 CNN finally gave Elizabeth Warren her own town hall and I think it was long overdue and overall She did a really good job in my opinion. You can tell that she was having a lot of fun with it I think that she came across as a really personable candidate This wasn't necessarily the I'm gonna crack open a beer Elizabeth Warren that we saw on Instagram when she first launched I think you kind of saw her embrace the inner Wank and nerd that she actually is and that's great because that's what we love about Elizabeth Warren Be yourself. Don't try to be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Don't even try to be Bernie Just be yourself and tell us about your policy ideas and for the most part I think that she did that really well And this is probably the first CNN town hall where I'm not going to complain about the questions that were asked because for the Most part almost all of them were very substantive, which is Great, it's a breath of fresh air because when you tune into CNN you expect mostly idiotic questions But I mean for the most part they were great I think that they curated a list of questions that were fair But still tough. So by and large I think that she did a great job and I'm tempted to give her a high grade However, she answered so poorly on one particular question that it not just harmed my Perspective or impacted my perspective about the town hall overall it actually literally brought her down in my book as a candidate and That is a question about Medicare for all. It's the one question where I think it was clear she completely bombed and I'm gonna show you a clip now of an individual that Talked about Medicare for all and he framed his question in a way of I support it but I'm worried about the fact that Unions are kind of against it because people like their current health insurance And if you're someone who actually supports Medicare for all what you want to do in these instances is educate them This is what Bernie Sanders did at his town hall Bernie Sanders explained that people don't necessarily like their insurance rather They like their doctor so really the only difference with Medicare for all and the current for-profit system Is that instead of having a blue cross blue shield card? You'd have a Medicare card So we're really at a point in time where when we have the public behind a certain policy Medicare for all now Progressive leaders need to be educating people giving them the details But Elizabeth Warren did not do that. She talked about everything with regard to healthcare, but Medicare for all So this is her answer and then when we come back I'm gonna tell you why I was so disappointed, but don't worry We will get to her other answers so we'll end on a positive note But I just want to get this out of the way because I think it's really important Healthcare is a basic human right and we fight for basic human rights And then let's put these in order because I appreciate that your question starts with the affordable care act Let's all remember when we're talking about what's possible Let's start where we are and the difference between Democrats and Republicans Right now Democrats are trying to figure out how to expand health care coverage at the lowest possible cost So everybody is covered Republicans right this minute are out there trying to repeal the affordable care act They've got a lawsuit pending down in Texas where they're trying to roll it back what they couldn't do with a vote They're trying to do with the courts HHS every day is doing what they can to undermine the affordable care act So we're talking about health care in America right now The first thing we need to be talking about is defend the affordable care act Protection under the affordable care act part two Let's make the improvements that are what I think of as the low-hanging fruit for example Let's bring down the cost of prescription drugs And then you know what you're gonna hear from a consumer advocate and that is we need to hold insurance companies accountable and that means no tricking and trapping people on those insurance contracts and Then when we talk about Medicare for all There are a lot of different pathways What we're all looking for is the lowest cost way to make sure Everybody gets covered and some folks are talking about let's start lowering the age Maybe bring it down to 60 55 50 that helps cover people who are most at risk and can be helpful for example to the labor's plans some people say do it the other way let's bring it up from Everybody under 30 gets covered by Medicare Others say let employers be able to buy into the Medicare plans others say let's let employees buy into the Medicare plans For me what's key is we get everybody at the table on this that Labor's at the table that people who have to buy on their own Everybody comes to the table together and we figure out how to do Medicare for all in a way That makes sure that we're gonna get a hundred percent coverage in this country at the lowest possible cost for everyone That's our job first of all she started by saying health care is a right This is a term that was important at first But now it's meaningless because even corporate Democrats like John Delaney contend that health care is a right But that doesn't necessarily mean that it should be a right in the sense that it's free at the point of delivery Which means they don't actually believe it's a right But what this tells me is that