No, I am afraid we will get what we do not deserve. We now live under a Constitution which has done away with federalism as a practical defense tyranny of the general government.
Posted on 09/21/2012 3:27:58 AM PDT by Kaslin
Tonight marked the first of four, head-to-head debates between US Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren and Senator Scott Brown. And what a night it was. As expected, the one-hour long discussion covered a wide array of topics, including jobs and the economy, foreign affairs, and women’s issues. Earlier today, I previewed what I expected to happen. Now, I will evaluate each candidate’s performance, starting with the Democratic challenger.
Elizabeth Warren: Welcome to the big time, Professor. Considering this was the first time Ms. Warren had debated publicly, let alone on national television, she was well prepared and ready for the challenge. But make no mistake: class warfare was a recurring theme this evening. In fact, two of her most potent charges against the incumbent was that he (a) supported government subsidies for Big Oil, and (b) voted against three jobs bills that would “cut taxes for 98%” of Massachusetts residents. (On the former charge, he opposed the legislation ending subsidies on one occasion because the Democratic Senate Majority refused to consider any amendments; on the latter charge, he opposed these so-called “jobs bills” because they were fiscally irresponsible, raised taxes during a recession, and would have led to significant jobs losses in Massachusetts). At any rate, Professor Warren also portrayed herself as a champion of the middle class, often invoking anecdotal stories from constituents relayed to her on the campaign trail. Helping these individuals, she intoned, is the sole reason why she was running for public office. I thought it was effective posturing. Still, one of the problems facing any incumbent is that you have to run on your record -- and defend it. And while I thought Senator Brown explained himself rather well this evening, he did spend an inordinate amount of time on the defensive.
Scott Brown: Despite the fact that Mr. Brown nearly missed the debate this evening, there can be no doubt that he was fired up and ready to go. Perhaps because he is a seasoned debater, or perhaps because he simply enjoys the challenge, the junior Senator from Massachusetts looked relaxed, collected, and confident. And he didn’t waste any time sparring with his Democratic challenger. Within the first few minutes of the debate, for example, he assailed Professor Warren’s character for “checking the box” -- as he phrased it -- thereby misrepresenting her ethnic heritage for the explicit purpose of advancing her academic career. When Warren retorted that the “dozens” of administrators who had hired her said they didn’t know she was Native American until after she began teaching, Brown coolly responded with this zinger: “[Professor Warren has refused to] release her personnel records, and I think that speaks volumes.” Case closed. In any case, throughout the evening Brown made damn sure that everyone watching knew he was ranked the “second most bipartisan Senator in Washington,” a little known fact he often brings up on the campaign trail as well during television interviews. This is Brown’s bread and butter, so to speak, and will likely resonate well with the independent minded Massachusetts electorate. But the biggest theme Scott Brown hammered home tonight was that Elizabeth Warren’s solution to every single problem facing America is raising taxes. Indeed, according to Brown, her tax plan was pegged by the U.S. Chamber of Congress as the “greatest threat to free enterprise.” This was a stunning revelation, to put it charitably. “Can you imagine 100 Professor Warren’s distributing blame and raising taxes,” he said in his closing statement. No, thank goodness I cannot.
A few parting thoughts:
(1) I would be remiss not to weigh in on the discussion surrounding women’s issues, to which the moderator (unsurprisingly) devoted an entire segment to. It’s worth noting, too, that Scott Brown -- by his own admission -- is a “pro-choice, moderate Republican.” So there’s that. However, one of the most contentious arguments broke out when Warren asserted that Brown voted against a bill that would give women “equal pay for equal work.” She plainly declared that women cannot rely on Brown “some of the time” (he supports Roe vs. Wade, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and combat roles for women in the armed services); they need a Senator to represent them “all of the time.” Brown’s response was heartfelt. He began his rebuttal by describing his early childhood, in which he grew up in a broken home and spent many nights defending his hapless, single mom from an abusive step-father. He talked about his wife and two daughters, and how equality under the law is one of the central political issues he fights for and believes in every single day. “You should stop scaring women,” he said. “[I’ve been defending them] since I was six years old.”
