With a new Quinnipiac University poll showing the U.S. senate race neck and neck, all eyes are focused on one of the most anticipated events of the fall campaign: the first Murphy McMahon senate debate, set for this morning at 11 AM. Republican Linda McMahon and Democrat Chris Murphy will be facing off for the first time in their quest to replace retiring Senator Joe Lieberman.
The Channel 3 Eyewitness News senate debate will be held at 11AM in our Face the State studio. I will be serving as moderator, and here are our three panelists.
The hour-long, commercial-free debate will be broadcast live on WFSB, and will be streamed live on www.wfsb.com and simulcast on WTIC AM 1080 and WLIS radio. The debate is attracting national attention. C-Span will also carry the debate live., and CNN and CBS will be taking the feed. It will also be aired later by CT-N. According to WFSB assignment manager and Face the State producer Chris Collibee, there has a huge interest from media looking to cover this historic event.
WFSB’s Allison Annino and Tony Meliso standing in for McMahon and Murphy during debate preparations on Friday
Kudos to McMahon and Murphy for agreeing to this debate, and the three others that will follow. Debates are job interviews, if you will, and it gives voters the chance to see the candidates talk about the issues. Connecticut voters are fortunate in this regard; in California, incumbent Senator Dianne Feinstein is refusing to debate her opponent. Watch her refusal here: http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2012/09/25/feinstein-shuts-door-to-debating-her-gop-opponent-i-havent-seen-see-the-point-video/
Here is a list of folks to follow on Twitter for the debate: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/follow-sundays-senate-debate-on-twitter/
Channel 3 has a rich history of hosting debates. Here is a look at our very first senate debate, back in 1958!
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Dennis House blog 
Kept objective, this could be one of the best debates in a long time. National media is doing smart to cover this one. Debates can either be enlightening or a bomb lets hope for the best outcome now and in the election.
JW
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In one of Linda McMahon’s own commercials, she stated that her taxes were going to stay the same in her budget plan. My question: Does she have any plans on evening the tax burden for everyone even if that means her taxes will go up?
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Do you mean havin half the people who do not pay taxes and more often get money from the Govt…paying some income tax…that is fair….while the top 10% pay about 70% of the income taxes???….so how would you even the tax burden???
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Very simple.
Everyone gets the first $20,000 tax free.
And then a flat tax kicks in at these brackets:
$20 K to $100 K at 10%
$100 K to $250 K 15%
$250 K to $1 million 20%
$1 million + 25%
No deductions no tax shelters. High penalties for tax evasion. Everyone pays. Rates can be tweaked. Bottom line – government lives within it’s means. No deficit spending. It will hurt, but it will be a huge boost to confidence in the economy. Fair tax, flat tax doesn’t matter. Government is insatiable. It’s time to stop.
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Exactly!!!
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I want to ask Chris why he thinks 75 jobs created when a waterbury property was rehabbed is really a big deal?? Since he went to D.C., he has become a puppet of the Pelosi machine and really hasn’t done anything to make a name for himself!! What has he really done in Congress????
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Please check out Chris Murphy’s backround. he isn’t fancy, not a celebrity, doesn’t dress like a model, but he is beloved by his fellow Congress people and also by the people, both Republican and Democrats in CT. He has passed stem cell laws, fought tooth and nail for the rights of women & the underprivileged, started the middle aisle caucus so both Republicans & Democrats can start talikng with each other, wrote part of the new health care law where children and students whose parents don’t have insurance can finally be taken care of, taken on the mental health lobby, has a 98% rating with the enviornmental groups, began the “Buy American” bill etc. etc. So when you say he’s part of the problem he really isn’t. The reason you don’t haer a lot about Chris is because he doesn’t blow his own horn. I know of him because he helped our family out of a very dire situation. I was told about him from a neighbor who contacted him about several issues and he got right back to her. He has no ego and simply put seems to be a guy who just takes pride in doing his job right. He never seeks the limelight because he’s too busy working. As I said, I am a Republican, but I’m not married to that party. I try to research candiddates before I vote. Do you know that Linda MCMahon’s site doesn’t even have “issue” statements? That’s pretty much unheard of and makes me wonder why not? In this morning’s Courant they commented that she didn’t really know what the Blunt Amendment was about and had never heard of the Lillie Ledbetter Law which prohibits women from being discriminated against in the workplace. I spoke with her at the Women’s Expo and was very disappointed when she didn’t seem to have a grasp of the issues. In my heart I truly believe this race to her is about “power” and nothing else. I don’t see that she really cares about the people of CT. If she did wouldn’t she have done her resaerch and be more knowledgeable? I think she has tried to devert her lack of intelligence by pointing the finger at everything Congressman Murphy has done wrong. And again, they are unbelievable distortions of his record. When she says he didn’t go to his job I actaully found out that those meetings she talked about not any Republicans attend either. Alot of them are about coen farming in Nebraska, enriching the earth with worms etc. And, if a Congressman can’t go to one because he is in committee meetings he can have an aid go and he also gets a full write up of what the meeting was about. The true measure of your Congressman is his voting record and Murphy’s is at the very top 97%. I think you need to make a decision between a woman who has never held a public office in her life and is truly trying to “Buy” this one. She’s spent to date almost $70,000,000 trying to buy a Senate seat. Murphy has $3,000,000. How does anyone compete with that? The only people who will be able to run for public office will be the wealthy.