corporate Democrats have co-opted the language that progressives use when pitching Medicare for all So that doesn't say anything so saying health care is a right not important anymore She then pivoted to how bad Republicans are and said look Democrats want to expand health care Republicans want to chip away at it and that's true, but you should be explaining Medicare for all specifically She said we've got to start by defending the affordable care act And then we've got to bring down the price of prescription drugs and then we've got a whole insurance companies accountable And finally towards the end she got to Medicare for all and she says when we talk about Medicare for all There are lots of different pathways what we're all looking for is the lowest cost way to make sure Everybody gets covered and then she talks about lowering the age of Medicare and then a public Option where you can buy into Medicare and it's just evident that she was tap-dancing around Medicare for all itself And then she said we need to get people together Quote and figure out how to do Medicare for all in a way that makes sure that we're gonna get 100% Coverage in this country at the lowest possible cost for everyone. Well, hey Liz. I've got news for you You just answered your own question It's Medicare for all So if you say Medicare for all and you're still wondering how we get to lower cost coverage and 100% of people covered Then something seriously disingenuous is happening there Because if you want to get to 100% coverage, you just pass Medicare for all It really is that simple now crafting the policy details itself is complex But it is the one solution That is not just something that's politically savvy because it's overwhelmingly popular, but from a policy standpoint It's just good policy. It's what all the other Modern industrialized nations have and it's what we should move towards But she didn't say that now I'm going to show you a follow-up where Jake Tapper said well Look, you've cosponsored Bernie Sanders Medicare for all bill. Does that mean you support abolishing private health insurance companies now? I have an issue with the way he framed that question because this talk of abolishing Private health care companies is a bit disingenuous because Bernie's bill and primal Agile Paul's bill does not just outright say We're going to abolish private health insurance companies It just kind of makes them outdated and unnecessary if you have Medicare for all But nonetheless, I'm not playing you this clip so you can see Jake Tapper Basically talk about Medicare for all in a really ignorant way I'm playing it for you because I want you to pay attention to how fast Elizabeth Warren runs away from the fact that she cosponsored Bernie Sanders Medicare for all bill So you are a cosponsor of senator Bernie Sanders Medicare for for all bill And I understand there are a lot of different paths to universal coverage But his bill that you've cosponsored would essentially eliminate private insurance. Is that something you could support? He's got a runway for that. I think we get everybody together and that's what it is. We'll decide I've also cosponsored other bills including expanding Medicaid is another approach that we use But what's really important to me about this is we never lose sight Of what the center is because the center is about making sure that every single person in this country Gets the coverage they need and that it's at a price that they can afford We start with our values. We'll get to the right place. Ask yourself this question Does that look to you like someone who's going to fight for Medicare for all if she gets elected? It was almost as if she was embarrassed to admit that she cosponsored Bernie Sanders Medicare for all bill Oh, well, I didn't just cosponsor that bill. I cosponsored these other bills too public option lowering the age of uh Medicare I don't understand why she would do this But it communicates to me very clearly that She does not support Medicare for all and she absolutely wouldn't fight for it because at this stage When you already have the public behind you if you actually support Medicare for all then you're moving on to the details You're now trying to educate people about it before you actually implement it. She's not doing that. She's talking about other issues So I mean, this was absolutely It felt like a gut punch to see her talk about it this way because I already told you that she's kind of giving us indications That she's backing away from Medicare for all but she still had enough room for plausible deniability But here with this long-winded answer where she wouldn't firmly commit to it. It's evident. She just doesn't support it She may support it in a roundabout way. It may be a long-term goal But within the next four to eight years in the event. She's elected. Would she fight for it? I think it's clear she would not so I was thoroughly Unimpressed it affected the way I feel about her as a candidate. She went down substantially in my book I mean Medicare for all is the bare minimum. It's the easiest litmus test to pass if you actually are progressive Do you think people should not die or go bankrupt? If they can't afford health insurance if the answer is yes, then the only solution Is making health care free at the point of service? That's what Medicare for all does and it's already a compromise because the ideal system would be a national health