An informal debate took place last night during the first of a new monthly series of joint events hosted by both the Tufts Republicans and the Tufts Democrats.
The event allowed students to watch the televised gubernatorial debate on a large screen in Hotung Caf?©. Many stayed after its conclusion to hear further discussion and ask questions of representatives from each of the Tufts groups present.
Each representative predicted a victory for his respective gubernatorial candidate.
"Kerry [Healey] really stuck it to Deval [Patrick]. She tried to get him to be specific and he didn't," Vice President of the Tufts Republicans Dan Hartman said.
Hartman characterized Lt. Governor Healey as tough on sex offenders and drunk-driving laws, and described how together with Governor Mitt Romney has turned a Massachusetts' previous $3 billion deficit into a surplus.
Hartman argued that Healey's republican presence in a heavily democratic state can help counter "irresponsible spending."
"Patrick has already signed with special interests and he'll do exactly what they want to do," he said.
"If you're looking at issues, then Healey wins your vote, but if you're looking at personality, then Patrick wins it," he said.
Senior Mickey Leibner, Vice President of the Tufts Democrats, disagreed.
"Patrick has real ideas, real issues and real changes he wants to make. Healey has failed this state," he said.
"Patrick is a leader and has proved it. He governed an entire department under Clinton and served as corporate lawyer to big companies which are so important to our economy now," he said.
Although not completely relevant to the Massachusetts Governor's race, many students were curious about the war on terror and the Iraq war.
"What gives me a bad feeling about Republicans is seeing the troops return to inadequate benefits and compensation from a war fought for the wrong reasons," Leibner said.
"The [Bush Administration] did a great job in Afghanistan, but then they went into Iraq, which had nothing to do with the war on terror. Now due to the war and instability, it does," he added.
Hartman argued that the war on terror is the "most important thing right now."
"The people I would trust to handle Iran and North Korea are George Bush and his administration," he said.
According to Hartman, the war in Iraq is not popular right now "because the people need to understand that we're in for the long fight. If we leave in six months, then Iraq will become a haven for terrorists, which is not responsible."
According to Kayt Norris, president of the Tufts Democrats, events like yesterday's are fairly unprecedented due to difficulties in coordination.
She thought the group contained a "good mix of Democrats and Republicans, considering how many more Democrats there are on campus."
"I think the members of both groups really enjoyed this conservative-liberal dialogue," she said. "After the elections, the Tufts Republicans have agreed to do one [joint] event a month. Next week will be something on social security."
