Hillary Clinton attacked Bernie Sanders’ record on gun control, and said his healthcare plan risked derailing recent legislation.
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The 43 percent of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers who self-identify as socialist is actually more than the number who identify themselves as capitalist – 38 percent.
In South Carolina, Sanders countered that his “Medicare for all” proposal was the natural evolution to the health care law, reminding Clinton that he played a role in its passage.
Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton and Democratic presidential candidate, Sen.
Several times, O’Malley attempted – unsuccessfully – to interject himself into a Clinton-Sanders back and forth.
The two also went head-to-head on fiscal policy and healthcare reform. He noted that when his presidential campaign began, Clinton was 50 percentage points ahead of him in the polls.
Sanders supported a more aggressive single-payer system, and multiple news articles quoted him as being undecided about supporting the main Democratic bill until late in the process.
“Look back to 2008, you couldn’t have had a more intense competition between Secretary Clinton and President Obama”.
Former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley said healthcare is becoming more affordable as the model moves away from fee for service to one based on how well health systems keep patients out of the hospital. “Sanders has reversed his position on immunity”, Clinton said.
“He’s criticized President Obama for taking donations from Wall Street”. But she mentioned President Obama 22 times, complimenting his accomplishments and attacking Sanders’s previous criticism of the president.
Bernie Sanders, the Jewish senator vying for the Democratic presidential nod, called for normalizing relations with Iran.
Hours before the debate in South Carolina, Mr. Sanders, a Vermont senator, had unveiled a healthcare plan for all American citizens. “I don’t want to see the Republicans repeal it, and I don’t want to see us start over again with a contentious debate”. “We’re going to go forward”.
Clinton also defended the ACA, saying, “We’ve seen 19 million Americans get insurance”. Employees, employers and others would pay higher taxes in return for health care with no premiums or deductibles, a striking departure from the subsidies and conditions that Obama’s law has overlaid on the existing system.
“Nobody is tearing this up”, he said, referring to the program popularly known as Obamacare.
Mr Sanders, in turn, said Ms Clinton’s assertion that he kowtowed to the gun lobby was “very disingenuous”. He countered that he had a D-minus rating from the NRA, despite hailing from a state that does not embrace gun control.
Sanders supporters watching in Manchester, New Hampshire, said he seemed more engaged than in past debates.
“Yes, the challenges we face are many, but so are the quiet heroes working in every corner of America today doing their part to make our country a better place”, said the former secretary of state.
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All three are aware that their performance – the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses in two weeks – could have a crucial impact on who wins the state.