system Like the uk has so we're already Compromising but you can't even commit to something that's just standard for american progressivism And that is now supported among the overwhelming majority of americans It's just unforgivable But I don't want to give you the impression That this entire town hall was awful because of that answer because really that was the outlier Because everything else was pretty good So she was asked a question about Essentially reparations the person who posed a question to her didn't say the words reparations She asked what her administration would do to apologize to To apologize for 400 years of slavery And I was actually really impressed here with elizabeth warren's answer america was founded On principles of liberty and freedom And on the backs of slave labor This is a stain on america And we're not going to fix that we're not going to change that Until we address it head on directly And make no mistake It's not just the original founding It's what's happened generation after generation The impact of discrimination Handed down from one to the next Means that today in america because of housing discrimination because of employment discrimination We live in a world where for the average white family has a hundred dollars The average black family has about five dollars So I believe it's time To start the national full-blown conversation about reparations in this country I support the bill in the house To point a congressional panel of experts of people who are studying this who talk about different ways We may be able to do it and to make a report back to congress so that we can as a nation Do what's right and begin to heal So she was asked a really broad question and she chose to bring up reparations And she also talked about pushing for hr40 She talked about bringing people from the community together to Decide what's the best approach here for reparations and jake tapper asked whether or not she supports writing a check And she didn't explicitly endorse this No candidate has thus far, but I do think that her answer about bringing people together It was comprehensive and it was impressive It showed that she really is listening and she's astute here at least minimally So I personally was impressed here and then the issue of voting rights came up And she touched on a topic within the discussion of voting rights that no candidate ever talks about and it was another area Where I was absolutely impressed with her answer I believe we need a constitutional amendment That protects the right to vote for every american citizen and to make sure that vote gets counted We need to put some federal muscle behind that And we need to repeal every one of the voter suppression laws that is out there right now And I'll tell you one more We need to make sure that every vote counts And and I want to I want to push that right here in mississippi because I think this is an important point You know come a general election Presidential candidates don't come to places like mississippi Yeah, they also don't come to places like california and massachusetts Right because we're not the battleground states Well, my view is that every vote matters and the way we can make that happen Is that we can have national voting And that means get rid of the electoral college That right there in my opinion is exactly how you answer a question about voting rights because it's not just like You have to repeal all of these voter id laws and laws that disenfranchise voters and you know It's not just about re-enfranchising voters It's making sure that our democracy as a whole is more equitable and so long as we have this outdated racist institution Known as the electoral college in place. We can't have that so she Talked about abolishing the electoral college and the crowd went nuts That was probably one of the moments where they applauded her the loudest and the strongest because they were so excited And i'm especially glad to see her come out and take this position After another progressive presidential candidate andrew yang came out and said i don't support abolishing the electoral college And i can't see how that is something anyone could agree with because What andrew yang was saying is look i think that if we do that then candidates are just going to campaign in densely populated cities and they're going to avoid rural areas but They should be campaigning where the people are and what matters the most Is that all of our votes are weighted equally but somebody in california? Doesn't have as much voting power as someone in a swing state Like ohio, so that's completely Unacceptable so i don't even think that it's reasonable anymore to say I'm against abolishing the electoral college I think it's just the standard progressive position because if you honestly think we shouldn't then you have to defend How twice in modern history? we've had presidents who Actually were able to assume office while getting less votes than their opponent It's just an untenable position for someone who's progressive And i'm really glad that she came out swinging here now the last clip that i want to play for you Is her plan to mitigate corruption? She was initially asked what she'd do to make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share And um, you know, I think that She went into corruption and Her accountable capitalism act and overall it wasn't a perfect answer But for the most part it was