Post Game Wrap Up of MNCD4 Debate with Teresa Collett and Betty McCollum

Originally Published October 21, 2010

I'm writing this about an hour after the League of Women Voters Forum in St. Paul let out tonight. I wanted to get this out on social media before the Pioneer Press (who's reporter I'm certain was sitting next to me) has a chance to frame the narrative about what happened tonight.  I attended the debate, sat in the second row and tried my best to live tweet the events that I saw.  You can follow my tweets on the #mncd4  hashtag.  I'm certain the Collett campaign will have the debate up on their www.collettforcongress.com YouTube Channel very soon.

It was great to see a lot of fantastic patriotic people that I've met over social media the last few months. @madvoterinmn @douglasbass and @suejeffersktlk all sat next to me.  We had a great time talking before hand and exchanging notes during the debate.  The great thing was that the audience seemed to be overwhelmingly pro Collett!  This is in St. Paul! The city that hasn't elected a Republican to Congress since WWII!   I fully expected to see busloads of SEIU members shipped in to give Betty a friendly environment.  Either the busses got caught in traffic, or the DFL machine isn't working for Betty anymore.  I'm now more convinced than ever that Teresa Collett can win in MNCD4!  She's a great candidate, she articulates her positions clearly and intelligently and she's on the right side of the issues that matter to MN and the US right now.

It should be clear to anyone that was at the debate why Betty McCollum backed out of a live televised debate on KSTP earlier in the campaign.  She does not debate well, she has trouble speaking without prepared notes (which she can't even read clearly), and when she does have to speak off the cuff she is prone to saying dumb things.  She said some doozies tonight, to which the crowd responded negatively, with gasps, if not outright laughter.  Clearly she couldn't take the risk of having such a performance televised.  What Betty McCollum doesn't realize is that with new media, that message will get through despite her best efforts. Follow @madvoterinmn and myself at @stpaulcd4voter on Twitter and go to http://www.mncdneedschange.blogspot.com/ for more information on Betty McCollum.

I thought it was comical that the League of Women Voters actually called themselves a non partisan organization. This is despite the fact that the MN Voters Alliance has filed an IRS complaint against the League due to the fact that they are also a lobbying organization. http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=872135

The opening statement Betty read from her note cards was full of the typical DFL platitudes. I heard a lot of "keep moving forward" and "not going back to the failed policies of the past" but very little substance of what she actually stood for.  She clearly was not prepared to defend her votes on health care, the stimulus, running up the debt or the bailouts to the auto industry.

On the other hand, Teresa Collett, spoke without notes about her life as a mother, a business owner, a successful lawyer, professor and recent grandmother.  She said she decided to run for Congress because she's concerned about the country that her newborn granddaughter would one day inherit.  She spoke clearly, confidently and sounded polished.  She's a great speaker.  To anyone from outside MNCD4 that happened to stumble into the Wilder Auditorium, they would have thought Teresa was the incumbant.

The first question of the night was about the recent Don't Ask, Don't Tell judicial ruling issuing an injunction telling the military to quit enforcing the policy.  McCollum said that she "has voted to repeal the ban...and would do so again."  Collett said that "She trusts the opinion of the professional leadership of the military on this issue.  They should make the decision, not judges." As an Army veteran, who still is concerned about our country's ability to effectively defend itself, I know thisto be the right answer.  The role of the military is to "kill people and break things" -- it's not a social laboratory, and the leadership's opinion on readiness should be valued, not dismissed by politicians with no military experience such as Rep. McCollum.

The second question was on health care, specifically "Can you discuss the benefits of the health care legislation?"  Teresa Collett said firmly the "health care bill is a disaster and that she would vote to repeal it." When she said this the crowd roared in approval, much to the chagrin of Betty McCollum and the LWV moderator, who reminded the crowd to hold their applause.

