Senatorial Debate: BURNing Up and TESTing Both
The Mother Lode Theatre. Impressive enough with its nostalgic exterior and lavish interior.
But add in supporters of both Conrad Burns and John Tester: holding signs; passing out flyers and fact sheets; stickers and T-shirts galore; shows the sheer importance of this close senatorial race.
Even more impressive is the inside of the theatre: filled to the brim with young and old, regular folks, reporters, and experts. Cameras everywhere, ready to capture every moment of the debate to come. You could just feel the intensity of both sides gearing up to cheer their candidate on.
When Mr. Burns appeared on the stage, his collection of supporters in the first ten rows stood up; a tight mass of cheering fans screaming for their pick. But when Mr. Tester came on the stage, you could see the rest of the theatre stand up and applaud. If there was any doubt before — that alone showed the extent of Butte’s liberalism. Conrad will have his work cut out for him trying to convince voters from this blue city.
The debate was swift and very informative. Each candidate took turns getting a question first, had two minutes to respond, and then the other candidate would have two minutes to respond. Then, the first candidate got another minute to rebut the argument. Halfway through the debate, each candidate got to ask the other a question of their own. At the beginning, there was some confusion of the times, with both Tester and Burns trying to give an extra rebuttal while the moderators tried to call, “Time!”
The questions ranged from minimum wage, taxes, the Patriot Act, Jack Abramoff, veteran programs, fiscal responsibility, and environmental programs. Their praise for Butteans was almost annoying as the debate neared its close. Tester frequently stepped out in front of his podium to make an important point, which did catch everybody’s attention.
At a few points in the debate, there was some childish jeering between the candidates. And the only audience interruptions were when a man in the front rows started yelling when Burns was talking, and when the majority of the audience clapped and cheered when Tester said he wanted to repeal the Patriot Act.
After an hour, both candidates gave their closing remarks, shook hands, and then it was over.
And in the end, one has to always wonder, who won? In this BT writer’s opinion, it depends on what you’re looking at. Burns is an excellent speaker. When compared to Tester, his speeches were much more fluent, articulate, and made his point far more clearly and effectively. Yet Burns seemed very pompous and full of himself, while Tester seemed genuine and truthful about everything he talked about.
It also seemed that on pure information, Tester could back up what he was saying on more occasions than Burns could. Especially since all Burns could say about his connections to Jack Abramoff is that they were, “Baseless allegations.”
It’s going to be a close race, and a big decision for all Montanans. Do we get rid of someone with eighteen years of experience in the U.S. senate for a new fish? Or do we leave the broken cog in the political machine that may end up hurting our state more than helping it?
When leaving the debate, this BT writer overheard an informative opinion about the entire event. “I thought it all was just some sugar-coated bull.”
But isn’t that what politics is really all about?
Debate Coverage
Debate Blogging
- Left in the West: Debate Live Blog Coverage
- Left in the West: Resodyn Buys Debate For Burns?
