For months, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has tap-danced around the issue of whether or not her Medicare for All plan would raise taxes on the middle class. She’s sidestepped the question when asked about it at debates and she’s refused to directly address the issue when asked about it during post-debate interviews.
To better understand how adept she’s become at dodging the issue, here’s a video of her answers when asked about a middle-class tax hike since June:
Just this past weekend in Iowa, Warren continued to evade the question:
Liberal icon Stephen Colbert couldn’t get her to outright admit to it during the fawning interview with her last week. He came closer than anyone else, though. She acknowledged his point about using a different approach to try and sell a Medicare for All middle class tax hike to voters.
It’s obvious to just about everyone paying attention that the middle class would have to help pay for her Medicare for All plan. Even Sen. Bernie Sanders has admitted as much. Warren endorsed his proposal, which means she agrees with his plan on how to pay for it, too.
It’s also apparent why Warren doesn’t want to give Republicans and her Democratic opponents a soundbite by going on record and making the admission. It won’t play well with the electorate.
Via Bloomberg, polling information released by a Biden-linked polling firm bears this out:
A new poll by a firm linked to Joe Biden is testing messages designed to undercut support among Democrats for Medicare for All, one of the most contentious issues splitting the party’s top presidential contenders.The survey, commissioned by the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, found that primary voters start off favoring the government-run health care system by a margin of 70% to 21%, but can be persuaded to oppose it. The study showed that Democrats are most swayed by the arguments that the program would impose a heavy cost on taxpayers and threaten Medicare for senior citizens.The poll was conducted by Lisa Grove of Anzalone Liszt Grove Research. Her partner, John Anzalone, is the chief pollster and an adviser to Biden, who opposes Medicare for All and wants to make government-run insurance optional.[…]The survey found that Democrats are most swayed to oppose Medicare for All when told it would cost American taxpayers $3.2 trillion per year: 51% of Democratic primary voters said they found that argument convincing, while 43% said they did not.The poll also found that 51% of Democratic voters said the argument that it would “end Medicare as we know it” was convincing, while 53% said the claim that it would lower quality of care for seniors was convincing. And 51% said the argument that Medicare for All could expand wait times and limit access to medical specialists was convincing.
Those aren’t the only polling numbers on Medicare for All that could mean bad news for Warren with Democratic voters in the coming months. From a new Monmouth poll released today:
And a new WSJ/NBC poll shows eliminating private insurance in favor of a Medicare for All plan is not popular with the general electorate, either:
Look for Biden and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, in particular, to hammer these points home at the 4th Democratic debate scheduled for October 15th. Add Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to the mix, and it could prove to be a very challenging evening for Warren and Sanders both.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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