What Went Down At The Fourth Democratic Debate

The health care debate is an interesting window into a problem for Clinton right now. She recognizes that after the 2009-10 health care debate, there is very little chance that Congress will ever pass single-payer health care. Yet, Sanders’s very liberal positions are not going to be disliked on the left. An amazingly high 43 percent of Iowa caucus-goers identified as socialist in the latest Des Moines Register poll.

This health care flare-up between Clinton and Sanders is going to be interesting to see play out among Democratic primary voters. Clinton’s play here in the debate is to say that Sanders’s new plan (released tonight, just a couple of hours before the debate) is going to tear up Obamacare. “It’s one of the greatest accomplishments of President Obama, the Democratic party, and our country,” she said. The fight to pass the Affordable Care Act was huge for the Democrats — and quite painful. The idea of going through another struggle like that with Congress could prove unpalatable to a lot of voters — Sanders’s team is hoping that they continue to feel the Bern, and that this doesn’t morph into an … unpleasant Bern-ing sensation that derails the campaign’s momentum.