Impeachment, healthcare fire up Dems' debate

Twelve Democrats took the stage in Ohio for their fourth 2020 presidential debate, but there were also a few elephants in the room.

One was the issue of impeachment, with US President Donald Trump facing an inquiry over a July 25 phone call he had with Ukraine's president asking the foreign leader to look into the business dealings of Democratic front-runner and former vice-president Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter.

All 12 candidates voiced support for impeachment at Tuesday's debate, which was held at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, and co-hosted by CNN and The New York Times.

"My son did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong," Joe Biden said on the debate stage Tuesday. "I will beat him like a drum," said Biden, repeating a phrase he has used about a potential matchup with Trump.

US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont called Trump "the most corrupt president in the history of our country … enriching himself using the Oval Office to do that. (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell has got to do the right and allow a free and fair trial in the Senate."

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer, making his first debate appearance, referred to "the criminal in the White House".

"As a former prosecutor, I know a confession when I see it," said California Senator Kamala Harris of Trump's statements on the Ukraine issue. "This (impeachment) will not take very long."

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey sounded a note of caution about the impeachment push.

"This has got to be about patriotism and not partisanship," Booker said. "We have to conduct this process in a way that is honorable. A moral moment, not a political one."

Joe Biden also had to contend Tuesday with the rising candidacy of Elizabeth Warren, senator from Massachusetts. While Biden maintains the lead in RealClearPolitics.com's average of national polls, Warren is ahead in the early caucus state of Iowa and early primary state of New Hampshire.

Healthcare, foreign policy, gun violence, the opioid crisis and big tech companies were other major topics at the debate.

Warren herself fielded attacks from the other candidates. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, perhaps the most actrive in challenging the others on stage, questioned Warren on her Medicare for All support. Buttigieg prefers Medicare for All who want it.

"Why unnecessarily divide this country over healthcare?" he asked.

Biden said Warren's healthcare plan "is going to cost at least $30 trillion over 10 years".

"Tell them where we're going to send the invoice," Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said to Warren. "You are making Republican talking points now in this room."

"Medicare for all is the gold standard," Warren responded. "Costs are going to go up for the wealthy and big corporations, but not middle class families."

Sanders said that under his Medicare for All plan, "premiums are gone, copayments are gone, deductibles are gone. Taxes will go up, substantially less than premiums and out-of-pocket expenses." Sanders, who said he was feeling well after a recent heart attack, said people are defending a healthcare system "which is dysfunctional and which is cruel".

Harris said women's reproductive issues were not being discussed enough. She said some states that passed stringent abortion laws need to "keep their hands off women's bodies". Her comment was echoed by Booker.

Buttigieg and Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii also sparred over the recent withdrawal of US troops from Syria, with Turkey moving in to pursue the Kurds.

Gabbard said many politicians in both parties, along with the mainstream media, support "regime change wars".

"The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence, it's a consequence of a withdrawal and a betrayal by this president of American allies and American values," Buttigieg countered.

Biden sharply criticized Trump on the Syria move.

"I think we ought to get out of the Middle East," Warren said.

Warren also faulted the role of big business in US trade: "Giant multinational corporations are calling the shots on trade. Loyal only to their own bottom line." She said she backs "accountable capitalism".

"Our data is our property," said entrepreneur Andrew Yang in a comment about the misuse of personal data by tech companies.