It was a highlight in an otherwise low-blow campaign, when in their final U.S. Senate debate Linda McMahon and U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy were asked to say something nice about each other.
Murphy”™s response: “Linda McMahon is clearly a very driven person. She”™s someone that when she sets her mind to something has shown that she can accomplish that. I”™d also note that she has, over the last several years, made some substantial investments in some Connecticut charities; I know that has done some good things for people, and I certainly give her credit on both those accounts.”
As for McMahon? “I think one of the nicest things that I”™ve seen about Congressman Murphy are his two little boys. They are so cute,” she said ”“ then suggesting that Murphy”™s hopes for their future is best handled with her in Washington, not him.
The “compliment” was not lost on Murphy ”“ “For the record,” he laughed, “I think Mrs. McMahon said nice things about my two little boys” ”“ but took it in stride before getting in a few last body blows and offering a terse handshake at the debate”™s completion.
This is not to make McMahon look like the thug in the debate hosted by the Connecticut Broadcasters Association. The tenor of this year”™s U.S. Senate campaign was perhaps best summed up in a sequence during which first, Murphy declared McMahon is pro-life; second, McMahon flatly declared her full support for a woman”™s right to choose and that she would buck her party on any attempt to limit choice; and third, Murphy repeated his assertion, on grounds a couple of activists had told him so.
A couple of activists of sort graced Connecticut with visits in mid-October: U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who like Lieberman is stepping down after an upstanding career in Washington; and Nobel Peace Prize laureate the Dalai Lama. Snowe spoke as part of an ongoing Ferguson Library forum on whether America has a “civility crisis” on its hands; Western Connecticut State University invited the Dalai Lama to address his “advice for daily life.”
Advice for McMahon and Murphy: you may want to reassess those debate answers in which you both stated you”™ve run campaigns you can be proud of.
For our part ”“ and for more than a few voters, we suspect ”“ we are nothing short of embarrassed at having to send a representative from this campaign to occupy Joe Lieberman”™s seat in the U.S. Senate.
For or against Lieberman”™s politics, no one would argue that Joe brought dignity to the office. He represented Connecticut with class.
Actually, Murphy put it best in the closing moments of the debate.
“People are sick and tired of these campaigns being so personal because these get extended over into governing,” Murphy said. “They then watch Washington do nothing but fight while they in their lives are finding a way to get along. You know, when times get tough families find a way to get beyond their differences. Coworkers find a way to agree.”
We agree. We do not expect McMahon and Murphy to agree on issues or each other”™s records; we do expect them to voice their disagreement in a manner that is at least a pale reflection of the dignity of the senator they hope to replace.
Unfortunately, we will not have the opportunity to write those last few words six years hence, because our next U.S. senator sacrificed dignity to the campaign of 2012.
