Politics & Government

Lynch, D'Alessandro Debate Health Care Reform, Afghanistan

Congressman Stephen Lynch and Mac D'Alessandro spar in WBZ-TV debate.

Democrats Stephen Lynch and Mac D'Alessandro will meet in the polls on Sept. 14, but the two met face to face on WBZ-TV this weekend for their first official debate.

Running for the Ninth Congressional seat, D'Alessandro of Milton is challenging the incumbent, Lynch, of South Boston. The two have exchanged barbs in the press over the last several weeks, but never within the confines of an actual debate until WBZ's Jon Keller sat them down for his segment, "Keller @ Large," which aired Sunday morning on Channel 4.

Serving as moderator, Keller made note of the fact that he has hosted many debates in the past, but never one that featured two labor leaders. After a friendly handshake, the two candidates were asked which could better represent the interest of organized labor in congress.

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"I'm running to represent working men and women, whether or not they belong to unions," said D'Alessandro, who serves as the New England Political Director for the Service Employees International Union. "Our communities deserve real leadership and a stronger advocate for policies that are going to make a difference in everyday people's lives."

Lynch stated that he is the only candidate in the race to have "strapped on a pair of work boots" as both a union member and a construction worker.

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"When I got to Congress…there was no caucus representing working families and labor. I established that," said the former president of the Iron Workers Local Union No. 7. "And I think I've got a 98% record on worker issues, both union and non-union."

D'Alessandro countered that he has also "spent many years working on behalf of working families," citing legal services and job benefits for low-income residents as some of the causes he has taken up. Lynch added that he, too, has represented families as a labor attorney for families living in substandard housing.

Upon Lynch's word that he has done pro bono lawyer work for families, D'Alessandro brought up the Congressman's no vote on health care reform, saying that Lynch "let down" the very people he spoke previously of helping.

Lynch called the health care reform that passed a "big sellout to the insurance companies" and said that he voted against it because it hurt residents in several ways. D'Alessandro countered by saying that the bill before Congress on March 21 offered a "choice to do something for our families to reform this system or do nothing. You stood with the insurance companies, because they opposed the bill just as your did."

"Once the public option went away, that you supported," Lynch said to D'Alessandro, "once the insurance companies were given the anti-trust exemption, you didn't see any commercials against this health care bill. They were all on board. They're all on board now."

Lynch added that he is "still for health care reform, because we didn't get it in this bill."

The "mini-debate," as Keller called it, continued with discussion of the war in Afghanistan. Keller referred to Lynch voting for President Barack Obama's request for $37 billion to fund the war and why he voted that way.

"I believe the President has a solid plan," Lynch said, adding that Obama does not want troops in the landlocked nation. He stated that he supports Obama's plan to push back on the Taliban, give the Afghans a chance to stabilize themselves and allow American troops to withdraw in 2011, a situation he likened to America's occupation of Iraq.

D'Alessandro said that in addition to owing something to the Afghani people, the US also owes something to the troops by asking what the exact objectives are and when the troops will be able to return to their families.

"By voting no, we're saying, 'Let's start asking the tough questions about how to get out,'" D'Alessandro said.

Lynch told D'Alessandro that the vote was to adequately fund the troops currently serving in Afghanistan and that denying that bill would have "left them in a lurch."

"The President has a plan and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he wants to do the right thing in Afghanistan," Lynch continued. "I truly believe that and I am with him 100%."

Retorted D'Alessandro, "You and I both know this isn't about leaving our troops in a lurch and not giving them the equipment they need. It is about hastening the discussion of what our objectives are in Afghanistan, because nobody seems to know."

Keller asked D'Alessandro about an interview in which he said that Lynch's values were "out of step" with other people in the ninth district.

"I think on some key issues, Mr. Lynch has tried to out-Republican Republicans," D'Alessandro said, citing the health care reform issue as an example.

Lynch stressed that he voted for a health care bill that provided coverage for pre-existing conditions and provided a public option. "I've voted for a lot of the things you say you stand for and I don't understand how voting for the things that you stand for is out of step with the people I represent," Lynch said. "I don't always do the liberal thing or the conservative thing. I'm not an ideologue. I actually read the bills, unlike a lot of people."

"I'm always going to side with families and our communities and not with insurance companies," D'Alessandro said, stressing that he is not an ideologue either, again asserting that Lynch's no vote on health care reform made him side with insurance companies.

Lynch said that his record stood for itself and stated, "I have stood up to the insurance companies. I stripped away the anti-trust exemption…I stood up to Wall Street…I said, 'No, we are not going to give taxpayer money to banks that have fouled up this economy.'"

D'Alessandro objected that Lynch's vote against the bailout was "irresponsible," saying that it went beyond Wall Street and provided a "shot in the arm" for the American economy in every sector.

"So you stood with Wall Street and you agree that they should have been able to pay their workers, Wall Street executives, millions of dollars with taxpayer money," Lynch said to D'Alessandro. "That's what was at stake here. Shame on you."

D'Alessandro stressed that "saving out economy was what was at stake" and that Congress must now work to ensure that a similar economical situation does not present itself. "There was plenty in that bill that I didn't like, but it had to be done, and that's political courage," said D'Alessandro.


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