Mad Dog got a seat up front at the Portsmouth candidates' forum tonight, mostly to hear Terence O'Rourke, but it was the first opportunity to see all 8 candidates together and to hear them on the issues.
Nobody pursued any questions with follow ups, and the moderator, Ray Buckley, made sure everything remained non confrontational and sweet, which is nothing like what the stage will be like when a Republican is standing on it, but this was Democratic forum and there was no Trump calling anyone "Little Marco."
O'Rourke did not disappoint: He said we had to get money out of politics, had to reverse the Supreme Court decision on campaign financing, Citizens United and then told us how: When we get a Democratic majority in the Congress we add 6 new Supreme Court justices, which does not require a Constitutional amendment. He noted the last Chief Justice appointed by a Democrat was appointed by Harry S. Truman and he said we were being ruled by the dead, when it came to the Supreme Court. He vowed to take no PAC money, a non too veiled knock at Maura Sullivan, sitting three spots away, who is leading everyone in outside money. His answer about having gays serve in the military was surprisingly strong and supportive. He slammed Trump for waging war on a sovereign state without Congressional authorization and said that alone was an impeachable offense. And he slammed Maggie Hassan for voting to gut the Dodd Frank law protecting us against another bank meltdown and he said we needed another Glass Speigal act to separate commercial from community banking. He inveighed against endless wars without missions and said the 2nd amendment doesn't guarantee every citizen to a right to a military weapon meant to kill people, but he warned about the traps Democrats fall into when talking about guns. He said we had a Congress bought and paid for by the billionaires and our tax cut law, just passed, was a outright theft by the rich, passed by a Congress which had legalized bribery.
He was satisfyingly left of Bernie, left of Lenin, forceful, a warrior you could see going toe to toe with Jim Jordan, or any of those Freedom caucus Republican creeps.
The real surprise was Lincoln Soldati, who Mad Dog had not previously heard. He was by far the consummate crowd pleaser. He began by saying he was the oldest candidate and that he was not running to start a career, but because he thought the country was in real trouble and we had to do something right away. In response to Medicare for all, he held up his own Medicare card and said he'd had all sorts of medical insurance over his life but this was by far the best. It's tried and true and everyone should have it. When Mark Mackenzie said Social Security could be saved by raising the cap on taxable income, Soldati said we should do more than raise the cap--we should eliminate it. (O'Rourke noted the rich get away without paying taxes not just by that cap but by paying only 20% on most of their income from stocks and other non wage sources.) Soldati, of all 8, would be the most reliable vanquisher of any Republican opponent. He would simply eat those Republican twits for lunch.
And then there was Deaglan McEachern. He continued to emphasize the importance of not getting so caught up in trying to get everyone a college education we forget that the trades and crafts--electricians, plumbers, carpenters--are the route to the middle class and beyond and these jobs will never be taken over by robots, which is how most of the blue collar jobs will be lost over the coming decades. He was seated next to Soldati and it was like watching a young Jack Kennedy sitting next to Tip O'Neill. One is the present power, and one is the power to come.
If anyone came away with new converts out of this exercise, it was likely O'Rourke, who managed to distinguish himself from the others by simply being more insistent on uncompromising liberal positions. Mad Dog's heart was with O'Rourke. But in terms of the reality of politics, O'Rourke is way behind in money raising and does not have a political base, and Soldati, a former mayor of Sommersworth has that.
McEachern has something else. Call it polish, call it charisma. It's that ineffable quality Kennedy had, that simply draws people to him.
Fact is, we'd be blessed by any of the three. But oh what fun we'd have if it were O'Rourke. He mentioned Paul Wellstone, the Wisconsin Liberal as an inspiration and he is right out of that mold. He'd give Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan, and all those Freedom Caucus pricks fits.
Nobody pursued any questions with follow ups, and the moderator, Ray Buckley, made sure everything remained non confrontational and sweet, which is nothing like what the stage will be like when a Republican is standing on it, but this was Democratic forum and there was no Trump calling anyone "Little Marco."
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| O'Rourke and friend |
O'Rourke did not disappoint: He said we had to get money out of politics, had to reverse the Supreme Court decision on campaign financing, Citizens United and then told us how: When we get a Democratic majority in the Congress we add 6 new Supreme Court justices, which does not require a Constitutional amendment. He noted the last Chief Justice appointed by a Democrat was appointed by Harry S. Truman and he said we were being ruled by the dead, when it came to the Supreme Court. He vowed to take no PAC money, a non too veiled knock at Maura Sullivan, sitting three spots away, who is leading everyone in outside money. His answer about having gays serve in the military was surprisingly strong and supportive. He slammed Trump for waging war on a sovereign state without Congressional authorization and said that alone was an impeachable offense. And he slammed Maggie Hassan for voting to gut the Dodd Frank law protecting us against another bank meltdown and he said we needed another Glass Speigal act to separate commercial from community banking. He inveighed against endless wars without missions and said the 2nd amendment doesn't guarantee every citizen to a right to a military weapon meant to kill people, but he warned about the traps Democrats fall into when talking about guns. He said we had a Congress bought and paid for by the billionaires and our tax cut law, just passed, was a outright theft by the rich, passed by a Congress which had legalized bribery.
He was satisfyingly left of Bernie, left of Lenin, forceful, a warrior you could see going toe to toe with Jim Jordan, or any of those Freedom caucus Republican creeps.
The real surprise was Lincoln Soldati, who Mad Dog had not previously heard. He was by far the consummate crowd pleaser. He began by saying he was the oldest candidate and that he was not running to start a career, but because he thought the country was in real trouble and we had to do something right away. In response to Medicare for all, he held up his own Medicare card and said he'd had all sorts of medical insurance over his life but this was by far the best. It's tried and true and everyone should have it. When Mark Mackenzie said Social Security could be saved by raising the cap on taxable income, Soldati said we should do more than raise the cap--we should eliminate it. (O'Rourke noted the rich get away without paying taxes not just by that cap but by paying only 20% on most of their income from stocks and other non wage sources.) Soldati, of all 8, would be the most reliable vanquisher of any Republican opponent. He would simply eat those Republican twits for lunch.
And then there was Deaglan McEachern. He continued to emphasize the importance of not getting so caught up in trying to get everyone a college education we forget that the trades and crafts--electricians, plumbers, carpenters--are the route to the middle class and beyond and these jobs will never be taken over by robots, which is how most of the blue collar jobs will be lost over the coming decades. He was seated next to Soldati and it was like watching a young Jack Kennedy sitting next to Tip O'Neill. One is the present power, and one is the power to come.
If anyone came away with new converts out of this exercise, it was likely O'Rourke, who managed to distinguish himself from the others by simply being more insistent on uncompromising liberal positions. Mad Dog's heart was with O'Rourke. But in terms of the reality of politics, O'Rourke is way behind in money raising and does not have a political base, and Soldati, a former mayor of Sommersworth has that.
McEachern has something else. Call it polish, call it charisma. It's that ineffable quality Kennedy had, that simply draws people to him.
Fact is, we'd be blessed by any of the three. But oh what fun we'd have if it were O'Rourke. He mentioned Paul Wellstone, the Wisconsin Liberal as an inspiration and he is right out of that mold. He'd give Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan, and all those Freedom Caucus pricks fits.
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