Democrats discuss impeachment, healthcare, Syria during Ohio debate

Oct. 16--WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- The impeachment inquiry into President Trump unfolding in Washington was front and center on Tuesday as the largest field of candidates to date for a single presidential primary debate took to an Ohio stage.

"Our framers have imagined this moment, a moment when we can have a corrupt president...," California Sen. Kamala Harris said. "This is one of those moments, and so Congress must act. ... As a former prosecutor, I know a confession when I see it. He did it in plain sight."

Said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: "Sometimes there are issues that are bigger than politics. ... Donald Trump broke the law in the summer. He broke it again this fall. We took a constitutional oath, and that is that no one is above the law, and that includes the president of the United States. Impeachment is the way that we establish that this man will not be permitted to break the law over and over again without consequences."

The surging Ms. Warren was the most frequent target of other candidates on the stage, as they sought to pin her down on whether her take on Medicare-for-all health insurance would come with a tax increase.

Video courtesy of CNN

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg said his plan would be Medicare for all those who want it, preserving private insurance as part of the system. That is not an option under the concept as outlined by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

"Medicare for all is the gold standard," Ms. Warren said. "It's the way we get health-care coverage for every single American. ... We can pay for this. ... Costs are going to go up for the wealthy. They're going to go up for big corporations. They will not go up for middle-class families, and I will not sign a bill into law if it raises their costs."

Former Vice President Joe Biden also went after Ms. Warren on her plan as he and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar voiced support for expanding Obamacare to include a public option.

"The [Medicare-for-all] plan is going to cost least $30 trillion over 10 years," he said. "That is more on a yearly basis than the entire federal budget. ... A fireman and a school teacher making $100,000 a year, their taxes are going to go up about 10 grand. That's more than they will possibly save from this health-care plan."

Said Mr. Sanders: "We spend twice as much per person as the people in any other major country on Earth. I'd like to see the Democratic Party have the guts to stand up to stand up to the drug companies and the insurance companies and tell them that the function of health care is the guaranteed care to all people, not to make a hundred zillion dollars in profit."

Mr. Biden also found himself on the defensive in addressing conflicts of interest with his son Hunter's role on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was in the White House.

On Sunday, Mr. Biden had vowed that "no one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they're a cabinet member, will in fact have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country."

But CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked, "If it's not OK for a president's family to be involved in foreign businesses, why was it OK for your son when you were vice president?"

Mr. Biden faltered some before offering, "My son did nothing wrong," he said. "I did nothing wrong. I carried out the policy of the United States government in rooting out corruption in Ukraine."

Video courtesy of CNN

Democrats are investigating whether President Trump used the power of his office to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate his potential 2020 opponent and son. Tuesday's lively debate was the first since the U.S. House launched its impeachment investigation and since Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack.

Half of the 12 candidates on that debate stage -- Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Ms. Harris, and Ms. Klobuchar -- may also have direct votes in determining Mr. Trump's fate, either for impeachment in the House or during a trial in the Senate.

The candidates also took aim at Mr. Trump over his decision last week to pull troops from northern Syria, seen as paving the way for NATO ally Turkey to launch a long-planned offensive to clear the region of Kurds, allies to the United States in the fight against ISIS, but considered to be terrorists by Turkey.

"I would have a hard time today looking at Afghan civilians or soldiers in the eye after what just happened over there...," Mr. Buttigieg, a military veteran, said. "You take away the honor of our soldiers, you might as well go after their body armor next. This president has betrayed American values. Our credibility is in tatters."

Some of the field also exchanged attacks on gun reform in the wake of recent mass shootings, including in downtown Dayton two months ago where a shooter with a semi-automatic rifle took the lives of nine people, including his sister, in a downtown open-air entertainment district. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democrat and outspoken advocate for gun reform, was seated in front of the candidates in the audience.

Mr. O'Rourke was asked a follow-up to his remark in the last debate -- "Hell yeah, we're going to take away your AR-15, your AK-47" -- about how he would enforce a mandatory assault weapon buyback.

"I expect my fellow Americans to follow the law, the same way that we enforce any provision, any law that we have right now," he said. "We don't go door-to-door to do anything in this country. I expect Republicans, Democrats, gun owners, alike to respect and follow the law."

When addressing laws written by the Republican-controlled General Assembly in Ohio seen as restricting access to abortion rights, Ms. Harris said she would have her justice department review any such law to see if it is in line with Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion.

"These state legislators who are outdated and out of touch, mostly men who are telling women what to do with their bodies, there has to be accountability and consequence," she said.

Ms. Klobuchar said she would have Roe vs. Wade written into law.

"You, Donald Trump, are not on the side of women," she said. "You are not on the side of people of this country when over 75 percent of people who want to keep Roe vs. Wade on the books."

Otterbein University hosted the fourth primary debate for CNN and the New York Times in the affluent Columbus suburb of Westerville. The area is an example of a blue-leaning suburb that experts say Democrats need to take back the White House.

Mr. Sanders, who at 78 is the oldest candidate on the stage, sought to reassure supporters of his vigor going into the debate following his recent heart attack and stent procedure that took him off the campaign trail.

"I'm healthy. I'm feeling great," he said at one point to laughs from the audience as he was asked about concerns about his age upon taking office.

Said Mr. Booker, "We know that the unhealthiest person running for president is Donald Trump."

Also trying to make the case for their candidacies in the few minutes they were afforded were former housing secretary Julián Castro; tech businessman Andrew Yang, and, for the first time, billionaire Tom Steyer, whose campaign has revolved around Mr. Trump's impeachment.

In the hours before the debate, the Trump campaign took to the skies over Westerville with aerial advertising highlighting what it says is the Democratic field's lurch to the far left. "Socialism Destroys Ohio Jobs. Vote Trump," read the green and white sign trailing the plane.

"Tonight, we saw the Democrats pander to the progressive left during their visit to Westerville, but their vision of the future is a radical one that includes higher taxes, government controlled health care, and more government intervention overall," said Ohio Republican Party spokesman Evan Machan. "As we saw in 2016, that agenda simply won't win here."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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