Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate, closed out the portion of Tuesday's Democratic National Convention dedicated to Hillary Clinton and health care. He started with Clinton's pivotal role pushing through the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program, then "joining with Republican governors to get it done." Thanks to Clinton, Dean said, "eight million children who don't have to choose between paying rent and taking their kids to the doctor." ObamaCare expanded heath insurance to 20 million more Americans, and Donald Trump has vowed to rip the law up and "take us back" to the unpopular parts of the pre-ObamaCare medical system.
Trump's plan to replace ObamaCare is "'something so much better' — something huuuuge, no doubt," but "that's it, that's the whole plan." Then he took aim at Trump's running mate, saying Indiana Gov. Mike Pence voted against expanding SCHIP and mental health, and once said that when both parents work, their children suffered "stunted emotional growth." Well, Dean said, "I have a medical degree — let me tell you what really stunts children's growth." He listed some things Pence has opposed — including health care expansion and gun control — then threw in a dig at Pence's statements on cigarettes being safe.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctionsspeed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeoverspeed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israelspeed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugeesspeed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideastspeed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney postspeed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff dealspeed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffsspeed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
