Democrats for Senate

I was somewhat eager to participate in a U.S. Senate debate sponsored by the Young Democrats of Arkansas recently in Hot Springs. My cynical fear of hearing a bunch of non-answers came true, but it was still enlightening.

The debate involved only the four Democratic candidates, but it was still my first opportunity to finally hear, see and compare them first-hand. Now the odds-making and analysis can begin in earnest.

The two best candidates of the bunch are Scott Ferguson, who had not previously impressed me all that much but is really growing on me, and Nate Coulter, who is desperately trying to bring substance to a race in which two opponents — Winston Bryant and Blanche Lincoln — desperately don’t want substance considered.

Bryant, the attorney general who managed to give a Democratic-held Senate seat to the Republican Party in 1996 against Tim Hutchinson, is coasting on name recognition. He’s taking the race so lightly that, based on campaign contribution reports, he’s either not trying to raise money or can’t. There’s no energy or passion for service that I can see from him, and no excitement on the part of campaign workers (if any exist). One has to hope voters have had their fill of him.

Lincoln is giving us family overkill. It’s as if she wants us to think that, because she is a woman and has twin babies, she has the upper hand on being pro-family. What politician today who has a prayer of being elected or re-elected is against family, saving Social Security or education?

The responses by Bryant and Lincoln on tobacco issues were pitiful.

Bryant still maintains that Arkansas’ sitting on the sideline in the state settlements with the industry was smart. I haven’t found another lawyer outside his staff who agrees, and Arkansas isn’t among the handful of states that have settled and reaped millions of dollars.

Lincoln tries to justify taking political action committee dollars from tobacco by saying she represented an agriculture district in northeast Arkansas that needed that alliance. Any “alliance” means she supported an industry that inflicts billions of dollars of Medicare and Medicaid payments on us. While not accepting new tobacco money for the Senate race, it will be old tobacco contributions that help pay for the Senate campaign. Some issues demand principles instead of votes, and tobacco is one of them.

Coulter is emerging as the Democratic establishment choice. Young Democrats, labor and lawyers have lined up behind him, and he has the best statewide campaign organization of any of the four candidates. But this hasn’t translated to money, and he may have to rely on the establishment’s voter turnout efforts.

Then there’s Ferguson, who with the help of substantial personal funds could very well buy his way into a runoff through the media. He’s one of those candidates who probably needed a lesser major race under his belt for a better head start. His all-around experience as a physician, businessman and farmer, along with his moderate views, makes him the race’s most intriguing candidate.

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On the Fence

The most frustrating aspect of the debate was how impossible it was to get these four candidates to stand apart from the others on an issue. I could have sworn they agreed to agree on just about everything.

So many responses were “that deserves careful thought” and “we need to proceed with caution” and “we need to study carefully” and “we need to approach with common sense and reason.” This is the No. 1 reason why people don’t care about debates and elections anymore; nobody stands for anything.

They oppose school vouchers; think any budget surplus should save Social Security first; think independent counsel Kenneth Starr is bad; support most favored nation trade status with China and see relations as an economic issue and not a moral issue; were cold to lukewarm on tort reform; and believe the national media are out of hand.

While Lincoln offered nebulously that we “need a consensus” on Social Security and provided no specific plan, the other three offered support for a move to invest some of the Social Security Trust in stocks and bonds for better yields. Coulter was bold enough to suggest raising the eligibility age for post-baby boomers.

All four danced around the issue of whether the Glass-Steagall Act should be abolished, but I think they were all opposed to it. Ferguson, who’s supposed to be the most conservative and business-friendly member of the group, disappointed me with his slam on the bank merger movement.

Let’s hope these final weeks leading to the primary will become more interesting. n