US Senate Debate: LIVE BLOG PART I

Liz A. here!  We’re back at it again.  Another statewide debate airing live across NYS on YNN and NY1.  This evening, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) and former Congressman Joe DioGuardi (R) are going toe to toe tonight.

I’ll be hunkered down in the corner of the auditorium typing like a mad woman.  Keep refreshing for the rapid fire updates.  Wish me luck and enjoy!!

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7:20pm:  Devlin asks Gillibrand US counterterrorism officials are heavily engaged in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and are increasingly concerned about terrorists in Yemen and Somalia. In which of these countries should the US be doing more, in which should we be doing less?

Gillibrand jokes, “And I have one minute?”  Says she is very concerned about Yemen and Somalia, though she does not necessarily advocate a military presence there.  Says the troop draw down in Iraq is the right idea.  Says that investments in Pakistan present a risky situation.  Says she voted for an end date to deployment in Afghanistan.

Devlin asks Gillibrand what the priority fronts are in the war on terror.  Gillibrand says that you need to take a world view and one of her focuses is cyber terror.

DioGuardi asks how Devlin could have forgotten Iran – and Gillibrand points out that he did, in fact, ask about Iran.  DioGuardi says that now that we know the facts about Iraq, it was a big mistake.

Gillibrand asks to respond on Iran and gets 30 seconds.  Says what we’ve seen from Iran is supplying weapons to our enemies.

7:15pm: Juan asks DioGuardi: The NYC Department of Education is poised to release to the public in the coming weeks Teacher Data Reports, which are based on student scores on state tests. We are talking about the names and scores of 12,000 teachers from 4th through 8th grades. Should these names be made public or just included in an internal document?

DioGuardi says when it comes to education, we need to be transparent.  Says we need to make sure that people are doing their job.  Cites report that US is ranked low in terms of education.  Says if it requires publishing names to achieve more success in school, so be it.

Juan asks whether teachers who fail should be fired.

DioGuardi asks what’s wrong with performance?

Gillibrand says she isn’t familiar with the report Juan is referring to, but stresses the importance of education reform.  Juan jumps in and asks whether teacher’s names should be published if they receive a failing grade.

Gillibrand says that she doesn’t know what Juan is talking about, but in the abstract she does not support the idea of making teachers scapegoats for a school’s failure.

DioGuardi uses his rebuttal to slam NYS for the level of its taxes and says it needs to lower the cost of education.

7:12:  Erin asks Gillibrand: A federal appeals court yesterday temporarily stalled a judge’s decision that would allow openly gay recruits to be accepted into the military. While President Obama says he wants the policy to end, he argues that military rules should be set by president and Congress, not judges, Do you agree with him?

Gillibrand lays out the reasons for her opposition to DADT, calling it a policy that must be repealed legislatively because it is a law.  She says that courts can be involved because it has to do with the Constitution because you can’t tell your CO who you are and who you love.

She clarifies that the law must be repealed legislatively in the end, but would be happy if it was not enforced due to court order.

DioGuardi rebuts by saying, “what’s the hurry?”  Thinks the issue has to be examined by generals in the context of national security.

Erin asks whether he would be bothered by fighting alongside a gay soldier if he were enlisted.  He said, “not at all.”  He wants to hear what military personnel think.

Gillibrand jumps in to say that the military has already weighed in and support the repeal of the policy.

7:06pm:  Liz asks DioGuardi about an instance in which he broke with then-Pres. Reagan.

He says Reagan could not count on his vote during his tenure in Congress.  Assures voters he will be an independent voice if elected Senator.  ”Parties are not working the way they should,” he says in conclusion.

Liz follows up with Gillibrand asking when she has broken with Pres. Obama and Sen. Schumer – both of whom protected her from a primary challenge.

Gillibrand says she is an independent voice for NY.  Says she won’t take a back seat to NYers.  Thinks it is a false question because she shares core values with Schumer and lists them.  Says the question shouldn’t be where they differ, though she is glad he agrees with her so often.  Does say that there are differences in their approaches.

Liz presses her on votes that differ from Schumer/Obama.  She says she differed with Schumer on whether stimulus funds could go to charities.  Says she had a different approach from Obama on DADT about whether to appeal a judge’s ruling.

7:03pm:  Roma asks Gillibrand why she voted against TARP that broke ranks with her fellow Democrats and whether it was a political move.

Gillibrand calls herself an independent voice for NYers.  Says the legislation lacked provisions for accountability and her concern was that taxpayers would have to foot the bill.

Roma follows up by saying that economists say TARP was a good idea, so does she regret her vote.

Gillibrand says no.

DioGuardi uses his rebuttal to go after Gillibrand for voting for the stimulus plan.  Says that makes it clear that she is not independent from the Democratic adminstration.

7pm: And we’re off!!  The candidates have entered the stage.  Gillibrand received slightly more boisterous applause.

Gillibrand begins by talking about NYers who have lost their jobs and families struggling to make ends meets.  She says her opponent supporters failed Bush policies and doesn’t support a woman’s right to choose.

Gillibrand sound very well-practiced and smooth, yet scripted.

DioGuardi sounds a bit more off the cuff and is speaking considerably slower.  He is slamming Gillibrand for forcing this country to borrow from other countries and contributing to the national debt.  ”Sen. Gillibrand is threatening the American dream,” he says.

Says he will “rock the boat in Washington.” And he snuck in a plug for his website after the end of his alloted time.

6:47pm: It is nearly go time!  Here’s a picture of the Gillibrand supporters who gathered outside.  They were cheering and trying to get cars to honk as they passed.

6pm: The candidates have arrived and the crew is in place.  There is a crowd of rather rowdy Gillibrand supporters making noise outside.

The format for this evening’s face off is similar to that of our previous debates.  The order in which the candidates will speak and stand was determined by coin toss.  Gillibrand won (if you want to call it that) and will go first.

The candidates will deliver one minute opening statements and then the questions will begin starting with moderator, NY1 anchor Roma Torre.  The other panelists are Capital Tonight host and everyone’s favorite blogger Liz Benjamin, NY1 political reporter Erin Billups and WSJ reporter Devlin Barrett.

There will then be a “cross examination” portion during which the candidates will ask each other a q

uestion that has not been pre-screened by YNN or NY1.

Then there’s another round of questions, followed by the ever-popular lightning round and, if time allows, more questions.

The evening will conclude with closing statement.