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Democrats Clash In Opening Debate

MIAMI (AP) — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised her hand as one of the only Democratic presidential contenders willing to abolish her own private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan, demanding “structural change” in the economy and the government as Democrats met on the debate stage for the first time in the 2020 presidential season.

Warren’s position highlighted a rift within her party’s most ambitious contenders over how to approach inequality in America in a prime-time meeting that marked the unofficial starting line for the Democratic Party’s quest to wrest the White House from Donald Trump and deny him a second term.

The debate marked a new phase in the 2020 presidential season as Democrats seek to break out from the crowded field. While the candidates have been courting voters in key states for several months already, the vast majority of the nation has yet to pay close attention to the diverse field.

On immigration, the Democratic presidential hopefuls were united in blaming Trump for the deaths of a migrant father and his toddler daughter whose bodies were seen in searing photographs after they drowned in the Rio Grande on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Former Obama administration housing chief Julian Castro said, “Watching that image of Oscar and his daughter Valeria was heartbreaking. It should also piss us all off.”

But the candidates didn’t agree on everything. Castro assailed fellow Texan and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke for not calling for fully decriminalizing crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

O’Rourke said he doesn’t support fully decriminalizing such border crossings because of fears about smugglers of drugs and people.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker also sided with Castro, arguing for full decriminalization

Most of Warren’s rivals Wednesday night, including former O’Rourke and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, called for universal health care, but also favored preserving the private insurance market.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who will be in a second debate group Thursday night, has proposed a “Medicare for All” system without private insurance, and Warren said she agreed with him.

On economic fairness in general, Warren declared, “Who is this economy really working for? It’s doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. … That is corruption pure and simple … and we need to make structural change.”

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