Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Senate debate tonight

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Congressmen Lynch and Markey debated tonight.  A couple of things I wish Markey had handled better.  He couldn’t seem to answer why he voted against a security measure along with only a handful of colleagues, eventually resorting to what struck me as a weak claim of it not being strong enough.  Then there was the question of whether DOJ made the right call to try Tsarnaev in federal civilian court as opposed to a military tribunal.  Markey said he trusts the DOJ made the appropriate decision given the circumstances.  I would have prefered a more adamant expression that you absolutely do not allow the Constitution to yield to the temptation to pretend this is war.  Jay Carney gave a stronger defense of the Constitution during a press briefing today.  Let this be an open thread on tonight’s debate.

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  1. running out of time and trailing in every poll, clearly thought his best chance was to exploit recent events by touting his record on “homeland security.”

    I thought Markey should have been more familiar with the particular votes (though I note Lynch wasn’t clear on which FISA extensions were being discussed), but I thought Markey handled himself pretty well after that.

    I’ve noticed that, especially this week, people are leery of bold defenses of the Constitution. Would have been nice to see a stronger defense of due process, but a lot of people are not feeling rational about this right now. Two guys at my gym were ready to break the TV when they saw he’d be tried in court. They were ready to break me when I pointed out that McVeigh and the (real) Atlanta Olympic bomber were tried in court.

  2. His answer, which seemed a little lame at the time, apparently is true. From the Washington Post, May 4, 2006:

    Only two House members opposed the measure yesterday, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who said the price tag is too high, and Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who contended that the bill does not go far enough to ensure the safety of vulnerable seaports.

    • via his webpage.

      “If we fail to scan 100 percent of cargo overseas, before it is loaded aboard container ships headed for our shores, we’re not just ‘missing the boat’; we could be missing the bomb, with devastating consequences for our country,”

    • and mostly middle of the road, (where the hell did you get all those nutty ideas? – sigh) and they are all responded positively to Lynch — the people vs policy line really works

      • Not good news. I thought Lynch was awful (you’re a liar, “so far out on the left”) and Markey demolished the “people vs. policy” line in his closing.

        A mendacious person. Not a chance he gets my vote for anything, ever, after the last two nights.

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