Elizabeth Warren Explains the Difference Between Democrats and Republicans on Health Care

“We are not about trying to take away health care from anyone. That’s what the Republicans are trying to do.”

Paul Sancya/AP

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When former Maryland congressman John Delaney challenged the premise of Medicare for All at Tuesday’s second Democratic presidential debate, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) teamed up to knock him down.

Moderator Jake Tapper asked Sanders how he would respond to Delaney’s accusations that Medicare for All, which would replace private health insurance with government-sponsored health care for everyone, was “bad policy” and “political suicide that will just get President Trump re-elected.” Sanders’ answer was succinct: “You’re wrong!”

When Delaney accused Sanders of trying to take people’s health insurance away, Warren adeptly jumped in.

“We are the Democrats. We are not about trying to take away health care from anyone,” she said. “That’s what the Republicans are trying to do, and we should stop using Republican talking points in order to talk with each other about how to best provide that healthcare.”

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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