The Medicare for All approach pushed by Warren and Sanders, which has gained support in Congress, would create a government-operated plan that eliminates private insurance. It is modeled on the Medicare government healthcare program for seniors.
O’Rourke said private insurance was “fundamental to our ability to get everybody cared for,” but de Blasio cut him off.
“Congressman O’Rourke, private insurance is not working for tens of millions of Americans when you talk about the copays, the deductibles the premiums – it’s not working. How can you defend a system that’s not working?”
“Boring”
O’Rourke also came under attack from Castro over the separation of families and detention of migrants at the southern border. Castro said he would decriminalize border crossings by migrants, which he said had led to the separation of families. He challenged O’Rourke and others to support him.
O’Rourke said that as a congressman he helped introduce a bill that would ensure that those who are seeking asylum and refuge in the United States are not criminalized.
Castro responded: “I’m not talking about the ones that are seeking asylum, I’m talking about everybody else.” He accused O’Rourke of not doing his homework.
Trump hinted he would not tweet his reactions to the debate live. It was taking place as he flies aboard Air Force One to Osaka, Japan, for a G20 summit.
But shortly after it began, he could not help himself. “BORING!” he tweeted.
“This debate was the best argument for President Trump’s re-election and should really be counted as an in-kind contribution to the President’s campaign,” Kayleigh McEnany, the Trump campaign’s spokeswoman, said in a statement.
“The far-left, socialist policies Democrats embraced tonight were akin to a mutual political suicide pact,” she said.
The debate was an opportunity for some of the less-noticed candidates to step out of the shadow cast by Biden, a former vice president, and Sanders, a senator from Vermont.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker had the most speaking time in the debate at about 11 minutes, according to the New York Times and other media trackers. He was followed by O’Rourke, Warren and Castro. Washington Governor Jay Inslee had the least.
Several of the contenders took aim at corporate America, saying it did not pay enough in taxes, repaid government bailouts by shifting jobs overseas and charged too much for its products.
“Who is this economy really working for? It’s doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. It’s doing great for giant drug companies. It’s just not doing great for people who are trying to get a prescription filled,” Warren said.
