The Tufts Democrats ushered in Super Tuesday with a mock debate last night, as a student representing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) squared off with a student standing in for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on issues such as the war in Iraq, social security, immigration and health care.
The debate was moderated by sophomore Teddy Minch, whose WMFO radio show holds a weekly round-table discussion between members of the Tufts Democrats and Tufts Republicans. The event served to give students a last-minute opportunity to learn about the leading Democratic presidential candidates' platforms.
"We're having a debate because a lot of students are still undecided," said senior Courtney Houston-Carter, president of the Tufts Democrats. "We want to show how the efforts made by Tufts for Hillary and Tufts for Obama since September have led up to Super Tuesday."
Houston-Carter explained that both student groups chose a member to represent their candidate. Tufts for Obama appointed senior Nathan Grubman as the evening's "Barack," and Tufts for Hillary chose freshman Doug Hellman to stand in as Clinton.
"Some people get turned off by the [televised] debates," Houston-Carter said. "If they hear their own peers talking, hopefully they will get more connected with the political dialogue ... We're trying to encourage political discourse on campus."
Minch added that the debate should help clarify the differences between Obama's and Clinton's policies, especially regarding health care. "Many people think that Hillary and Obama think the same things about [health care]," Minch said.
In his opening remarks, Hellman praised Clinton's mission of reinvigorating the government as an active agent of positive change.
"I believe that Hillary believes in the power of government," Hellman said. "She believes we can return to an era in which the government was a positive force in society ... Hillary has the experience to get things done and effect the change our country needs."
Grubman, meanwhile, made his argument for Obama on the hot-button topic of which candidate is more qualified to be president.
"The difference is that Clinton has had experience in the White House as the first lady, and Barack Obama has had experience as a community organizer," Grubman said. "I think that his abilities to bring people together ... to create change from the bottom up, is why he's the ideal candidate."
Minch opened the questioning with a query on the Middle East, asking candidates how they planned to approach the region in terms of diplomacy and what their long-term vision was on the war in Iraq.
Hellman responded to Grubman's argument that he would hold talks with any important international leaders, no matter whether they were considered "good" or "evil."
"We need to send in waves of intensive diplomats in order to make sure that we can get conducive negotiations held," Hellman said. "I'm not going to promise to meet with these dictators when it may not even be beneficial."
Hellman added that Hillary also plans to remove combat brigades from Iraq as quickly and as safely as possible.
"We need to try and rebuild the trust for the American people that Bush has destroyed. We need to show people that we are still committed to the Iraqis," he said.
Minch's next question revolved around health care. "What makes your policy different than your opponents, and how do you plan on funding your health care?" Minch asked.
Grubman spoke first, explaining that while Clinton supports a universal health care policy, Obama's plan would focus on lowering the costs of health care to make it accessible for all Americans.
"Obama's goal is extending the federal employee plan and offering it to everyone in the country, regardless of if they have a job," he said. "Part of [funding] this would be rolling back the Bush tax cuts ... as well as increasing capital gains taxes. Obama has a practical plan that, if passed, would guarantee coverage for 32 million more Americans."
Hellman fought back passionately, arguing that Hillary had experience moving bills through Congress from both the executive and legislative
arenas.
"Obama is not going to make it a law for Americans in this country to have health insurance, and I will," Hellman said on behalf of Clinton. "I've been fighting for 16 years, and now I know how to truly fix health care."
Both Hellman and Grubman spoke about how their candidates wish to forge bipartisan commissions
if elected.
"My plan is convening a bipartisan commission," Hellman said. "I have commissioned more bipartisan legislation that Barack has; I know how to reach across the aisle. I think we need to work with the Republicans to work through the solutions that are definitely practical and possible."
On the subject of illegal immigration, Hellman said that Hillary wishes to secure the country's borders on a much higher level.
"We need to address the problem of the immigration bureaucracy," he said. We need to make sure that people who need to come into the country for humanitarian reasons are allowed to come."
Houston-Carter said that the Tufts Democrats will host a results party tomorrow evening in the lounge of the Campus Center.
"We're going to ask people to bring their signs and watch CNN as the results come in from different states," he said. "Hopefully we'll have members come up during commercial breaks and say what drew them to their candidate. It will be interactive and engaging."
