Clinton attacks Sanders’ free college plan — but her plan has same flaw

Hillary Clinton has started to poke holes in Bernie Sanders’ “free college” plan, but she’s exposed weaknesses in her own plan.

“Clinton’s campaign has increasingly criticized the Sanders plan as unrealistic because it would require states, including those with spending-shy Republican governors and legislatures, to cover some of the costs associated with eliminating tuition at public colleges and universities,” Michael Stratford wrote for Inside Higher Ed.

That’s a valid critique on the political realities that Sanders’ plan will face if he wins the presidential election.

However, it’s an awkward jab that’s more in line with a Republican talking point. In Clinton’s plan, too, her vision of “debt-free” college includes asking states to provide more money for higher education.

Sanders wants to require the federal government to cover two-thirds of the cost of public college tuition, while states pick up the other third. Clinton’s plan doesn’t specify ratios, but it would require states to “halt disinvestment” and commit “to provide debt-free tuition at four-year public colleges and free tuition at community colleges,” Stratford wrote.