TX-32 Pete Sessions weasles out of debate!
Tue Oct 10, 2006 at 07:10:17 AM PDT
Last night, I attended what I thought was going to be a debate between
Will Pryor and
Pete Sessions.
As it turned out, the format of the debate was dictated to the debate sponsor at the last minute by Pete Sessions. Instead of a "give and take" exchange, each candidate started with a prepared statement, then answered written questions from the audience, chosen and read by the moderator.
Pete Sessions went first, and when his time was done, he left! He didn't stay to hear Will Pryor's presentation, he didn't "work the crowd," he didn't stick around to answer questions, as he promised to do during his presentation time. He cut and run! More below the fold...
The debate was sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of Dallas, and was scheduled for the Zale auditorium, same place as one of the debates with Martin Frost. I arrived early, expecting a huge crowd like last time, but by 6:30 there were only a handful of people there. As it turned out, the JCC had anticipated a small gathering and had booked us into a community room instead of the auditorium.
Only about 40 people showed up--mostly Democrats. When Sessions finished his presentation and left, his Republican supporters (all five of them) got up and left when Will Pryor started to speak. I recognized one of them as Dallas City Council member Mitch Rasansky, and wondered how he'd like it if people got up and left when he came to the podium.
Pete Sessions gave his usual rambling circuitous answers to questions on Homeland Security, Iraq and the Middle East. His delivery is similar to Bush's, except that Pete's thick Texas accent comes naturally, so he doesn't have to fake it the way Bush does. Like Bush, Sessions speaks slowly, over-enunciating multi-syllabic words as if he's just recovering from a serious head injury.
Memorable parts of Pete Sessions' presentation include commentary about gun control, health care, the security fence between Texas and Mexico, Darfur, and Iran.
In answer to a question about gun control, Sessions said we should all be able to defend ourselves, and used as an example the story of Bernard Goetz, the "subway vigilante," who shot four young men who were trying to rob him. (Yee-hah, pistol-packin' Pete! That's the answer to our crime problem--more guns!)
Pete Sessions' answer to health care? Pay cash for it. Yep, that's his plan. He says if you pay cash for your operation, you'll get a 20% cash discount. (So remember that, folks, if you need $100,000 for an operation, just pay cash and it will only cost $80,000! Gee, thanks, Pete!)
When talking about the fence, he went on about how much he cares about the people of Mexico. It's for their benefit, he said, to build a high fence because so many of them drown coming across the river. (It's comments like this that make you realize he hasn't really thought it through--the fence is on the Texas side of the river, right? So people are going to cross the river only to come up against a high fence? Just how does that keep them from drowning?)
His answer to an audience question on Darfur was priceless. He said, "I've read about it in National Geographic, so I've seen it firsthand." (Good lord, I'm thinking, I can't believe this man is in Congress). He launched into a lecture about how we can't fight the situation in Darfur militarily, can you believe that? In the mind of Pete Sessions, the only solution to a problem is sending in the troops. He didn't say one word about humanitarian aid!
Towards the end of his Q&A time, he said he was surprised no one asked about Iran, and he really wanted to talk about it. He said the situation in Iran is like Israel, and launched into a speech about how much he supports Israel! Guess he was making a last ditch attempt to get some Jewish votes. He concluded with a promise to continue spending weekends in Texas, "...so I won't get smarter than the people back home." (Don't worry, Pete--there's no way you'll ever be that smart).
Then, Pete walked out, leaving the room to
Will Pryor, who gave a really great presentation. He's well-spoken, intelligent, relaxed, funny; he talked a lot about negotiation and mediation, how that's the best way to handle most of our problems domestically and abroad.
On the "war on terror," Pryor said, "We will win the war on terror by returning to our values," and went on at length about how our nation should not be associated with torture, spying, threatening journalists, or suspending Habeas Corpus.
About health care, he said he's not tied to any single plan of action, but said that we have to make health care a national priority. He tied the health care crisis to what he calls "real" campaign finance reform, which neither party has been willing to do, cutting pharmaceutical and insurance lobbyists out of the equation and working on a plan that benefits people instead of corporations. (Gee, I like Will Pryor better and better every time I hear him speak!)
When answering a question about Dennis Hastert and the page scandal, he made it personal, talking about how the page program is important to him because he served as a page during the Watergate era, and one of his daughters served as a page last year. He talked about how it feels to be seventeen years old surrounded by all that power, and what a meaningful experience it is for a young person. He brought up the topic of Gary Studds, because that scandal happened while he was a page, and talked the censure of the Congressman, which was handled in a bi-partisan manner. When something like that happens, Pryor explained, all the pages know it, and they tell their parents, who tell their members of Congress. Without elaborating or being accusatory, he stated simply that we haven't heard the last of this, and we should expect more House members to be affected by it.
Will Pryor wrapped up with a forthright statement of what he believes, and how he will be different from Pete Sessions. "I'm pro-choice, Pete is not. I support the Brady Bill, he does not..." Without directly addressing Sessions' Bernard Goetz example, Pryor stated that while he supports the Second Amendment, he draws the line at assault rifles and "does not want to encourage the use of hand guns a means to resolve conflicts."
When he got to protecting the environment, Will elaborated, saying that Pete got a zero from the League of Conservation Voters. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a zero?" he asked, getting a laugh from the audience.
Will Pryor closed by saying how much he cares for the constituents of District 32, and how much he wants to represent us--not special interest groups--in Washington.
District 32 needs a change in representation, and we need Will Pryor in Congress. America needs Will Pryor in Congress. Please take a moment and visit his website, and give what you can. Will Pryor for U.S. Congress: Bringing People Together.
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