TONIGHT: Sanders v Cruz — The Smarmy One Meets the New York Values He So Despises
CNN will be hosting a debate between Senators Bernie Sanders (I — VT) and Ted Cruz (R — TX), Tuesday night at 9:00 PM. Sanders and Cruz were the runners-up for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, respectively.
The subject of the debate will be the future of the Affordable Care Act under President Donald Trump and the Republican congress. Since before the ACA was passed, Republicans have attempted to derail it, unsuccessfully voting to repeal it over 60 times during the Obama administration. A January report by the Congressional Budget Office found that 18 million people would lose their health insurance in the first year under a repeal, and 32 million would lose it over the next decade. Further, a report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that full ACA repeal would cost up to $350 billion through 2027.
Sanders and Cruz, who sit on the partisan fringes of both of their parties, hold diametrically opposing views regarding healthcare. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who others have argued sits closer to European social democracy, has been a staunch advocate for single-payer health insurance similar to that found in most other industrialized countries. However, Sanders has advocated for keeping the ACA in place until it can be strengthened rather than weakened. Cruz has advocated for full repeal of the ACA without a replacement. Despite strong rhetoric over the past several years from leading Republicans, the party is not unified on a replacement plan for the ACA or even whether the ACA should be replaced at all.
CNN has hosted several town halls since the election, hosting Sanders, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Recently, Pelosi was asked by an NYU student about moving the Democratic party to the economic left, and her answer garnered some attention for its callousness: “We’re capitalists,” she said. “That’s just the way it is.”
Sanders might disagree.
