CD7 Democratic debate, part two
Political truism of the day: The value in being first is that you get to frame the debate.I have met Ed Perlmutter. And I know Peggy Lamm by reputation. But of the three Democratic candidates for CD7, only Herb Rubenstein has ever made an attempt to personally convince me that he would be the best choice to take CD7 from the Republicans.
So as tonight's debate started, what I was thinking about was this sentence from an email Herb sent me. "I will tell you my positions on every issue... Ed, well, the issues section on his website is under construction... Peggy, she hardly takes positions on any issues."
Guess what? Herb was sorta right.
Herb said that we can get American troops our of Iraq by July 2007. Ed and Peggy both said something vague about a phased withdrawal. (And Ed, unbelievably, seemed to say we have to wait on creating a plan until President Bush defines victory for us. Nobody I was with could figure out what the heck Ed was thinking.)
Both Ed and Peggy made passionate but cloudy statements about our broken healthcare system. Herb said he favored government-run universal healthcare (which'd save businesses a lot of money) within five years.
Heck, Peggy couldn't even say for sure whether she was going to go through the caucases or petition onto the ballot.
Some of the nitty-gritty of the debate was washed away by the closing statements. Ed delivered a solid stump speech that bordered on inspiring. And Peggy also came across as passionate and involved. Herb rambled a bit, coming across more as a technocrat than a leader. Still, most of the dozen or so people I talked to afterwards believed Herb won the debate.
Most of the liberal blogs barely register Herb's existence. And the bipartisan site Coloradopols openly mocks the guy. But the Democratic candidate for CD7 is statistically the best chance the Democrats have to pick up a U.S. House seat in 2006. So all the candidates deserve a look.
Who am I voting for? It doesn't matter. I don't live in CD7.
posted by 300 Spartans Gym at 7:24:00 PM
5 Comments:
i was there, did you know? I love Herb. I like his stances. I love his wonkishness. I love that he isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Though, that would probably get him in trouble.
Al From stories!
I wondered why Ed made that lame comment about "Commander in Chief needs to give us a plan".
Didn't like Lamm dancing around Iraq either.
All the other stuff aside, about who can win or will, I would vote for Herb. But, like you, I don't get to vote in CD-7. Diana DeGette for me...
Later on I will do a fill in on the three and their positions for the blogs. Maybe something just before primaries. They are all in for the long haul, so it will be an interesting primary!
I didn't stay around yesterday afternoon to listen. OBTW, if you get a chance, ask Ed about his role with Promise Keepers.
I was there as well but had to leave early to attend to family stuff. I've spoken to Herb before and he comes across as very sincere and with some interesting ideas. Peggy is very personable as well. One thing that has given me a bad impression of Ed is the mail I have been getting from him attacking Peggy for her support of Owens a few years back. I don't go for negative campaigning even if it is shown to work. I do live in CD7 but haven't made my mind up yet...
I was there and think any of the three would be a step up from what we have. Herb did ramble a bit which distracts but, he did answer questions directly as opposed to tap dancing around the issues. Ed was great ovwerall but I was disapointed only once when asked what our Iraq strategy should be and his long answered boiled down to,"ask Bush, I don't have one". I feel strongly that our candidates must articulate positions and not just criticize. Peggy has the ability to articulate with passion, but her passion lacked specfics on a couple of occasions. Basically, it will be tough to pick one at this time, because all three would be great. What we have now is a 'me too' weak guy who talks tough but does as he is told by his party. Wire tapping Americans witout a warrent...he has no problem with that.
I was there too. Herb did a great job outlining his points. He's the only candidate with a practical plan for the legislature. If Peggy and Ed are going to survive this race, they'll have to talk specifics on the issues. By the way-- anyone else impressed by Winters (CD6)?
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