Key Quotes From the October Democratic Debate

12 contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination took the stage in Westerville, Ohio, on Tuesday.

During the last debate, Joe Biden seemed to be the punching bag. Perhaps because of Trump and his allies' attacks on the former VP (and his son), during this debate, several (D)s went on the offense against Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her ambitious Medicare for All healthcare plan.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she thinks "we owe it to the American people to tell them where to send the invoice. The difference between a plan and a pipe dream is something you can actually get done.”

And Pete Buttigieg chided Warren for not releasing a detailed plan of how she'd fund her healthcare proposal.

Warren responded to the repeated criticisms, saying:

"I have made clear what my principles are here, and that is that costs will go up for the wealthy and for big corporations and, for hard-working middle class families, costs will go down."

Here are the quotes of the night from each of the contenders:

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Biden would turn 80 during his first term, but he said he sees his age as an asset.

"I know what the job is. I've been engaged. Look, one of the reasons I'm running is because of my age and my experience, with it comes wisdom. We need someone to take office this time around who on day one can stand on the world stage, command the respect of world leaders from Putin to our allies, and know exactly what has to be done to get this country back on track."

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren

"Look, I don't have a beef with billionaires."

However, Warren said that because billionaires "made a fortune in America," they should be able pitch in two cents "so every other kid in America has a chance to make it."

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders

Not everyone kept their gloves on for Biden. After the former VP touted that he was the candidate who could get things done, Sanders pounced:

“Joe, you talked about working with Republicans and getting things done. But you know what you also got done? And I say this as a good friend: You got the disastrous war in Iraq done. You got a bankruptcy bill, which is hurting middle class families all over this country. You got trade agreements like NAFTA and (trade relations) with China done, which have cost us 4 million jobs."

California Sen. Kamala Harris

During Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, Harris asked the future Justice if he could "think of any law that tells a man what to do with his body. He could not.

Harris recounted that exchange, then continued:

"The reality of it is this is still a fundamental issue of justice for women in America. Women have been given the responsibility to perpetuate the human species. Our bodies were created to do that, and it does not give any other person the right to tell a woman what to do with that body. It is her body. It is her right. It is her decision."

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg, a former U.S. Naval officer, on Turkey's slaughter of Kurds in Syria:

"I would have a hard time today looking an Afghan soldier or civilian in the eye after what just happened over there. And it is undermining the honor of our soldiers. You take away the honor of our soldiers you might as well go after their body armor next."

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

"We are in the midst of the most extreme winner-take-all economy in history. And a wealth tax makes a lot of sense in principle. The problem is it's been tried in Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden. And all those countries ended up repealing it." 

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker

Booker tried to play peacemaker, warning Democrats against "tearing each other down because we have a different plan.”

“I have seen this script before. It didn’t work in 2016 and it will be a disaster for us in 2020."

He continued, saying that Democrats should be "defining ourselves by what we're against, but we need to win this election by talking about who and what we are for.”

Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke

One of the most talked-about moments of Tuesday's debate was a heated exchange between O'Rourke and Buttigieg over the former's proposed mandatory buyback of assault weapons.

O'Rourke said Buttigieg's characterization of the plan as a "shiny object" was "a slap in the face” to “every survivor of mass casualty assault.”

Buttigieg responded: “Congressman, you just made it clear that you don’t know how this is going to take weapons off the street. If you can develop the plan further, I think we can have a debate about it, but we can’t wait. People are dying in the streets right now but we can’t wait for universal background checks that we finally have a shot to get through.”

O’Rourke: “This is a crisis and we have to do something about it.”

O'Rourke pointed to the Parkland students and their March for Our Lives movement. "Let’s follow their inspiration and lead, and not be limited by the polls and the consultants and the focus groups."

Buttigieg: “The problem isn’t in the polls. It is in the policy. I don’t need lessons from you in courage, political or personal. [The problem is the National Rifle Association] and their enablers in Congress and we should be united in taking the fight to them.”

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro

"Think about how absurd it is that this president is caging kids on the border and effectively letting ISIS prisoners run free. He has made a tremendous mistake."

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Klobuchar gave a preview of what she'd say to Trump regarding Roe v. Wade if she shared a stage with him:

"You know what I would say to him? I'd say, 'You said you wanted to do this in your race for president. You actually said that you wanted to put women in jail. Then you tried to dial it back, and you said you wanted to put doctors in jail. That is exactly what the Alabama law is. It put doctors in jail for 99 years. You, Donald Trump, are not on the side of women. You are not on the side of people of this country when over 75% of people want to keep Roe v. Wade on the books, when over 90% of people want to make sure we have available contraception. You defunded planned parenthood.' I would fund it again."

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

"Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hands. But so do many of the politicians in this country from both parties that have supported this regime change war in Syria that started in 2011 along with many in the mainstream media that have championed and cheerleaded this regime change war."

Billionaire executive Tom Steyer

"We can’t solve the climate crisis in the U.S. by ourselves, but we have to work with our allies and our frenemies around the world." 

—Josh Herman