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Murphy has consistantly voted to Kill Jobs. He is an ideologue who cares only about social engineering, not the lives of real people. He has been highly successful fooling people for many years. This is the year he finds out if he can continue to fool all of the poeple all of the time. I believe he has hit his match. There are fewer fools in Connecticut in 2012.
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I would like to ask Ms. McMahon why she is opposed to Keynesian economic theory to get us out of our economic problems.
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because it does not work….see crash of 1920ish and how the Govt downsized and reduced taxes adn we had the roaring 20’s….and compare that to the 1929 crash where the REpublican and FDR increased Govt involvment and taxes and we end up witht he Great Depression and high unemploynment until WWII came around…learn your histroy
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For Mr. Murphy: You state in your television ad that Linda does not pay employee benefits. Please explain the difference between an employee and an independent contractor with respect to benefits. A concerned voter-Oct 1, 2012
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Dennis… President Obama promised to have “the most transparent administration in history.” In light of the President’s promise, please consider asking the candidates where they stand on Admin-related opacity. For example:
1) Obama’s Kill List — Without the constitutionally-mandated “due process,” Obama now kills American citizens far from the battlefield. Do Murphy / McMahon call on any / all Presidents to release the criteria used in determining those who are to be assassinated without due process?
2) The Federal Reserve — Murphy supported Audit the Fed this summer in the House. But he was not a cosponsor. As a Senator, would they support Auditing the Fed? Begich (D-Alaska) is the only Dem Senator to cosponsor S.202, Rand Paul’s sister bill in the Senate… where Harry Reid actively opposes transparency at the central bank.
3) The Trans Pacific Partnership — Similar to NAFTA, but currently including 9 Pacific-rim countries, this bill is being written by corporations. Obama refuses to release the details of these negotiations, despite bipartisan calls (Rep Issa, R-CA & Sen. Wyden, D-OR) to stop hiding them. Do the candidates call on Obama to release the details of these negotiations that are being handled by corporate lobbyists?
I know good government / transparency issues seem boring compared to jobs. But Dennis… these issues are of huge importance for the future and the precedent that is being set by allowing this secrecy to continue. In addition, the latest Fed Audit poll has 70% of Americans agreeing that an audit should occur. Please consider these topics for Sunday’s debate.
A fan,
Tim
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thanks for thoughtful and important Q’s….
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Great job today Dennis! Every race is getting four debates except in the 1st and 3rd districts. Perhaps you could provide a great service to the voyers if you would follow-up on this story:http://youtu.be/izmqQ3yKfHU
Wayne Winsley the Republican candidate running in Connecticut’s 3rd congressional district, held a press conference Wednesday evening, Oct. 3, 2012, just three hours before the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, planned to debate his challenger, Mitt Romney, in Denver, Colorado.
Candidate Winsley chose as his backdrop the Amistad Memorial Statue adjacent to the front door of New Haven City Hall to deliver his statement to the press. Only two print media representatives attended. No TV cameras were present.
On the eve of the first of four debates pitting Linda McMahon and Chris Murphy who are each running to replace retiring Senior Connecticut US Senator, Joe Lieberman, the complete video of Winsley’s press conference is now public.
Rosa DeLauro’s hesitance to debate in public is becoming a story in itself. There has been speculation that DeLauro is unable to articulate clearly without notes or a script since her embarrassing performance upon returning from an Italian vacation after the hurricane one year ago. The following video clip is disconcerting, at best:
Connecticut’s 3rd district voters have the right to know whether their incumbent representative is fully in control of her faculties. Debates would answer the questions.
DeLauro’s obfuscation and delaying tactics increase speculation that she is hiding something serious!
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Rosa, debate Wayne. Stop hiding behind your 22 years in Congress.
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Can anyone in the media explain to us why it has been ok for not asking Rosa the question why she never has a debate with her incumbent for over 20 years. G. Bush Sr.was in office last time she had a debate. This has gone on to long and has to end now!
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The top 10% pay 70% of income tax is not applicable to what I am saying. The gap that each individual pays need to be narrowed. Why is it fair that one person/family that grosses 70K pays 27% in taxes and a person/family that grosses 250K pays 15%! It is the percentage per family not per tax bracket that matters!!!
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