John Delaney’s presidential campaign escalated a fight with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over “Medicare for all,” blaming the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party for helping elect President Trump and challenging her to a debate on healthcare.
Delaney, a former Maryland congressman, drew boos at the California Democratic Convention on Sunday when he criticized “Medicare for all,” the single-payer, national healthcare plan for all residents backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other liberal Democratic presidential candidates.
“What we need as Democrats is to build an economy that works, but it’s got to be with smart policies. ‘Medicare for all’ may sound good, but it’s actually not good policy nor is it good politics,” Delaney said.
Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat and a supporter of the nationalized healthcare movement, called on Delaney to exit the crowded Democratic presidential primary field.
“This awful, untrue line got boo’ed for a full minute,” Ocasio-Cortez said of Delaney’s healthcare statement in a tweet Sunday. “John Delaney, thank you but please sashay away.”
Delaney’s national press secretary Michael Starr Hopkins criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet and her wing of the Democratic Party in a statement Monday.
“The only person Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez helped with her tweet about Congressman Delaney was Donald Trump. If Democrats are serious about beating the President at the ballot box, we need less political grandstanding and more truth-telling from the Bernie wing of the party,” Hopkins said. “2016 should have taught us that if we allow this primary to become a popularity contest on Twitter rather than a debate of ideas in the public square, the country will lose. We’ve seen this playbook before and it ends with a second term for Donald Trump.”
Since there’s so many people running for President (& not enough for Senate), instead of obsessing over who‘s a “frontrunner,” maybe we can start w some general eliminations.
This awful, untrue line got boo’ed for a full minute.
John Delaney, thank you but please sashay away ?? https://t.co/0RDOwbfcgv
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2019
In a tweet response Sunday night, Delaney challenged Ocasio-Cortez to a public healthcare debate.
“We have the same goal, universal healthcare for everyone, we just have different ways of getting there. Healthcare is the #1 issue for voters, so let’s debate the way forward. Any show of your choosing,” Delaney said.
Hey @AOC, we have the same goal, universal healthcare for everyone, we just have different ways of getting there. Healthcare is the #1 issue for voters, so let’s debate the way forward. Any show of your choosing. Healthcare is too important for tweets, we need real discussion. https://t.co/LDrWa9sZQD
— John Delaney (@JohnDelaney) June 3, 2019
