Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., opened his speech on the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox talking about his background as the superintendent of the Denver public-schools system, saying the Trump administration isn’t serving the kids he worked for in Colorado.

“This isn’t just about who’s in the White House, it’s about all of us taking control of democracy again,” Bennet said.

The best indicator of the quality of education is your parents' income – Bennet says this is the main reason he's running. He's a former superintendent.

— Daily Iowan Politics (@DIpolitics) August 11, 2019

Bennet spent half of his time answering crowd questions, but listed three things he said would help end political corruption: pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, end political gerrymandering, and implement a lifetime ban for former politicians to become lobbyists in Washington DC.

Bennet said he voted for the Affordable Care Act in the Senate when he was up for re-election, and said he was willing to lose his seat in Colorado if it meant passing the ACA. Bennet supports a public-option health-care plan, and slammed Sen. Bernie Sanders for his Medicare-for-all plan. Bennet said the American people are not ready to have their private health care taken away and for the middle class to see a raise in taxes.

“The fastest way to universal health care in this country is giving Americans the opportunity to make a choice for their family,” Bennet said. “We can’t let Bernie’s ideology get in the way.”

Bennet also attacked Sanders’ plan to eliminate all student-loan debt and make college free, which received heckling from the crowd. He said he would try and make it easier for people to pay back student loans, but that he would rather make preschool free than make college free.

“Politicians talk about free college because preschoolers can’t vote,” Bennet said.

Bennet puts his foot up on the hay bales in front of the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox stage while answering questions. pic.twitter.com/TPaEUtWrzQ

— Daily Iowan Politics (@DIpolitics) August 11, 2019

Bennet condemned Trump on multiple fronts, but spoke the most enthusiastically about the $2 trillion deficit, saying Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConell and Trump are “growing the government more than Barack Obama ever did.”

“They are the biggest fiscal hypocrites who ever walked the steps of Capitol Hill,” Bennet said about McConell and Trump.

In response to a crowd question about gun legislation in the wake of recent mass shootings, Bennet said his daughters have grown up in the shadow of Columbine, and said Congress has done nothing to respond. He told the crowd to call McConell and tell him to put a gun control bill on the Senate floor in September.