really great and uh thorough when you've got a government that works for the rich And it's not working nearly as well for anyone else That's corruption and we need to call it out plain and simple So the first thing we need to do is we need to attack that corruption head on I have the biggest anti-corruption bill Since watergate big problem. You got to have a big bill to deal with it Now it's got a lot of pieces to it But the main point is to beat back on the influence of money Because that's how they keep getting this government getting this country to work for them So for example, my bill says we're going to end lobbying as we know it Block the revolving door between main street between wall street and washington Of that i'll give you one more Everyone who runs for federal office ought to have to put their taxes online We got to deal with the corruption head on but let me give you a part two I was talking earlier about we got to rewrite the rules in this economy And part of that is putting more power back in the hands of workers Unions that's one way to do it I've got an accountable capitalism bill that says on the big fortune 500 companies That we're going to have employees also sit on the board of directors and help make decisions But there's one more we've got to talk about and that is my ultra millionaires tax So the idea is on the truly great fortunes 50 million dollars and above We start charging two percent a year on just that 50 millionth and first dollar and on up 2% a year by the way Anybody in here a homeowner You've been paying wealth taxes for a long time. They're just called property taxes I just want to include the rim brandt and the diamonds in the property taxes So I want to put a wealth tax in place And I just want to talk to you for one minute about how that restructures our whole economy We get a 2 tax on the 75,000 richest families in this country We would have enough money to provide universal childcare universal pre-k universal pre pre-k For every child in america and still have two trillion dollars left over Let's make some happen So I liked her response there because it was long but unlike her answer on medicare for all this was actually substantive Now it's not perfect because my perfect answer to the issue of corruption would be a constitutional amendment Where we just get money out of politics. We ban super PACs and we publicly finance every single election That's my ideal situation. But nonetheless what she's talking about here. It really wouldn't make a difference She talked about her anti-corruption bill that would end lobbying as we know it. I need to know more details But I like it just you know by default. She talked about locking the revolving door between Main Street in washington She talked about how everyone who runs for federal office will be mandated to release their tax returns I mean, I think that this is all just standard and it's common sense And then she talked about her accountable capitalism act And what I liked is that she brought up her wealth tax But she compared it to a property tax and explained how we kind of already have a wealth tax on home owners It's just that we call it property taxes and not a wealth tax And she didn't just talk about the amount of revenue that that would bring in But she gave us some examples as to what we could do with that revenue And I think that's exactly how you've got to answer these questions You don't make it just about forcing the rich to pay their fair share But you make it about giving americans what's owed to them. So by and large to kind of just take a step back I think she did a good job. She answered most questions in a way that ranges from adequate to excellent But I just I really am stuck on her answer When it comes to Medicare for all it was so atrocious. I didn't expect her To give that bad of an answer. Um, and I know that people will call me a larmist and say that I'm being hyperbolic and I'm trying to you know Not interpret her answer in a way that's charitable or should be interpreted But look you've got to understand that if somebody's not saying why we need Medicare for all Then they're not in favor of Medicare for all Because if you say well, there's many paths to Medicare for all Essentially what you're arguing for is a stepping stone in between Medicare for all and our current system, which is unnecessary You don't need a stepping stone. There's no law that mandates a stepping stone Between um, you know what we have now our shitty system in Medicare for all You could just pass Medicare for all and have it be the law But overall, I don't want to give you the impression that this was bad. I think she did a good job It's just that that answer was bad on Medicare for all But um, it was it was a good town hall. I would encourage people to watch the entire thing But um, overall, I think that it's clear she has some really innovative ideas And you can see that she's trying to be more authentic and I think that it's working for her She's more personable. She's not trying to be as focus group driven as she previously seemed at the beginning of her campaign And you know by and large, I think this was a good town hall and it was More heavy on the substance than I would have expected which is good Girlie Mike fettuccine needs your support on patreon What a loser Visit patreon.com Slashed humanist report to support the low ratings humanist report sad My views are much higher