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The last few weeks have shown in a remarkable way how far the Democratic Party has moved to the left. Many of its members, in the presidential field of 2020, are now adopting previously untouchable positions in health and immigration.
Democrats once extolled their defense of people with pre-existing conditions – a position backed by the vast majority of Americans – but many prominent presidential candidates are now supportive of the removal of private insurance coverage on which most people in the country support it. Democrats focused almost exclusively on the reunification of migrant children and their families and on the protection of undocumented immigrants brought here by their parents; now, many candidates openly want the illegal crossing of the border to be a civil rather than a criminal offense.
High-profile changes in the issues of greatest concern to voters mean that many candidates run the gambit to tap into new energy in the party's liberal base, with some of its strongest voices in the primary season. But this raises new concerns and has a cost: to confirm the arguments of Republicans that Democrats are well outside the mainstream, a threatening posture when moderate suburban voters were the pivot of victory in general elections and polls by secret ballot.
"Donald Trump, you can see it on his face. He thinks the game is coming to him. You can see it every day on his face, "said Senator Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), A presidential candidate who has fought hard for more centrist policies.
Bennet is particularly alarmed by the evolution of health care. Of the top four Democrats measured by national polls, only one – former vice president Joe Biden – is strongly opposed to the removal of private insurance for the benefit of a regime. managed by the government. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Plans to defend his Medicare-for-all plan in an important speech this week.
"If we designate someone who is for this plan, we will not win the presidency and we will have no hope of winning a majority in the Senate," Bennet said. "We should be in breach of health care. But if we go in this election talk about withdrawing [employer-based] health insurance for 180 million people, I guarantee that we will be in defense. "
Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Speaks at a campaign stop in Peterborough, N.H., on July 8th. (Charles Krupa / AP)
On the second evening of the June presidential debate, the ten candidates raised their hand in favor of health insurance for undocumented immigrants – though some said they were not in favor of full coverage.
Biden and other more centrist candidates became more animated following the break-up of the debate on the left. As if to underline their concerns, the New York Post made one of the representatives by raising their hand when questions about health care provided to undocumented immigrants.
"Who wants to lose the elections?" Titled the title.
"I would not be honest if I said I'm not worried," said Representative Jeff Van Drew (DN.J.), who won in a conservative district in 2018 that Trump wore and was surprised to see that He was raising his hands during the debate on another issue, were the candidates in favor of the decriminalization of border crossings?
"This is another way of saying that we are just going to have open borders. It's not good for the country, "said Van Drew. "We can not receive countless people, I think we need borders, and they need to have a physical structure."
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) Greets supporters on July 10 in Brooklyn. (Frank Franklin II / AP)
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Who took advantage of the policy rollout to step up the polls, outlined an immigration plan on Thursday that would firmly put her on the Liberal side of the debate by calling for: redo two major agencies "immigration application" from top to bottom ".
Two of the most ineffective debating performances came from candidates who could have been a powerful counterweight to the lure of the left. Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke (D-Tex.) Had a hard time exchanging with former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, who advocated for the decriminalization of the passage. borders. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) Turned to Biden, who took it wrong, in a discussion about buses and segregationists.
The dynamics of the sprawling field of the Democratic candidacy also contributed to the leftist movement, the lesser known candidates having helped to define the party with provocative statements.
"One of the challenges we have as a party is that when you have 25 votes when a good day, it's difficult to communicate a comprehensive platform," said Celinda Lake, Democratic strategist and investigator. "Republicans have a huge advantage, not just with the chair of intimidation, but they have one voice. We need to make sure that all these voices add up to give a clear democratic perspective that can be communicated in nine seconds. And it's hard. "
The divisions are a continuation of the feuds within the party over the cause of its defeat in 2016 and the question of whether the right way forward is to appeal to liberal voters, to try to win back the Democrats and independents who opted for Trump, or a merger of the two.
