticized their proposals as unrealistic and politically untenable. The debate frequently pitted the two U.S. senators against the other eight candidates on stage, with healthcare and immigration policy highlighting the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":106777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,2,4],"tags":[24567,50191,34191,31334],"yoast_head":"\n
\nAs the front-runners in polls among the candidates debating on Tuesday, Sanders and Warren vowed not to attack each other, but needed to distinguish themselves in their bid to gain ground on the leader in the race, former Vice President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n
\nAmong the lower-tier candidates who were aiming to produce a race-changing moment, Tuesday night\u2019s debate may have been the final performance for some.<\/p>\n