Democratic primary October debate recap

Last Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Democratic party held its fourth presidential debate in Ohio. With 12 candidates on stage, it was the largest presidential debate of the 2020 race so far.

Among the 12 Democrats on stage, some of the more well-known candidates were former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, California Senator Kamala Harris, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke. Some of the issues discussed were gun control, women’s reproductive rights, healthcare, and President Trump’s impeachment.

According to Time, Warren was treated as the front-runner throughout the debate and “was therefore the subject of her fellow Democrats’ most pointed attacks.” Buttigieg was considered “one of the most forceful moderates on stage,” as he attacked O’Rourke’s plan for gun control and buying back assault rifles as well as Warren’s Medical for All healthcare plan. 

A highlight throughout the fourth debate was Sanders’ return to the stage after his heart attack on Oct. 1. As Time reports,  “The Vermont senator was lively and cracking jokes—an effort to lay to rest his supporters’ fears that he would not be healthy enough to soldier on to 2020.”

Gun control was a prominent point of contention, drawing a clash between O’Rourke and Buttigieg in particular. In the third debate, O’Rourke had become a controversial candidate and gained traction with voters due to his forward stance on gun control and mandatory assault weapon buybacks. “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” O’Rourke said in light of the recent shooting in his hometown of El Paso, Texas on Aug. 3.

During the fourth debate, however, Buttigieg brought up the issue of how O’Rourke’s controversial policy would be enforced. “Congressman, you just made it clear you don’t know how this is actually going to take weapons off the streets,” Buttigieg said during the debate, later adding “We can’t wait, people are dying on the streets right now.”

O’Rourke referenced the March for Our Lives movement and brought up his support for universal background and red flag laws, among other gun reforms, but did not explain how he would enforce mandatory buybacks for people who would not voluntarily turn in their assault weapons. After three minutes of heated debate, Buttigieg closed with “What we owe to these survivors is to actually deliver a solution.” 

Another highlight of the night was Harris’ argument for reproductive rights.“This is the sixth debate we have had in this presidential cycle,” Harris said. “And not nearly one word, with all of these discussions about health care, on women’s access to reproductive health care, which is under full-on attack in America today. And it’s outrageous.” 

When asked what she would do regarding further restrictions of women’s reproductive rights in other states, Harris said, “The Department of Justice would review such a law to determine if it was compliant with Roe v. Wade and the Constitution… If it is not, that law will not go into effect.” 

As a closing statement regarding this topic, Harris said, “Women have been given the responsibility to perpetuate the human species,” she said. “Our bodies were created to do that, and it does not give any other person the right to tell a woman what to do with that body. It is her body. It is her right. It is her decision.”

Like the past few debates, healthcare was also one of the biggest topics that came up. In the previous debate Biden, Sanders and Warren clashed on the ideas regarding healthcare reform, with different candidates either supporting different version of Medicare for All, a public option plan, or their own alternative plans. So far, Warren and Sanders are the only two candidates who wholly support eliminating private insurance in favor of a Medicare for All plan. 

During the fourth debate, the healthcare topic came up as Warren seemed to avoid questions regarding how her Medicare for All plan would affect the middle class with potential tax raises. Buttigieg said, “I don’t understand why you believe the only way to deliver affordable coverage to everybody is to obliterate private plans, kicking 150 million Americans off of their insurance in four short years.” Warren shot back by saying that Medicare for all would show that the Democratic Party was willing to take on the insurance industry. 

Despite disagreements over other issues, the subject that all 12 Democratic candidates agreed on without any hesitation was the question of Trump’s impeachment. All candidates fully supported the House investigation and the overall impeachment inquiry. 

In the current aftermath of the debate, Biden is still leading in most national polls, followed by Sanders and then Warren, according to FiveThirtyEight. However, key swing states show different polling results, with the Civiqs Iowa State University poll reporting Warren in the lead, followed by Buttigieg, Sanders and then Biden respectively. 

Among students in MoCo, candidate support remains relatively diverse. “I would vote for Pete B. because not only is he the youngest there, but he has the attitude and capabilities that the country needs in a leader in this current time,” Springbrook junior Joshua Katenga said, “He is planning to improve policies, policies that have held citizens back from full access to a better life, policies that gave advantages to certain classes rather than all.” 

On the other hand, James Hubert Blake high school junior Ricardo Rodriguez said, “Other than Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, I don’t like [the candidates] simply because I don’t think they’re fit to be president.” Rodriguez supports Sanders most and said, “He wants to make all colleges free, new climate plan, the legalization of marijuana.”

However, most students agree that watching the debates on educating themselves on candidate positions is essential. “It is extremely important or else we would have the current president in office because of poor judgement and unnecessary prejudice,” Katenga said. 

The next Democratic debate will be held in Georgia on Nov. 20, about four months before the primary elections on the first Tuesday of March 2020.

Article by Hallie Rozario of Springbrook High School

Graphic by Jillian Wimbush of Richard Montgomery High School