United States Democratic presidential hopefuls talk economic models
Warren and Sanders are essentially tied for second, at about half Biden’s support.
Detroit: Democratic presidential hopefuls clashed on Tuesday over their goals to remake the US economy, with leading contenders Elizabeth Warren and Ber-nie Sanders defending their liberal policies like universal health care aga-inst attacks by moderate rivals on the debate stage.
The two top-ranked candidates are feisty US senators and close friends who have built grass roots mo-vements and advocate si-milar agendas.
Warren demanded “big, structural change” and warned political “spinelessness” against Donald Trump will leave intact a “rigged system that has helped the wealthy and well-connected and kicked dirt in the faces of everyone else.” But she and Sanders faced crisp and immediate pushback from a handful of moderates challenging their call for such dramatic change in the US economy, particularly in health care.
“We have a choice. We can go down the road that Senator Sanders and Senator Warren want to take us, with bad policies like Medicare for All, free everything, and impossible promises that will turn off independent voters and get Trump re-elected,” ex-congressman John Delaney said criticising his liberal rivals. The debate features 20 candidates over two nights in Detroit, Michigan, a battleground state that Trump snatched from Democrats in 2016.
Frontrunner Joe Biden takes the stage on Wedne-sday between senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, prominent Afri-can American candidates who have strongly criticised the former vice president on racial issues.
The stakes are sky high. The debate is likely to winnow the sprawling field, perhaps by as much as half, ahead of the next one in September as the party seeks its best nominee to challenge Trump.
Underperformers like Senator Amy Klobuchar and Colorado ex-governor John Hickenlooper, both polling at under two percent, scrambled for breakout moments that resonated enough with voters to keep their struggling campaigns alive. Without one, several lower-tier candidates will have little justification for staying in the race. Biden has managed to maintain his pole position, with around 32 percent support according to a poll average compiled by RealClearPolitics.com.
Warren and Sanders are essentially tied for second, at about half Biden’s support. With major appeal among the party’s liberal wing, Warren and Sanders share similar political platforms: both support universal health care, tuition-free public college, tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans, a $15-per-hour minimum wage and regulations on Wall Street.
But while Sanders is a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist seeking to whip up a “political revolution,” Warren calls herself a capitalist who advocates fixes to the existing structure.