(2) Both candidates (except in the opening segment, as I described earlier) were exceedingly cordial and respectful. Both referred two each other as “nice” people on more than one occasion. When Scott Brown learned, for example, that one of Elizabeth Warren’s brothers served honorably in the United States military, embarking on more than 200 combat missions during his career, Brown explicitly asked Warren if they could meet. (Incidentally, Brown is currently serving as a Colonel in the Army National guard). It was a moment of levity in an otherwise heated race; a spectacle I suspect most voters appreciated
If anything, tonight’s debate reinforced the obvious -- namely, this is going to be (perhaps) the most contested Senate race of 2012. Both candidates were extremely well prepared, and despite Warren’s relative inexperience, surprisingly on message. As I wrote earlier today, there have been five polls released this week, four of which show Warren holding a razor thin lead. Will tonight’s debate shake-up the race -- or will this seemingly endless horserace continue unabated?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. We want to know what you think!
Mss. will get what they deserve if they vote for Liawatha.
Sorry but I skipped watching on CSpan 3, but first time seeing her speak, she seemed too animated. Moving her body, head arms. If she gets in she will be another disgusting female Democrat senator (Feminazi)?
No, I am afraid we will get what we do not deserve. We now live under a Constitution which has done away with federalism as a practical defense tyranny of the general government.
You said it
We get CSPAN 1 and 2, but not 3
Did he mean U.S. Chamber of Commerce?
You speak the Truth.
Most likely
I posted on my very busy Facebook page that Scott Brown had beaten Granny Warren like a tom-tom. I received zero responses from the Moonbat side of my friends, who tend to jump on the vast majority of my political posts. My conclusion is that even the battiest of them knows that Granny doesn’t have the goods. Time will tell.
If fauxahontas gets in she will be “doing” things that effect every single citizen of this country. Thus IMHO the old constituency game played by politicians, that you aren’t one of mine so I’m not talking to you doesn’t play well with me.
Besides the fact that the dastardly seventeenth amendment turned arbiters of states rights into what we already have in the House of Representatives, and failed to change the length of service accordingly. Senators should be up for reelection every two years not six.
But he missed an opportunity. She has NO AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE! He should have asked her why she has LIED about her ancestry. There is no playing Mr. Nice with these lying ass democrats. Embarrass the lying hag, who has embellished her “Indian” roots to get preferential hiring. She is a lying SOB and Brown missed a great opportunity to call her just that. You are what you and she is a liar.
Equal pay for women is an intrusion into the contracts between employers and employees, and will result in women being unable to negotiate an exchange of lower pay for more flexible work arrangements.
In the end, this harms women, and will result in less of them being hired.
“You are what you and she is a liar”.
I’d be careful who I called a liar. You could even be very specific in laying out just what that lie might be. It might help.
faux: as in fauxahontas.
adjective
artificial or imitation; fake: a brooch with faux pearls.
.
I suggest to you folks who haven’t seen the debate to watch it. Its worth watching. I wish Scott Browns name was on the ballot against ObaMao. He’d win by twenty points.
Businesses are always looking for ways to improve their bottom line.
best line of the night..by Brown, as she tried to tell the audience that Republicans gaining the Senate would be terrible:
“Can you imagine 100 Elizabeth Warren Senators in the Senate?”
She has no proof of American Indian ancestry. This entire story has been debunked. And if she did, does she think being 1/32 Indian makes her an Indian, and qualifies her for “miniority” status? What a dingbat. Only a liberal would claim to be something she absolutely is not. Sort of like that liberal from Conn two years ago, who ran for the Senate, that claimed to be a Vietnam veteran and never sat one foot in Vietnam. But it made no difference the welfare crowd that voted for him, he was still elected. Another cerified liar sent to Congress. Democrats could care less how many lies someone tells. Warren reminds of that lying socialist Ward Churchill, who also claimed to be an Indian, and of course was not. Just another lying liberal.
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