Stonehill College hosted a debate with the eight Democratic candidates running for Congress on August 18, moderated by WPRI’s political editor, Ted Nesi. The candidates were randomly split into two groups over a total of two hours.
VIDEO: Stonehill College Democratic Congressional debate
by Greg Reibman | Aug 19, 2020 | Congress | 14 comments
Well I watched the whole thing and see no clear favorite for me. I have ruled some out
My favorite exchange however was when Ben Sigel made a self effacing joke about being only 5’5” tall and Alan Khazei offered that to him Ben is 10 ft tall
Human and Grace are two very valued qualities
Humor, not Human. But Human also :-)
We watched the second hour on the big screen last night, and it was quite good – all four candidates did an excellent job, as did the moderator.
One funny moment was a question about South Coast Rail – “Do you prefer the Taunton or Middleborough option, and why?” It was obvious that none of the candidates had any idea as to the merits of either option, so the first respondent fell back on some generality about the importance of public transit investments, and the second respondent echoed that along with something about “staying the course.”
As the first two candidates tried to come up with something useful to say, the others were clearly tapping away on google and/or whatsapp, so that the fourth respondent was actually able to say “Middleborough – definitely Middleborough.”
My only suggestion would be that Becky Grossman try not to begin every one of her responses with “I’m a mom,” and Jake Auchincloss consider sitting down, or at least standing still for a couple of seconds.
Did the below poll ever get mentioned here? The only viable candidates are Auchincloss and Mermell (I’m a fan of neither). I’d infer from the college/no college breakdown that Mermell has a slight lead in Brookline/Newton/Needham/Wellesley and Auchincloss has a slight lead on the 495 belt.
https://filesforprogress.org/datasets/2020/8/primary_polling/dfp_ma-4.pdf
On the South Coast Rail question I felt that Mermell and Auchincloss each answered that particularly well as it was right in their wheelhouse. Mermell worked on this in the Patrick administration and Auchincloss’s professional career was all about transportation.
The question I wish was asked differently was about unemployment in Fall River. This was a very procedural policy question about extending benefits to an area that has a 23% unemployment rate, but I would much rather have heard about each of their personal experiences with unemployment.
However, the real amazing moment came in the final question, which focused on a mistake they made and what they learned. I really felt for Becky who had to go last and follow up some powerful stories about family relationships, abortion, and military mistakes. It was the question that seemed to throw all four of them off. If you have just 5 minutes, watch the end.
@Michael: Yes, this “I’m a mom” line doesn’t work at all.
Not sure. While Becky might be behind Jake and Jesse among committed voters, the last poll I saw shows her as leading in “leaning towards” among those who are as yet undecided. This isn’t over yet.
Was the group REALLY randomly split into two? Seemed intentional to me.
I agree with Paul. Just because someone’s message doesn’t resonate with you “Michael” and “Newtoner” doesn’t mean it doesn’t resonate with others. And from what I’ve read of every poll that has been made public, both by Becky’s campaign as well as from other campaigns, she has led all of them. Needless to say, the race is going to be very, very close.
One of my biggest pet peeves of Jake (and Ihssane)… their repeated resistance on how they will “lead” us.
Sorry, but the role of a representative is to listen and represent their constituents. In 2 years of following Development issues here in Newton, neither Jake nor Becky appear to be good listeners. Their recent debate performances leaves more of an impression of being spoke AT vs a dialog.
Jesse on the other hand gives the impression that she truly wants to serve, is thankful to be on the debate stage (not entitled nor dropped $500k of her own money to be there) and would be a representative of her constituents in Congress. I’m voting for Jesse.
“Paul Sweeney,” it wasn’t a question of “resonance,” it was a question of absurdity – Becky repeated “I’m a mom of school-aged children” or “As a mom of school-aged children” in almost every response, probably 20 times total, to the extent that it would’ve made an excellent drinking game.
Neither the Mom card nor the Marine card work for me. They also wouldn’t be reasons that I wouldn’t vote for a candidate. I am struggling with this vote. They all seem to be reasonable candidates but none are emerging as the obvious choice for me. On the other hand, none of them have emerged as someone to whom I would have a serious objection. Unless some new information emerges, I will likely vote for the one who I feel would be the public servant who would be least likely to be looking to use the seat as a stepping stone. If nothing changes I will likely vote for Alan Khazei.
@ Matt Lai – I’m trying to study the candidates. Can you provide examples of how Jake hasn’t listened to constituents?
@ Michael – I’m not sure if you want to make light of what it means to be a mother. I’ve watched some debates and what Becky has said is that’s the lens through which she sees the world and the challenges our country faces – making a better world for her kids, everyone’s kids, etc. She’s also a Harvard-educated former Assistant District Attorney from what I’ve read, so she’s clearly highly qualified to be a top tier candidate. My sense is if I made fun of being a mom to my mother (rest in peace), she would give me a piece of her mind and tell me not to be sexist and chauvinistic. Other candidates repeat their “lens” – and I would highly recommend you stop disrespecting something simply because you cannot empathize with it.
Paul, get serious, will ya? “Make light of what it means to be a mother”? Please. Read what I wrote, and get over yourself.
@Michael,
I’m still watching the debates and was wondering whether Grossman began every answer with “I’m running with the intensity of a fierce Mom…” Thanks for answering that question. I’m going to save myself some time and scrub through the first 10 seconds of her answers when I return to watching. I also agree that Jake needs to either sit down or stand still. It’s distracting and annoying to watch him swaying back and forth.