Bill de Blasio Accuses Beto O’Rourke Of Using ‘Lazy Fear Mongering Tactics’ To Attack Medicare For All
Mayor of New York City and Democratic presidential candidate, Bill de Blasio, blasted on Saturday fellow Democrat Beto O’Rourke, Politico reports.
The New York mayor took to social media to accuses the Texas Democrat of using “lazy fear mongering tactics” to discredit Medicare for All, a single-payer health care plan championed by progressives such as Bernie Sanders.
Responding to O’Rourke’s claim that such a plan would “force 180 million Americans off their insurance,” de Blasio tweeted the following.
“If someone proposed a ‘radical’ idea called public education today, Beto would try to warn us that 180 million Americans would be kicked out of their schools. Let’s leave the lazy fear mongering tactics to Trump.”
Unlike de Blasio, O’Rourke supports Medicare for America, a plan which would preserve employment-based health insurance, while allowing Americans to switch to a socialized health care program. According to the Texas Democrat, Medicare for America is “the best way to guarantee high-quality health care for every single American.”
O’Rourke responded to de Blasio’s tweet, defending his policy proposal, but the New York mayor quickly hit back, stating that allowing “corporate interests to stay at the table” is not, in fact, the “best way” to guarantee health care for every American citizen.
As Politico notes, health care has taken center stage in the Democratic primary, with some candidates signaling support for Sanders’ legislation, and others embracing Obamacare-like policies.
Neither O’Rourke nor de Blasio is a top-tier candidate. According to a RealClearPolitics average of polling data, O’Rourke is polling at 2.8 percent, and de Blasio is polling at 0.8 percent.
Leading the crowded primary field are Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who have also publicly squabbled about health care. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the dispute between the two front-runners appears to be escalating, given that the candidates have been taking aim at each other for the past two weeks.
YESTERDAY: Beto O'Rourke speaks at an AARP forum discussing prescription drugs and financial security. pic.twitter.com/A5mheXxz5Y
— The Hill (@thehill) July 20, 2019
On Saturday, Biden’s campaign defended the Affordable Care Act better known as Obamacare, while criticizing Medicare for All as expensive and unrealistic.
Biden’s Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said that the former vice president is not willing to compromise on the issue, announcing that he will oppose both Republican and Democratic efforts related to health care, and push for preserving and improving Obamacare.
The announcement came following Sanders’ rebuttal of Biden’s claims — the former vice president said that Medicare for All would result in a six-month hiatus, leaving millions without health insurance.
Fact check: Joe Biden misleads with claim that Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All plan would cause a "hiatus" https://t.co/BrQ6N5TDG9 pic.twitter.com/z27n2pjA5x
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 18, 2019
According to a CNN fact check, Biden’s claim was false, since there would be no hiatus, but only a necessary transition period and no American would be left without their insurance protections.
