Thread: Kennedy-Chase debate Energy, immigration dominate

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articl ... se_debate/



Senator Edward M. Kennedy (left) and Ken Chase flanked Chet Curtis before the debate at NECN studios. (Michele McDonald/ Globe Staff)


Energy, immigration dominate Kennedy-Chase debate
Senator on defensive during most of event
By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff | October 11, 2006

In his first and only scheduled debate with US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Republican challenger Kenneth G. Chase focused relentlessly yesterday on two topics: energy independence and illegal immigration.

Chase, who lives in Belmont, repeatedly accused Kennedy of failing to develop a sound alternative energy policy during his 44 years in the Senate. Chase said Kennedy's immigration bill was nothing but ``a clarion call" to hundreds of millions of Mexicans, Chinese, Indians, and others determined ``to break in" to the country.

Kennedy often found himself on the defensive. But, as a popular incumbent who has not had a serious challenge in 12 years, Kennedy struck the tone of a battle-worn realist.

He said there was little he could do to fundamentally change America's energy policy, because ``this administration is owned lock, stock and barrel by the oil companies." He said his immigration bill did not offer amnesty to illegal immigrants, but rather a realistic compromise to address a difficult problem.

The debate, moderated by NECN's Chet Curtis in a special edition of ``The Chet Curtis Report," aired last night at 8. It was shorter than typical debates for high office, lasting just a half hour.

Kennedy, a liberal icon and outspoken critic of the Bush administration, used the opportunity to attack its handling of North Korea and Iraq, its relationship with oil interests, and its funding of the No Child Left Behind law.

Chase, running in a Democratic-leaning state, refused to answer some of Curtis's questions about the Bush administration, whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should be fired, for example, and whether the No Child Left Behind law was under-funded.

The candidates agreed on a couple of points. Both said that the United States needs to engage North Korea to persuade it to back off its nuclear agenda, and both criticized the Bush administration for failing to do so. Both said they supported MCAS tests.

But when asked whether he supported the war in Iraq, Chase barely touched the question, pouncing instead on the chance to say that the war would have been ``easily avoidable" if Kennedy, as ``the most powerful Democrat in the nation for the last half-century," had done something to wean the country from its dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

Kennedy responded a bit later that he favored wind power, solar power, and bio-fuels, but said the country could not achieve oil independence in the current political climate. ``We need to change the Congress and change the leadership to really get to energy independence," the senator said.

But when Curtis asked Kennedy about Cape Wind, the wind power project proposal that Kennedy strongly opposes, Chase saw another chance to attack.

``Here's the problem, Senator," he said. ``You say no to ANWR, no to offshore drilling, no to Cape Wind, nothing on refineries. . . Nuclear power, Senator, again, a no from you. . . . We need to achieve energy independence and stop sacrificing lads from places like Woburn and Attleboro and Swansea and Springfield on the altar of Middle Eastern oil."

Kennedy's campaign later released a statement detailing his efforts on energy independence, including his work ``as far back as 1975" to raise fuel efficiency standards, to promote bio-fuels, and to invest in intercity rail.

When Curtis changed the subject to domestic policy, asking Chase about No Child Left Behind, the sweeping 2002 education bill that Kennedy cosponsored, Chase seized the opportunity to change the subject himself, to illegal immigration.

Chase -- who recently spent most of a week on the Arizona border with Mexico with the Minutemen, a civilian border patrol corps -- said that illegal immigration is the greatest problem facing American education.

``A whole lot of children are left behind, Chet, in the real world, in a classroom when you've got 10 to 18 percent of a given classroom population that has limited or no proficiency in the English language," he said. ``The class lesson of that particular day comes to a screeching halt."

When it was his turn to speak, Kennedy said No Child Left Behind needed more funding, but so did other aspects of education, such as early learning and college loan programs.

But Chase kept pressing on the immigration bill, saying it was nothing short of ``amnesty, because you're giving the illegal immigrants exactly what they want, which is the right to come here and work and not suffer any of the consequences."

In May, the Senate approved legislation sponsored by Kennedy and US Senator John S. McCain III, Republican of Arizona, that would strengthen border security, establish a guest worker program and provide the means for millions of undocumented immigrants to stay in the country. But the bill has languished, and Congress has voted to extend a fence along the Mexican border.

Kennedy defended the bill. ``We're not saying they're forgiven," he said of the immigrants who would have a chance at citizenship. ``They pay a penalty."

In his closing, Kennedy summed it up for his eager opponent: ``H.L. Mencken said for every problem, there's a simple, easy answer, and it's wrong."



© Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Kennedy defended the bill. ``We're not saying they're forgiven," he said of the immigrants who would have a chance at citizenship. ``They pay a penalty."

Yeah some dire penality this is Kennedy, they get to pay a measly $2000 in back taxes, and $2000 fine for being here illegally and then they get a green card.

I'm sure the IRS wouldn't be so kind when dealing w/ an American who hasn't paid their taxes in 5 years. We all know if this was American citizen or legal citizen, they would get fined the maximum amount with penalities and interest from the IRS, and would probably receive jail time along w/ more penalities.

I really hope this is the end of the drunken kennedy era because you haven't done anything but bad for this country. I don't know about his opponent, but nodoby could be worse than the loser kennedy.

I love how they are trying to shorten the debate as much as humanely possible when there needs to be more debate. This murdering criminal scum needs to be exposed for the human waste that he is.

sippy. I love your avitar I am afraid though, Kennedy will be there for the duration of his life, some people cannot give up the illusion of Camelot and the Kennedy's.

Duplicate article. Posted on Oct 10th on the thread listed below.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=43606

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