Elizabeth Warren in 8th Democratic Primary Debate
On Abortion:
National law to protect the right of a woman's choice
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who was looking to regain frontrunner status in New Hampshire, scored some of the loudest cheers of the night when
she called for "a national law to protect the right of a woman's choice" to have an abortion.
Source: CNBC.com excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
On Families & Children:
Real money into schools & housing, to fight child poverty
As the debate wound down, the candidates faced questions on what to do about young children in poverty and what it says about the country."Put real money into our schools, put real money into housing," said
Warren, who also pushed for more robust funding for education and health care.
Source: Washington Post excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
On Government Reform:
FactCheck: prolific past presence with high-dollar donors
Warren has rejected holding high-dollar private fundraisers during her presidential campaign, after raising money through such events throughout her Senate career. Warren has faced criticism for her prolific past presence on the high-dollar donor
circuit and for the money she transferred from her Senate campaign to her presidential campaign account.Warren also attacked her opponents for being supported by independent groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money: "[Most] on this
stage are either a billionaire or receiving help from PACs that can do unlimited spending. So if you really want to live where you say, then put your money where your mouth is and say no to the PACs."
She is not backed by a super PAC, but
Warren is supported by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a political action committee that is limited in the amount of money it can raise. An affiliated nonprofit, P Street Project, can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.
Source: Washington Post excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
On Tax Reform:
FactCheck: "2% wealth tax" is 6% on wealthiest billionaires
Warren referenced her proposed wealth tax twice during the debate, both times calling it a "2-cent wealth tax." It's true that part of her plan includes an annual tax of 2 cents on every dollar of wealth over $50 million, but she didn't mention that her
amended plan would call on those with more than $1 billion of wealth to pay triple that amount.Warren's original plan included the 2% tax on net worth over $50 million and a 3% tax on net worth over $1 billion. But she later introduced a plan to pay
for Medicare for All that included increasing the higher threshold tax to 6%.
However, some economists have questioned whether her plan would raise as much as she expects. If implemented in 2021, the taxes would raise between $2.3 trillion and $2.7
trillion over 10 years. That's about $1 trillion to $1.4 trillion less than the Warren campaign's estimate. The wealth tax would also reduce gross domestic product in 2050 by about 1-2%, depending on how the money is spent.
Source: FactCheck.org on 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
On Welfare & Poverty:
Need race-conscious laws to overcome housing discrimination
Mayor Pete Buttigieg sidestepped a question about why the number of marijuana possession arrests among black residents in South Bend increased under his leadership. Rather than answer the question directly, Buttigieg instead said that that category of
arrests was lower in his city than the national average. He then pivoted to discussing racism more broadly, before being called out by the moderator for deflecting.When asked if Buttigieg's response was substantial, Warren replied simply, "No."
"It's important to own up to the facts about how race has totally permeated our criminal justice system," she said. Warren referenced her housing plan, saying that the United States needs to "start having race-conscious laws."
"It was the policy of the United States of America to discriminate against African Americans and any other people of color for buying homes until 1965," she said. "You can't just repeal that and say, 'Okay, now everything is even.' It's not."
Source: CNBC.com excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate
Feb 8, 2020
On Crime:
Need to rework the entire criminal justice system
It's important to own up to the fact that race has permeated our criminal justice system. For the exact same crimes, study after study shows that African Americans are more likely than whites to be detained, to be arrested, to be taken to trial,
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Families & Children:
The best investment we can make is in our children
I started my grownup life as a special education teacher. I learned early on about the worth of every single human being, and I believe the best investment we can make as a nation is to invest in our children. I've talked about a two cent wealth tax,
but the whole idea behind it is we can do early childhood education and good quality child care, universal pre-K for every three year old and four year old in America.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Free Trade:
USMCA makes things somewhat better for workers
This NAFTA provision, makes things somewhat better for workers and for farmers and when I see a law that makes things somewhat better for hardworking people in this country, I'm saying, I'll sign up for that and then I'll get up tomorrow morning and
I'll start working hard for a better trade deal on climate, a better trade deal that has a basic coherence to it. Everyone wants to get to the American market. We should be raising standards on climate around the world to get access to our market.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Government Reform:
Now, our government is corrupt, works for rich only
People, whether they're Democrats, independents, or Republicans, understand that we've got a government works great for those at the top. Works great for drug companies, not for people trying to get a prescription filled.
Works great for oil companies, not for the rest of us who see climate change bearing down on us. When you see a government that works great for those who can hire lobbyists and make big campaign donations and it's not working so great for everyone else,
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Gun Control:
Approach gun violence as a public health emergency
We have a gun violence problem. It is about the shootings we hear about in schools, theaters and churches. It's about shootings that occur in playgrounds. It's about the increasing lethality of suicide because of the availability of guns. It is about
the increased chances that it's a woman who will die of domestic violence if she is with a violent man and a gun is in the home. We need to think of this problem like we did on auto safety. We treat it like the public health emergency that it is.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Health Care:
Reduce the cost of commonly-used prescription drugs
I think we need to think about healthcare a little differently and that is, 36 million Americans last year couldn't afford to have a prescription filled and that includes people with health insurance. On day one,
I will defend the Affordable Care Act and I will use march in orders to reduce the cost of commonly used prescription drugs like insulin and HIV, AIDS, drugs and EpiPens.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On Principles & Values:
Re-establish the rule of law: investigate government
No one is above the law, and that includes the President. We watched as Republicans locked arms to protect him from impeachment, but we need to reestablish the rule of law. I believe in our justice department that investigates crimes committed by our
own government. It is an important part of accountability. It is an important part for every administration, that we hold ourselves accountable to the American people. Look, people around this country are losing faith in our government.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
On War & Peace:
Nobody sees solutions in Afghanistan, so end the endless war
Nobody sees a solution to this war. Nobody can describe what winning looks like. All they can describe is endless war. The Afghan Government controls less than 60% of the land. The opium trade is higher than ever. We sent our troops in and they did
their best. They were there for us, but we need to be there for them. And that means, not send our troops to do work that cannot be solved militarily. It is time to bring our combat troops home. It is time to stop this endless war in Afghanistan.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Feb 7, 2020
Page last updated: Mar 23, 2020