Clinton Digs at Sanders’ Stances by Katie Nicora
By Katie Nicora 11/17/2015
As the first Presidential primary draws closer, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton’s attacks on fellow candidate, Bernie Sanders, are growing more aggressive. She recently suggested that if the Vermont Senator takes office, he will “scrap” President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and raise taxes for the middle-class. These accusations are especially powerful since providing healthcare for all Americans and lowering middle-class taxes are two cornerstones of Sanders’ platform.
During the second Democratic debate Saturday, Clinton indirectly called out her rival. She said Democrats should be working to build upon Obama’s healthcare law, not trying to “scrap it and start all over again.” The former Secretary of State also questioned Sanders’ healthcare agenda.
Sanders’ ‘single-payer’ plan would expand Medicare to provide affordable, universal coverage for all Americans. “Private practitioners could still provide care, but everyone would be covered by a national health care plan. This allows for private delivery and public financing to insure guaranteed health care for all and effective cost control,” according to his website. It would also require each state to set up and run the program under federal rules and funding.
Clinton criticized the plan, stating it would dismantle the Affordable Care Act and empower Republicans like Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. Branstad is under scrutiny for his efforts to privatize the management of Medicaid.
Sanders said during a town hall meeting over the weekend that the U.S. is “the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all as a right. We have got to end that embarrassment.”
In an interview following the town hall meeting, Sanders explained he could pay for his agenda without raising taxes for the middle-class. It’s “the most progressive in terms of demanding that Wall Street, large corporations and the wealthy finally start paying their fair share of taxes,” he said.
Hillary Clinton, joined by her husband and former President Bill Clinton at a barbeque Sunday, said that America’s middle-class families “need a raise, not a tax increase.” The former New York Senator also committed during the debate to raising wages, not taxes.
Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager, defended the senator’s proposals in an interview Saturday, saying, “He’s raising taxes to pay for relief for middle-income and working people.”