The most remarkable feature of the first televised debate between Texas’ candidates for U.S. Senate last week was its utter uselessness. By confining incumbent Republican John Cornyn and his challengers, Democrat Rick Noriega and Libertarian Yvonne Adams Schick, to one-minute answers and 30-second responses, the Houston debate’s format guaranteed little more than well-practiced sound bites and virtually no discussion. Hopefully, tonight’s (Thursday) debate in Dallas – which, like last week’s, will be broadcast locally on KLRU-TV (Channel 18, cable Channel 9) – will allow for more explanatory answers and some actual exchanges.
That said, there were some highlights. The two major-party candidates defined the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill as a major point of difference. Noriega slammed Cornyn for supporting it: “It did not have the regulatory means in there to tighten up or fix the problem, to fix the hole in the roof while the house was flooding. It didn’t have the accountability to put cops on Wall Street like we need cops on Main Street. Quite frankly, we need to see that the people would go to jail that got us into this mess. John Cornyn received $4 million from those that got us into that mess.”
“It’s not a sufficient answer to stand by and watch the house burn down and take out the entire neighborhood,” Cornyn replied. “Strong leadership means acting in a time of crisis and not just [standing] there and [allowing] the worst thing that could possibly happen to the retirements, savings, and mutual funds of Texans, just go to ash.” Cornyn agreed that those responsible should be punished, but, “I can’t just say I’m mad and not come up with an alternative. Not to mention the $4.5 billion in tax relief also included in the bill that goes to victims of hurricanes Ike, Dolly, and Gustav.”
“I think we just heard Sen. Cornyn say that people of Galveston would not have received relief if it had not been for the $700 billion bailout that we gave to the Wall Street people that got us into that mess,” Noriega rebutted. “That’s just wrong, Senator.”
On another issue – one that has fallen from the headlines lately – Noriega said that he would support a special prosecutor to investigate the reportedly politically motivated firings of Justice Department attorneys. Cornyn disagreed, but with a nonanswer that was possibly forced by the limited time constraints: “I don’t think we need more lawyers and lawsuits to figure out what happened. … I don’t think it’s appropriate, as a former attorney general of our state, to have politics mixed up with the investigation and prosecution of crime. But I have to tell you that Washington is a pretty ugly place sometimes, and I’ve seen a lot of really good people chewed up by that ugliness and their reputations destroyed. We need to change Washington not by contributing to that rhetoric but by changing it.”
Cornyn accused Noriega of misrepresenting Cornyn’s record on health care (“I looked over at Rep. Noriega to see if his nose was growing”) but then fired back with his own misrepresentation: “Noriega served in the Texas Legislature for 10 years and allowed 800,000 [eligible] children to not be covered by Medicare and [the Children’s Health Insurance Program].” Cornyn failed to mention that it was Republicans who led the way in the 2003 Lege by reducing the CHIP enrollment term from one year to six months, a move (since reversed) that made it more difficult for families to keep getting the insurance and effectively slashed the rolls.
This article appears in October 17 • 2008.