McCollum went back to the same stale Democratic talking points; "I'm proud of my vote for health care!" she said.  She tried to argue that the health care bill was going to save money and make health care more affordable. She also said that "health care reform is not a government takeover..."  This drew outright laughter from the audience.  The Independence Party Candidate, who is clearly not ready for prime time, tried to say that Teresa Collett was not in favor of an immediate repeal.  Collett answered him by saying "When we have a 2/3 majority in both the House and Senate, we will override a Presidential veto and repeal the bill.." She commented that wth the political winds across the country its looking more likely that that could happen.

When questioned about what can be done about the federal debt, McCollum made the most laughable answer of the night.  It was all talking points and no substance.  She said "all options need to be on the table" four times in one two minute answer but didn't say anything that specifically answered the question.

Collett on the other hand pointed out that Betty McCollum sits on the House Budget committees, and that committee didn't even submit a budget this year.  "If you can't even submit a budget, how can you balance a budget?" She asked. Collett said she supports the Pence Ammendment limiting federal spending to 20% of GDP, and that in order to restore fiscal sanity we have to look at entitlement spending.  McCollum, speaking off the cuff, made a bizzarre comment that "the budget that committee submits is non binding, it doesn't mean anything."  This seems to reflect the current thinking of the Democratic Party.

On the question about what will it take to get the economy moving again, Collett said that "the first order of business in the new Congress in January has to be extending the tax cuts to everyone." She said the problem with the current Congress is that very few of the members have any business experience at all, and that they don't know how jobs get created.  Betty McCollum clearly was in this group, because she argued that while she's for "middle class tax cuts" (which is code for tax credits to people who don't pay taxes), we can't afford a tax cut for the top 3% of earners.  Collett countered that the top 3% include small business owners whose business income as S Corporations are passed onto their personal income tax statements.  Massive tax increases on business owners will hurt, not stimulate job creation.

The stupidest comment of the night came on the defense question, when Betty McCollum said: "Al Quida no longer poses a threat to the United States.." Wow, I've been so involved in following the campaign, I must have missed that news!  She also said that there are "less than 100 Al Quida left in Afghanistan..."  McCollum did say, however that the military was drawing up contingency plans for global warming.  That's a relief!  I guess in Betty McCollum's world Global Warming is a bigger threat to the US than Al Quida.

There was a question about which founding father you admired the most.  Teresa Collett answered that James Madison was her favorite, because he believed in limited government and that he wrote the Constituion.  Betty McCollum gave some lame answer about Ben Franklin because he was such a renaissance man, free thinker, etc...I guess Betty forgot that Ben Franklin was also a big proponent for term limits!

At the end of the debate, and during closing statments, Betty McCollum basically repeated her opening statement.  The main reason she could come up with for voting for her was that she was born in South St Paul, was raised in North St Paul and lives in St. Paul now. She also tried to call for civility in discourse and that we shouldn't use hate speech.  I was left wondering, "what hate speech?"  This reminded me of her comments earlier this year comparing Michelle Bachmann and the Tea Party to Tim McVeigh. Simply insulting Betty!  People who disagree with you aren't terrorists, and differing opinion is not hate speech.

Teresa Collett on the other hand, summarized her candidacy by saying "I'm for freedom and fiscal sanity!"  She said that accumulating debt is morally irresponsible and that if elected she would work to bring sanity back to government.  Her closing statement drew thunderous applause from the audience, and contrary to what the Pioneer Press will say tomorrow morning -- the applause was for Teresa, not ALL of the candidates!

I left energized and motivated that contrary to what the media will report, there is a race in MNCD4.  There has been no polling in this district, but the same dynamics that are putting Jim Oberstar in trouble in Duluth can also swamp Betty McCollum in St. Paul.  We have to stay motivated, talk to your neighbors and make sure everyone gets out and votes for Teresa Collett.  My recent post Electoral Math How Teresa Collett can Beat Betty http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=155203901176998 outlines how the math can break in our favor!

This can be an historic election, and I hope that St. Paul voters can come out and make our state proud for a change.  I'm tired of being a laughingstock for the rest of the US...