Senate Candidates Differ on Medical Law
Ted Cruz, left, and Paul Sadler are vying to replace retiring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Image by Gage Skidmore / Marjorie Kamys Cotera, Texas Tribune.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Two Texans are vying to replace retiring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Republican Ted Cruz is up against Democrat Paul Sadler in a race that some have called over before it even began.
Republicans dominate politics across the state of Texas. The party’s fundraising outpaces its rival’s and a strong anti-Washington sentiment has resonated with voters for years. All of that, analysts say, is working against Democratic Senate hopeful Paul Sadler. But on the campaign trail Sadler doesn’t focus on his odds of winning. Instead, he focuses on pointing out the stark contrast between himself and his GOP opponent Ted Cruz. Starting with a major issue for many candidates – what to do with the Affordable Care Act, an act just about every Republican candidate wants to repeal.
“I don’t think they really want to repeal doing away with the pre-existing condition exemption,” Sadler said. “I don’t think they really want to repeal allowing kids to stay on healthcare policies until age 26. I don’t think they really want to repeal a free screening exam for seniors. I don’t think they really want to repeal the closing of the doughnut hole in the prescription drug law.”
Cruz says his first action as Senator would be to “repeal every syllable of every word of Obamacare.” Cruz doesn’t have a replacement plan ready to go – but he says any healthcare reform should expand competition and get federal bureaucrats out of the way. That includes, he says, getting rid of federal mandates in health insurance policies.
“The most simple rule of economics is there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch,” Cruz said. “Everything you mandate that an insurance policy cover drives up its cost. Which means there are more and more people that can’t afford to get insurance.”
Any changes to the Affordable Health Care Act – especially if there is a split in party control of the U.S. House, Senate and President – will require negotiations and compromise, something Sadler says he got plenty of practice at during his 12 years as a state representative.
“We need to restore respect and dignity to our government,” Sadler said. “We need to elect people that solve problems – that’s my history.”
Cruz says he’ll work with anyone – even Democrats – to solve the country’s problems. But there are some compromises he just won’t make – including holding his stand that the scope of the federal government should focus on its constitutional responsibilities like protecting the border and helping to build interstate infrastructure.
“And at the end of the day there are a great many things that the states and local governments can do far better than can the feds in Washington,” Cruz said. “And we don’t need them to take our money, ship it to Washington, charge a percentage and send it back.”
Election Day is Tuesday, November 6th.
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