Analysis: Elizabeth Warren growing into front-runner status
Associated PressWESTERVILLE, Ohio — The question was inevitable. For the second consecutive debate, Warren refused to say whether middle-class Americans would pay higher taxes under her proposed “Medicare for All” plan. While Warren has surged into the upper tier of candidates with former Vice President Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, her liberal, government-funded policies have become subject to added scrutiny, prompting concerns about whether her views are out of the mainstream and would imperil Democrats’ chances in the general election against President Donald Trump. “I don’t understand why you believe the only way to deliver affordable insurance to everybody is to obliterate private plans.” Minnesota Sen. Klobuchar said Warren’s obfuscating was all the more obvious because Bernie Sanders — whose Medicare for All bill Warren supports — has conceded that middle-class taxes would go up, though he contends the increases would be offset by lower health care costs. “Elizabeth Warren was treated like the front-runner,” said Adam Green, a top Warren supporter and co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, adding that she showed strength in the face of aggressive attacks.