Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) slammed John Delaney (D) for questioning her far-left ideas, asking why he would go through “all the trouble of running for President of the United States just to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for.”
The exchange began after moderator Jake Tapper asked Warren if she referred to herself as a “capitalist” as a way to convince voters that she is a safer choice than Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)– an outspoken Democrat socialist.
“No. It is my way of talking about– I know how to fight and I know how to win. I took on giant banks, and I beat them. I took on Wall Street and CEOs and their lobbyists and lawyers, and I beat them,” she said before making the argument for her far-left ideas, which moderates have called unrealistic.
“I remember when people said Barack Obama couldn’t get elected. Shoot, I remember when people said Donald Trump couldn’t get elected, but here’s where we are,” she said.
“I get it. There’s a lot at stake, and people are scared. But we can’t choose a candidate we don’t believe in just because we’re too scared to do anything else, and we can’t ask other people to vote for a candidate we don’t believe in,” Warren argued.
“Democrats win when we figure out what is right and we get out there and fight for it. I am not afraid. And for Democrats to win, you can’t be afraid either,” she said to applause.
Delaney – a moderate – responded, explaining that Democrats win when they “run on real solutions, not impossible promises” as well as “things that are workable– not fairy tale economics.”
Delaney cited Detroit and what he says is the city’s overall recovery, attributing it to the private sector and government working together.
“That has to be our model going forward,” he said.
Warren responded, slamming Delaney’s plea for realistic solutions.
“I don’t understand why anybody goes through all the trouble for running for President of the United States just to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for,” she said, triggering laughter and mass applause.
“Our biggest problem in Washington is corruption. It is giant corporations that have taken our government and that are holding it by the throat, and we need to have the courage to fight back against that,” Warren said.
Delaney argued that he too believes that Democrats can have “big ideas” to transform the lives of the American people but called for ideas that are workable, calling Medicare for All “dead on arrival.”
“We have tried workable solutions, ” Warren said, citing Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance.
“Insurance companies do not have a God-given right to suck money out of our health care system, and 2020 is our chance to stop that,” she added.