The ten leading Democratic candidates in their primary debate hosted in Houston heavily discussed the following issues:
Health care
Gun control
Racism
Segregation and School districts
Education policy
Climate change
Foreign policies on trade and immigration
Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq
Even though the debate covered crucial issues, it was also entertaining. The candidates exchanged a few jabs and targeted each other’s policies. First, on the subject of health care, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Joe Biden engaged in a heated discussion about health insurance and ‘Medicare for All’ plan ( Segers & Watson, 2019 ). Both Warren and Sanders backed the ‘Medical for All’ program, but Biden responded by stating that he was against the plan. He brought up the cost issues of the program and said that neither Sanders nor Warren had explained in depth how they would pay for their plan.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Biden defended his failure to pull troops from Afghanistan and Iraq while he was the vice president. He asserted that it was possible to withdraw the U.S troops from Afghanistan and if elected, he would bring the troops home. However, Biden says he regretted voting for the approval of the Iraq war. In that case, Sanders responds to Biden’s remarks and slams him for not knowing that the Iraq war would take time to end. Besides, Sanders adds that he voted against the war and he believes the U.S should not have to spend $750 billion on military budget for unnecessary conflicts.
On foreign policy, the candidates discuss the tariffs against China implemented by President Trump. When Yang is asked if he would immediately repeal the tariffs, he responds by stating that he would not abolish the tariffs immediately but would work with China to make a new deal. Klobuchar agrees with Yang and emphasizes on negotiating with China on new foreign trade policies. On the same issue, Warren responds by saying that trade should not be used to undermine Americans but should be used to create a strong economy ( Segers & Watson, 2019 ). On gun control, O’Rourke said that he supported taking away assault weapons from the Americans. Biden and Harris praised O’Rourke on his remarks following his empathetic response to the El Paso shooting
On immigration, Biden was confronted with admitting whether he made a mistake by allowing deportations of three million undocumented immigrants during the Obama regime. He responds by saying that the Obama administration did what was best at the moment and praises President Obama for implementing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program ( Segers & Watson, 2019 ). Castro criticized Biden by accusing him of touting his time under Obama administration for his convenience. Castro added that Biden only wanted to take credit for Obama’s work and not answer any questions.
The commentator also presented their views on some of the candidates’ remarks. For instance, Biden's response to gun control was faced with some criticism from the commentator. The commentator asked Biden how could lead legislation on gun control when he failed to achieve meaningful legislation after Sandy Hook Massacre in 2012 under the Obama administration ( Segers & Watson, 2019 ). Also, the commentators pointed out that Castro’s attack on Biden for contradicting himself as disqualifying and a low blow.
Although Elizabeth Warren did not receive many questions in the debate, I consider her the strongest candidate for the democratic party ticket. Warren’s idea of ‘Medicare for All’ is a great platform to transform health care in America. It will make it easier for all families in America to access health care at much lower health insurance costs. Also, Warren’s stand on trade policy and gun control is remarkable. She has the state of the economy and the country as a whole in mind.
Reference
Segers, G., & Watson, K. (2019). Democrats clash on health care and immigration in the third debate. Retrieved 13 September 2019, from https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/democratic-debate-2019-09-12-abc-houston-texas-debate-coverage-live-stream-update-today/
