Blogging The U.S. Senate Debate

By The WBUR Newsroom
Jan 11, 2010, 5:50 AM
37 Comments

A panel of bloggers provided live coverage and analysis of the U.S. Senate debate Monday night between Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley, Republican state Sen. Scott Brown and independent candidate Joseph L. Kennedy.

The debate took place in the Campus Center Ballroom on the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts. It was sponsored by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

Our guest bloggers:

Renee Loth, columnist for The Boston Globe
Ralph Ranalli, WGBH’s Greater Boston
Julie Mehegan, deputy editorial page editor of The Boston Herald

Please follow our community rules when engaging in comment discussion on wbur.org.

Ellen Friedman

Brown is not answering the question, which was whether he wants the election to be seen as a referendum on health care.
Ellen Friedman

Isn’t there a time limit on responses?
Ellen Friedman

Why did the camera focus on Brown when he was speaking and then go to both of them when Martha started to speak?
Ellen Friedman

Brown doesn’t get that Senators may represent their states but make national policy.
Ellen Friedman

He hasn’t explained how the health care bill is going to cost us jobs.
Candace

There will be no increases in Tricare! Scott Brown is making things up!!
Cornelia

FACT CHECK: A) There are no cuts to Tricare. B) The bill actually will cut the federal deficit, as well as bring down healthcare system costs in the long-run.
Ellen Friedman

Gergen is a disaster. Is he going to let Brown go on and on?
Cornelia

SCOTT BROWN FACT CHECK: $2.1 trillion. Really? And since when is maintaining the Bush tax cuts, which will mire our economy even further in debt, good policy?
Cornelia

SCOTT BROWN FACT CHECK: The health bill does NOT raise the age for mammogram screenings. The bill will actually provide seniors on Medicare free preventive screenings, which they do not enjoy now.
Ellen Friedman

Brown’s microphone needs to be turned off.
Ellen Friedman

Brown is ignoring the fact that the national debt was created by Bush policies.
Ellen Friedman

Brown is snapping his fingers because he wants to get in-after monopolizing the time so far. Cool it Scott.
Ellen Friedman

Good, Martha, on social security vs. Wall St. bailout. And why didn’t Gergen ask Brown his bottom line?
Ellen Friedman

With his military experience Brown’s going to go out and fight the war against terror?
Carolyn Riley

The moderator keeps interrupting Martha, and letting Brown talk away ??
Ellen Friedman

Brown is so aggressive! Coakley doesn’t understand the law? What? I hope people watching understand what a jerk Brown is–pretty face, empty head.
Ellen Friedman

Let me explain what the mission is? Is Brown a bit condescending? Yes. Is he ignorant? Yes. Good response, Martha.
Ellen Friedman

Would Brown like the terrorist trials to be overturned by the Supreme Court because they were not allowed to have attorneys? To lawyer-up? He’s been watching too many TV programs.
Carolyn Riley

David Gergen is a not a good moderator, he is not controlling this faily between the candidates??
Ellen Friedman

Is Scott going to answer the question? Is he pro-choice or not?
Ellen Friedman

Emily’s List requires its candidates to file certain bills?? Brown’s time is up. This sentence should have been part of Gergen’s script from the beginning.
Simister

There IS precedent for offering enemy combatants legal representation and due process. First among these precedents is that of John Adams, our 2nd president, who represented the British soldier responsible for the Boston Massacre. Scott Brown needs to rethink his position and judgement.
Ellen Friedman

Climate change–”the climate’s changing all the time.” What? Yes, it’s going to be warmer tomorrow. What a jerk!
Cornelia

The key to addressing the changing will climate will depend entirely on what you think is causing the change. How can you differentiate the two?
Candace

I don’t trust Scott Brown – he is trying to twist his opposition to abortion and twist his opposition to addressing climate change.
Ellen Friedman

The question to Kennedy is really a bad one–Gergen should not have asked it.
Ellen Friedman

It really is good that Kennedy is here. Thank you Joe.
Ellen Friedman

There may be a lot more, Scott, but not up there.
Ellen Friedman

Sure, Scott–as the last man in you’re going to control the republican debate. Dream on.
Ellen Friedman

David Gergen should be permanently removed from the list of moderators for future debates. He doesn’t have the guts to say “you’re out of time” to the men.
ginnie

I no longer reside in MA or, indeed, the US; however, I listened to the debate and must congratulate y’all. If half the senators in the US were as good as any of your three pols running, your country, and perhaps the world, would be a better place.
Pete Cassani

Way too much talk about Taxes. I pray Martha wins. She was the most reasonable, intelligent voice. I think Brown is in the same vein of the Republicans that slashed taxes to the wealthiest people, invaded third world countries based on lies and wants to gut funding for the gov’t he alleges to serve.
Joni

Brown’s intention to deceive the people was shocking. When Martha Coakley documented that he voted for legislation that would have denyed rape victims care if the physician found it to be against their morality to treat the woman, Brown could not admit that he voted for this amendment…Does he think we don’t understand what he did? and that he wants to fool us into believing the opposite? This is scary.
Sam pirri

Ellen Friedman has to be a plant – is she on Martha’s payroll – I saw a different debate than the one she is describing – I think Joe Kennedy did a better job than
Martha did – Listening to the pundits after the debate, they felt that Brown did the better job. I’ll make up my mind by next tuesday.
pat

Nice job ruining the comment section.
http://AmericaonLine FRED DIMAURO

The republicans with a G.W.Bush aministration from “90″ to “98″ did nothing but start the war in IRAQ under false pretenses, magnify the National Debt, send all high tech jobs abroad to increase big business profits,
create the recession, ruin the economy, & ignor illegal Immigration. Now the Dems have to try to clean up the mess!! In one year? NO WAY! Go get him COAKLEY !!! We don’t need more “NO” voters. We must stop the “NO” Boys!!!

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