The four democratic candidates for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s vacant U.S. Senate seat faced off in the first televised debate Monday, focusing on the large shoes they must fill and drawing on personal experiences to appeal to voters.
State Attorney General Martha Coakley, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., City Year co-founder Alan Khazei and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca are in the running for the Dec. 8 democratic primary, which will decide who faces three-term republican state senator Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, in the Jan. 19, 2010 special election.
The debate, moderated by Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate president and CEO Peter Meade, was the first chance for the candidates to clearly define their roles in the race.
Coakley, widely considered to be the front-runner, spoke calmly into the camera and emphasized her involved experience with state issues.
‘We need a new kind of leader in Washington,’ she said.
Capuano, the only candidate with tenure in Washington, was direct and emphatic, leaning heavily on his years of congressional experience and ability to uphold Kennedy’s legacy of action for the state and nation.
‘I’m doing the job now and I can do it in the Senate,’ he said.
Khazei, who has the least name recognition out of the candidates, set himself apart with sincere promises to affect change at the roots of specific problems, by ‘putting big ideas into action.’
Pagliuca, the political outsider, drew on his business background and tag-teamed with many of Capuano’s answers, primarily stressing the need to combat state unemployment.
Unemployment and the recession were major issues in the debate, with all candidates agreeing on the importance of renewing jobs and revitalizing the economy – though they differed on how.
Coakley said the current stimulus bill should be analyzed to see if it is producing jobs in the state before a second one is passed.
‘I think the jury is still out,’ she said. ‘[The stimulus is] working well in Massachusetts, but we have some longer-term projects, so we’ve seen the bill as an investment.’
Khazei was forceful in his support of a second stimulus to help create jobs that could regenerate tax revenue and spending, despite short-term debt.
‘If you get people back to work, they will pay taxes and spend,’ he said. ‘Once we’re out of the recession, then we have to go back and tackle the debt.’
Capuano said though he was glad he voted for the first stimulus, more money was needed to create jobs.
‘I think the last stimulus was okay,’ he said. ‘I don’t think it was big enough and I don’t think it was targeted at creating jobs.’
Though he focused intensely on unemployment, Pagliuca was skeptical about the economic feasibility of further stimulus.
‘If we need another stimulus, I think there’s a chance we might go into a double-dip recession,’ he said. ‘I would not take on more debt. . . . I look at tax increases to fund that and get jobs back to Massachusetts.’
The candidates also discussed their own political styles, focusing on compromises and bipartisanship. All but Capuano face a jump from state-centric backgrounds to national positions that must also consider the State’s interest.
‘I’d reach out to senators on both sides of the aisle and say, ‘What do you need?” Khazei said of how he would avoid ‘horse-trading.’
Coakley agreed that a wide focus was necessary.
‘You have to think creatively,’ she said. ‘You think what some other state needs and what some other federal agency needs to do and you do your research.’
Pagliuca said based on his business experience, it is always possible to find compromise.
‘Good deals involve a win-win for everybody,’ he said. ‘[But] I would horse-trade to save jobs.’
All candidates agreed that a ‘robust’ public health care option is necessary, but were dubious on the need for bipartisan support versus immediate passage with enough democratic votes.
Capuano took the matter as a chance to flaunt his experience.
‘I know my colleagues haven’t spent time in Congress. Maybe they don’t understand the rules, but if you have the votes, you go for it,’ he said.
Pagliuca was more interested in gaining bipartisan support.
‘I’d go for reconciliation,’ he said. ‘I know it’s rocket science down there to get stuff done, Mike.’
Kennedy’s legacy was present throughout the debate.
‘We’re all running to fill the seat held by Ted Kennedy, combining a great vision for this commonwealth with the ability to get things done,’ Capuano said in his closing remarks.
Khazei said his opponents’ work in their current leadership positions is too vital for them to move to the Senate.
‘Let’s keep these terrific leaders where they are,’ he said. ‘And you get me, too.’
Boston Globe columnist Renee Loth declared Coakley the winner in the WBUR debate live blog ‘because she needed nothing to change and nothing did.’
But Loth was dubious about all the candidates.
‘Capuano is proud that he’s an inside player. Coakley is so crisp she [crackles]. Khazei bleedingheart. Pagliucci kind of bland,’ she wrote. ‘But they ducked most of the questions and I think there needs [sic] to be at least 2 more debates.”
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