Reaction to the FINAL Debate at UMASS Dartmouth

Joe, a fellow student at UMASS Dartmouth and frequent commenter, graciously volunteered to write up a little reaction to the debate since I had a quiz and couldn't see it.

May The Homogeny Begin!

Hi Guys, I'm Joe Schlieff, I’m the vice-chair of the College Republicans at Umass, and I had the opportunity to go to the final gubernatorial forum that was held today (my birthday) at Umass Dartmouth. Since Ryan couldn’t go, I’m going to guest write about the event for you fine lefites.

Let me begin by saying that everyone did a fine job today. There were no Christy Mihos taking a dump on Kerry Healey moments, and there was also the rare sight of Grace Ross denouncing Deval in quite the stern manner regarding comments he made about fishermen in New Bedford.

The essence of today was one where you could tell Kerry Healey was through. I am a Republican, but above all I consider myself a pragmatist, and in all pragmatism, she’s through. Her ineptitude to run a good campaign was once again out in the open when she began doing the “I believe this and Deval doesn’t” bologna. It was the same crap that made a terrible ad that made a terrible debate style. Kerry Healey does not have and never will have the “There you go again!” attitude that made Ronald Reagan a legend.

Everyone scored a lot of points in my book as well. Christy Mihos was popping party poppers at his proposition 1, Grace Ross provided a lot of input into the environmental needs of the South Coast, Deval made it expressly clear, more so than the other candidates about his plans to extend the commuter rail, and Kerry Healey was commended for her work on the environment and laying the foundations for important projects.

This final debate was everything I hoped it would be, minus a group hug by the
candidates at the end. Everyone in the forum has a few good ideas; this fact cannot under any circumstances be discounted.

At the end, Deval said he was going to miss the other candidates, Christy said “you going somewhere?” to which he responded in alacrity, “All the way to Beacon Hill.” I may not personally like it, but that’s most likely what’s going to happen. I’m ashamed of the way Kerry Healey ran her campaign, and I’m ashamed of her debate style, but I am not and will never be ashamed of her stances on the issues. Hopefully
when Deval ascends to the corner office, he’ll remember the zealous lack of shame Christy Mihos has, the motherly love Grace Ross has for her state, and the experience in bipartisan efforts Kerry Healey has. All these characteristics together would make a governor of monumental proportions. Good luck Deval. I’m going to share with him some words my brother gives me whenever I embark on a great journey: “Don’t f*ck up.”

Thanks Joe, especially for the honesty! For the sake of Massachusetts, I'm hoping this abysmal performance by Kerry will reenergize the Republicans in Massachusetts. I'm hearing a lot of Republicans deeply disappointed by the way Kerry ran her campaign - and for good reason. (At least she ran one though, that's more than Bill Galvin can say.) Sometimes what people need is for reality to smack them in the face before they can stand up - and I'm sensing that's what this year is going to do to the Republican Party, both in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

There used to be a strong tradition of socially liberal, fiscally conservative, yoemen-type Republicans in Massachusetts that could challenge Democrats. It was still an uphill battle, but often times the Republicans really were the good guys. The national party and Mitt Romney types certainly haven't helped them - and they've quickly all but died off. It's important that there be at least two parties in Massachusetts that can win seats in various parts of the state and I hope that's a lesson the Massachusetts Republican Party learns from this election season (where the Green Party fielded more state-wide candidates!).

In terms of the last debate, I'm glad some local issues popped up. A rail extension to New Bedford could really be a boon to the local economy, bringing it out of its decades-long stagnation. I'm only sad my question wasn't asked!

I'll reiterate Joe's final thoughts: Deval Patrick is in for a long, tough journey. I look forward to watching it in action. The next four years are going to be a lot of fun - let's hope most of my aspirations are met with Deval in office.