Presidential Rivals Hold Cordial D.C. Debate
Originally published in the Washington Post
Presidential Rivals Hold Cordial D.C. Debate
3 Hopefuls Back Statehood, Bigger Payment for City; Front-Runner's Absence Criticized
By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 10, 2004; Page A07
Three of the four Democratic presidential candidates in Tuesday's D.C. primary debated collegially yesterday over who could deliver the most expansive package of new political rights and federal largesse for Washingtonians.
Former U.S. senator Carol Moseley Braun (Ill.), Al Sharpton and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio) all advocated expanded autonomy from Congress, massive new payments to ease the city's fiscal woes and the full privileges of statehood.
Moseley Braun called the party's failure to make progress on voting rights "shameful." Sharpton said he would make the District a state by executive order and dare Congress or the courts to overturn it. Kucinich announced after the debate that he will introduce a D.C. statehood bill when Congress reconvenes.
The candidates also sounded similar themes in criticizing the war in Iraq and questioning President Bush's newly announced drive to launch a manned mission to Mars when priorities closer to home, such as universal health care, remained unfunded.
Kucinich called himself an advocate of space exploration but added, "I also want to explore the planet Earth and planet D.C. and to make sure that we use the considerable resources of this country . . . to focus on health and education and jobs here in D.C. and across this country."
Missing from the stage was the race's front-runner, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who was campaigning in New Hampshire, where he faces a tightening battle in the traditional presidential nomination kickoff primary.
He kept his name on the D.C. primary ballot when five of his leading rivals opted off in November, but he was criticized repeatedly yesterday for the decision to skip the election's only debate. An empty chair sat behind a Dean nameplate, and the WTOP radio organizers of the event repeatedly noted his absence for listeners.
In the final minutes of the debate, when each of the candidates had the chance to directly question a rival, Sharpton turned to the empty spot to his left and said, "I would like to ask Governor Dean, why are you not here? . . . Don't you think you're embarrassing your supporters by not standing up on a day the District needs your help?"
WTOP anchor Bruce Alan, who was moderating, played along, offering Dean "a moment to respond" as the crowd hooted and cheered.
After the debate, D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), co-chairman of the D.C. Dean campaign, said the national campaign had other priorities for the candidate. "I wish he was here," Evans said, but he added, "I don't think people are voting based on whether he shows up at debates."
The event -- held at the George Washington University television studio where CNN's "Crossfire" is taped -- bore little resemblance to a major presidential debate.
Activists in the drive to give D.C. residents representation in Congress conceived of Tuesday's primary as a way to publicize the issue. The vote will be the nation's first presidential contest of 2004, but, in deference to party rules protecting Iowa and New Hampshire's spot atop the nomination calendar, it will not directly elect any delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
Aside from Dean, who has built an organization in the city and made brief visits, the major Democratic candidates have skipped the primary entirely. Missing from the ballot Tuesday will be Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark and Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), John F. Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.).
The three candidates who debated yesterday expressed nearly identical views on most issues and were cordial to the point of chumminess.
They parted ways on two issues. Moseley Braun announced opposition to taxing suburbanites who work in the city through a commuter tax. Kucinich and Sharpton said they supported a commuter tax.
"We tried that in Chicago, and it didn't work," Moseley Braun said. "It dried up jobs. It's important to create jobs in the District of Columbia."
She also disagreed with Sharpton and Kucinich on whether city residents should have the right to keep handguns in their homes, now prohibited under strict gun control laws.
Moseley Braun said that though she favors some gun control, owning a handgun is a right. "I don't think we can under the Constitution deprive people of the right to have guns in their homes," she said.
Sharpton countered: "I would veto it. I do not think that allowing legislation that would put guns in people's homes would in any way stem the tide of violence. . . . We would be turning our communities into the O.K. Corral."
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