Muhammad Ali against Joe Frazier?
Maybe not quite, but Monday night’s congressional debate at the Quick Center had all the signs of a heavyweight title bout, the contestants trading blows to the entertainment of their audience.
U.S Rep. Christopher Shays R-4 and his main rival, Democrat Diane Farrell, debated for the eighth time this month, each candidate touting familiar campaign slogans while answering questions from a panel of Fairfield students.
Polls show the candidates in close to a dead heat, and the outcome of the race could determine which party controls Congress in January.
Libertarian Party nominee Phil Maymin and Green Party nominee Richard Duffy also took part in the debate, offering outside-the-box answers that at times drew loud laughter from the audience.
Both major candidates spouted out well-recited statements that have been familiar throughout the campaign.
In her opening statement, Farrell said voters need to ask three questions when they consider how to vote on Nov. 7: When Shays has agreed with President Bush and the Republican Congress, has it been good for the country? When he has disagreed, such as on stem-cell research, has it made a difference? And can voters afford two more years of one-party rule in Washington?
Shays countered that he has been an independent voice in Congress, opposing members of his party when they have been wrong, and being a strong leader on the House subcommittee on national security.
“I’m not a partisan politician. I don’t think or act that way,” he said. “I try to find a Democrat to co-sponsor every bill that I believe in, because I think that we are Americans first and Democrats and Democrats second. I hope you’ll judge me on my experience and my seniority.”
The two major candidates offered solutions to the conflict in Iraq that were different in rhetoric but similar in substance.
Farrell ripped the Bush administration and the Republican Congress for getting into the war, and said the United States is wasting $250 million per day on the war, while more than 2,700 American soldiers have lost their lives fighting it.
She said the U.S. must negotiate a cease-fire between the two major rivaling ethnic groups in Iraq – the Sunnis and Shiites – and favors a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops.
Shays, who called for a timetable earlier this fall after his 14th trip to Iraq, said that the Iraqis stopped making progress towards self-governance, and that Americans and Iraqis need to work together to establish a timetable.
All four candidates agreed that U.S. troops should be re-deployed or sent home sooner rather than later.
Maymim, who spoke with an ear-to-ear grin on his face, mocked both of the major party candidates, saying neither had a grasp for what the U.S. should do to get out of the conflict.
“My opponents want a timetable without a time,” he said. “That just leaves a line.”
Maymim said he advocates removing all American troops from Iraq by July, 4, 2007.
Duffy, a portly man with a long gray beard, said the U.S. was “wrong and should admit we’re wrong” on Iraq.
When asked about the increased tension between the U.S. and North Korea, Farrell said the Bush administration has failed to contain dictator Kim Jong Il, and that the administration’s refusal to sit down and talk with the North Koreans has worsened the situation.
“It’s more important to talk to your enemies than your friends,” she said. “The administration has to understand that when you don’t talk, this is what will happen.”
Shays defended Bush’s policies, saying that the only way to effectively deal with the North Koreans is to bring nations like Japan, China and South Korea to the table – something the administration advocates.
The questions on global issues were asked by a panel that consisted of College Democrats President Sarah Kennedy ’08, College Republicans President Sam DeMarzo ’07, Mirror online news editor Jess Mitchell ’08, WVOF station manager Mike Wood ’07, Debate team President Meredith Darts, and Ham Channel producer Mike Livingston ’07.
Following the first round of questions, the candidates answered questions from the audience, and then another round of questions from the student panel, before issuing closing statements.
Shays maintained over and over again that the way things are in America – from tax policy to healthcare policy – are the best in the world, and that people from all over the world want to come to the country.
Farrell advocated a change from tax policies that she said have benefited only the wealthiest of Americans, while leaving behind everyone else.
But by far the most entertaining line about taxes came Maymim, a candidate who has absolutely no chance to win the election, but seemed intent on delivering the best entertainment to those in attendance.
The government, he said, created an unnecessary hassle for most Americans.
“But good luck not paying your taxes,” he said. “The government will come after you with guns.”
At that point, before returning to the less simple statements being made by Shays and Farrell, the audience roared with laughter.
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