Check out these edited video excerpts from yesterday’s debate between Congressional candidates Jake Auchincloss and Jesse Mermell.
Did Auchincloss cross the line when he dismissed Mermell as a good communicator?
Mermell thinks so. Here’s a statement she released today.
“Another day, another privileged man trying to diminish the accomplishments of a woman. I may be used to this type of demeaning sexism, but I’m sure not going to be silent about it. Yes, I’m proud to be a good communicator and Tweeter. But I’m also proud to have been a twice elected local official, a nonprofit executive, a senior leader in the Governor’s Office and at Planned Parenthood, and a frontline advocate for more than 20 years. I asked a tough and fair policy question in the middle of a debate, and was met with a complete dismissal of my professional record. I’m not going to stand for it, in last night’s debate or in Congress.
“And, by the way, Jake still hasn’t answered my questions about not standing with working people who deserve a higher minimum wage and for supporting one of the most anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ+ elected officials in the state. The voters deserve answers and I won’t stop asking tough questions, ever.”
No, it was a compliment.
@Michael Singer- Ewwww
@Brenda Noel — eeeeew
Asking the question as to whether it is sexist is, in and of itself, sexist.
To reduce her to a being a good tweeter and disregard her YEARS of experience? Ask a harder question.
Oh come on …geez ! Jake gave a great answer & Jesse Mermell did as well – appropriately pivoting from Jake’s compliment of her communication skills to address her experience. Great point & counterpoint made by two formidable opponents.
But Jake is not going to take up his brief rebuttal time lauding the accomplishments of his opponents. He was by no means being demeaning, sexist or dismissive.
I actually find Jesse’s attempt today a bit of grandstanding to stay in the news cycle regarding something that just didn’t exist in the debate.
Good luck to both, but I’m voting Jake in MA04.
Ganging up on the front runner. Jake has the lead in this race and is well positioned to win.
Jake complimented Jesse’s “tweeting” and “communication skills” with a condescending tone, and said “I’ve done the work and walked the walk”, implying that Jesse has *not* “done the work and walked the walk.” Which is patently absurd because whether you think she would be a good Congresswoman or not, she has an incredibly impressive background, with a much longer resume than Jake’s. In Jake’s defense he also dismissed Dave Cavelle as a “speechwriter” in a different debate so I do believe he was simply engaging in what he considers fair play in a political debate, where you sell yourself and try to take down your opponents. And I say all this as someone not supporting either Jake or Jesse.
I’m having a flash back to when Ruth Ann Fuller accused Scott Lennon of being sexist. It was completely off base, but it worked.
I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. Any yet, already a number for posters here, who had no problem with Fuller’s tactic, are offended.
Jesse and her supporters have chosen to engage in negative campaigning and that’s too bad for all of us. She was originally second on my list and a candidate I seriously considered. As a voter, I remove people who engage in negative campaigning from my list (channeling Joe Kennedy).
This debate format allowed for a one minute rebuttal and an exchange on policy was simply out of the range of possibilities. I don’t know what people expected after Jesse attacked him.
I’d also be concerned about having a Representative who reacts to every perceived slight in the rough and tumble (to put it mildly) life of Washington, DC. As we’ve seen just this week with the vicious attack on Rep. AOC, Congress is one tough place, and it’s essential for a Representative to be handle the unfortunate situation as it exists today without turning every comment into an issue. That tendency is, in fact, what has brought the federal government to a screeching halt in recent years and we simply have to change that.
When a candidate is perceived as the front runner, it’s inevitable the other candidates will take shots.
If anything, it would seem to me that Jake was the candidate who was thin skinned. A counter attack….is still an attack.
But I get it…it’s human nature to only see the best in the candidate we favor, and dismiss their flaws and missteps.
I wasn’t able to find the full debate video. Can someone post a link?
Jesse Mermell’s campaign started with high hopes, but she’s had trouble catching on and raising money so what does a candidate do when he/she lags the field? Attack the front runner! Jake has run an excellent campaign focused on his character, his background, and how he would address various issues facing the country. The more Jake’s campaign resonates with voters across the district, and the more endorsements he receives from highly respected opinion leaders like Mayor Coogan of Fall River, the more likely it is that you’ll continue to see a stream of negative invective aimed his way. That’s the nature of elective politics. As an experienced pol Mermell knows this, and we should certainly expect it to continue as we get closer to election day and Auchincloss lawn signs continues to predominate all across the district.
I agree with Gerry. Front runners are always attached by those lagging behind.
I don’t think Jake’s reply was sexist – it was a dismissal of someone attacking him regardless of who it was.
I do think Mermell’s saying that his reply was sexist is doing nothing for both politician’s campaigns. I particularly don’t like using a very egregious topic such as sexism to garner favor in politics.
In trying to gin up media attention by falsely claiming to the be victim of sexism, Mermell discredits the genuine claims of those who face sexism. It would call it a desperate last ditch political stunt, but we are still in July. Is her hope that voters won’t read beyond the headline?
Two things about the minimum wage. First, Mermell utilizes a baseless debating trick that we see on V14–attach the words “racial” and “racism” to your cause, pretend you are morally superior, cross your fingers and hope no one pushes back. She claims that raising the minimum wage will help reduce racial inequalities. Nothing is further from the truth. The minimum wage reduces employment of one group above all others–teenagers of color. A higher minimum wage means many of these kids will look in vain to find their first summer or after-school job. The won’t get the experience, a letter of recommendation, or easy entry to non-minimum wage jobs. My high school job set me on the right trajectory. Mermell is advocating a policy that will make racial inequality WORSE. Someone should have called her out on this.
Second, Mermell must be paying all the people who help with her campaign $15 an hour, right? How could she not? It would be hypocritical for her to accept unpaid help while advocating minimum wage legislation.
Jake has started to run TV commercials during peak viewing periods.
The political spots are extremely well done and raise his profile. Jake should be able to win the nomination especially with key endorsements coming from the Southeastern part of the District.
I’m disappointed to see distorted accusations from Democratic candidates for Congress and a formerly reputable organization (Emily’s List, connected to the Women Vote Project) aimed at Jake Auchincloss and Alan Khazei. Negative, false, and defensive attacks are a turnoff to fact-seeking voters.