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U.S. NEWSTuesday 22 September 2015
Clinton won’t let Republicans ‘tear up’ health care law
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a campaign stop in
Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Sept. 21, 2015.
MELINDA DESLATTE
KEN THOMAS
Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana
(AP) — Democratic presi-
Walker exits ‘16 race with harsh words for Trump
SCOTT BAUER
JULIE BYKOWICZ
Associated Press
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP)
— Warning the Republi-
can presidential race has
become too nasty, Scott
Walker suspended his 2016
campaign on Monday
and called on some of his
Republican rivals to do
the same, citing an urgent
need to “clear the field”
to help defeat front-runner
Donald Trump.
The announcement
marked a dramatic fall for
Walker, who was struggling
to generate fundraising
and enthusiasm after surg-
ing into the race’s top tier
earlier in the year. He will
return to his job in Wisconsin Both candidates warned
as governor, where his term
runs through 2018.
“Today, I believe that I am
being called to lead by
helping to clear the field in
this race so that a positive
conservative message can
rise to the top of the field.
With that in mind, I will sus- on that optimistic view of
pend my campaign imme-
diately,” Walker said in a
Madison press conference.
dential front-runner Hill-
ary Rodham Clinton on
Monday hailed President
Barack Obama’s health
care law for reducing the
“I encourage other Re-
publican presidential can-
didates to consider doing
the same so the voters can
focus on a limited number
of candidates who can of-
fer a positive conservative
alternative to the current
front-runner,” Walker con-
tinued. “This is fundamen-
tally important to the future want to hear about how
of the party and more im-
portantly to the future of
our country.” One of the
last Republicans to enter
the race, Walker joined
former Texas Gov. Rick
Perry as one of the first to
leave it, unable to adjust
to the popularity of Trump
or break out in either of the
party’s first two debates.
of the billionaire business-
man’s influence on the Re-
publican Party as they exit-
ed, although neither called
him out by name.
“Sadly, the debate taking
place in the Republican
party today is not focused
America. Instead, it has
drifted into personal at-
tacks,” Walker said. “In the
Clinton kicked off a series
of health care events with
an embrace of the law,
(AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman) arguing that Republican
resistance to the overhaul
rate of uninsured Ameri- had hurt working families
cans and vowed to de- seeking to gain coverage.
fend it against Republican She credited the health
opposition if she wins the care law with decreasing
White House. the rate of uninsured Amer-
icans to the lowest level in which the government
50 years.
“I’m not going to let them
tear up that law, kick 16
million people off their
health coverage and
force the country to start
the health care debate all
over again,” Clinton said at run health care program
the Louisiana Leadership
Institute.
“I want to build on the
progress we’ve made.”
Clinton’s focus on health
care comes as the share of
Americans without health
insurance has dipped to
historically low levels due
both to the law’s expansion
in coverage and recent
economic growth. While
the law’s rocky rollout and
longstanding Republican
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at a news conference Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, in Madison,
Wis., where he announced that he is suspending his Republican presidential campaign.
end, I believe that voters ways more dramatic than
want to be for something Perry’s. He was thought to
and not against someone. be a leader in the crowd-
Instead of talking about ed field for much of the
how bad things are, we year and built a massive
national organization with
we can make them better paid staff spread across
for everyone.” the country that dwarfed
Walker’s fall was in many many of his rivals in scale
opposition caused head-
aches for Obama’s party,
Democrats seeking to suc-
ceed him are embracing
the plan and talking about
ways to build upon it.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sand-
ers, Clinton’s chief Demo-
cratic rival, has called for
a health care system in
rather than private insur-
ance companies would
pay for health care cover-
age.
He has introduced legisla-
tion that would allow Medi-
care, the government-
providing coverage to
the elderly, to use its large
purchasing power to ne-
gotiate lower drug prices
while allowing individuals
to import prescription drugs
from Canada, where the
costs are cheaper.
Clinton said she would an-
nounce a plan this week
to deal with “skyrocket-
ing, out-of-pocket health
costs,” particularly drug
prices.q
(AP Photo/Morry Gash)
and scope. “I’m not sure
what went wrong,” said
Iowa state Sen. Mark
Costello, who endorsed
Walker earlier this year. “I
think all the more provoca-
tive statements some of
the candidates made got
them more press.q