Live by the Plan, Die by the Plan
Has Elizabeth Warren outsmarted herself by getting specific on health care?
Senator Elizabeth Warren last week released her Medicare for All plan. This complicated proposal is already drawing scrutiny. Attacks have come, predictably, from conservatives who don’t share Warren’s values and from more moderate Democratic rivals such as former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Independent observers have also raised questions. A major policy proposal by a leading candidate is, of course, bound to spark debate. Yet beyond the merits of Warren’s plan—about which I have no special insight—was the senator politically wise to get into so much detail?
Politicians have long found value in vagueness. In the 19th century, parties often