"In my Liberal bubble, options and debates on climate, health care and immigration are exciting," said Chris Savage, president of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party in Michigan, who also manages a liberal news site called Eclectablog. "The Democrats have not done particularly well in the last eight or ten years. Maybe this new approach will bring more fruit. "
Some candidates are comfortable with this direction and say that it could be beneficial for the party in the long run. They argue that a government-run health system would be beneficial to Americans, many of whom are suffering financial hardship because of health care bills under the private insurance system. They also consider that the decriminalization of border crossings is much more humane than the current system and claim that immigrants who cross the border illegally should face civil and not criminal penalties.
"I think that one of the healthy aspects of the main process, especially if we are many, is that you will see all the democratic views, and I think we will come to a balanced and quality place. , "South Bend, Ind., Said Mayor Pete Buttigieg in an interview.
Last year, the Democrats were rigorously disciplined with a consistent message, telling race-by-race voters in the country that Republicans wanted to destroy President Barack Obama's health care law and remove any coverage from needy Americans. In TV commercials and debates, Democrats have claimed that Republicans were unfairly demonizing them as a party for open borders. This successful strategy is at least under threat.
Earlier in the race, many candidates had declared in favor of the abolition of the electoral college, the amendment of the Supreme Court, free tuition fees and the cancellation of student loans and the lifting of obstruction, so many measures supported by the party's more liberal voters. But these issues have much less resonance among other voters than health care, the main problem of Democrats for years, and immigration, driving many Republicans.
Health insurance has become a major fault line between parties, with Warren and Sanders firmly in favor of the Medicare for All plan that would significantly limit or eliminate the role of private insurers. Harris was staggering on the issue, sometimes going towards this proposal, then retreating quickly.
During the debate, she teamed up with Sanders to raise her hand in response to a question asking whether candidates would abolish private insurance for the benefit of a government plan. She said the next day that she understood that the question was about her own insurance and not about what she would do for all Americans.
"When the debate is about affordability for all Americans and the assurance that everyone can take care of their family, it's a good place. That's the way to fight, "said Andy Slavitt, Acting Administrator of the Obama Administration's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who now sits on the board of a health care services company. health. "Everyone should be uncomfortable if we have a much simpler conversation about something simple, without a lot of detail, that locks people up in a corner."
Mr. Biden did not submit his detailed proposal on health care, but he encouraged people to retain their employer's insurance if they prefer. He said that they could also buy a public option such as Medicare – "build on what we have, do not start from scratch again," as he has said.
"I'm going to be very direct with you: it will be a big debate among all of us in this race," Biden said in Waterloo, Iowa, a week after the debate. "I basically disagree with anyone who says" Scrap Obamacare. "I am against any Republican who wants to suppress it, I am against any democrat who wants to suppress it."
Mindful of the widespread concern over Medicare for all, Sanders explained at the recent opening of the West Des Moines campaign office that he was interested in the concerns expressed by critics about his proposal. single payer. Referring to some of the political risks of his program, he warned that Democrats should refute the "lies" about his proposals.
"In spite of what everyone can tell you, the program we are fighting for, one-time payers and Medicare guarantees, will give people 100% freedom of choice, go see the doctor of their choice." choice, "said Sanders.
"People say, well, I'm going to lose my private insurance," added Sanders. "What Medicare-for-all is going to do for employers and for workers is to finally bring you stability. It will be there.
Voters in Iowa in recent days seemed as divided as the candidates. Ray Frederickson, 56, of Cedar Falls, said he sees Biden as a moderate presence in the Democratic realm, a person who does not make promises that he can not offer or pay.
"You can not just say a free college for every child," Frederickson said. "What are we going to do things that affect ordinary people? We will not remove all health care in the country. We must consolidate what we have.
But John Deeth, a Democratic blogger and Iowa activist, said he saw no political problem in adopting radical ideas that Republicans seemed to want to reject. Restoration among moderates and centrists poses a greater risk: disenchanting the party's top constituents by 2020 and reducing voter turnout in key cities like Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Detroit, he said.
"The Democratic Party," he said, "can not throw his base under the bus."
David Weigel, Laura Hughes, Sean Sullivan and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. contributed to this report.
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