Voters entitled to more than one Senate debate

The only scheduled debate between incumbent Democratic U. S. Sen. Ed Markey and Republican opponent Kevin O’Connor gave many voters the first opportunity to see what a formidable threat the GOP challenger presents to the state’s liberal establishment.

O’Connor, a well-known lawyer in Massachusetts legal circles, offered commonsense answers to questions posed by GBH moderators Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, as opposed to the progressive-playbook responses by Markey, the new darling of his party’s radical left.

With the coronavirus dominating the country’s consciousness, the candidates’ views on a mask mandate highlighted the stark difference between Main Street and “Inside the Beltway.”

O’Connor, whose father contracted the virus and who had a cousin die of it, said he doesn’t believe in that Nanny State (our words) overreach. He does say wearing masks make sense in certain situations.

“There are appropriate guidelines that people should follow.

“And certainly, within confined spaces, yes, then I think it’s appropriate to regulate what’s going on.”

As for Markey, he’s all for it, calling it “consistent with all the public health guidelines” advocated for by medical experts.

We obviously know where the supposedly bipartisan sponsors of this debate stand, since they decided at the last minute to put the two candidates in different studios, ostensibly for health reasons that also happened to minimize O’Connor’s ability to maximize the contrasts between the two candidates, in style and substance.

O’Connor also correctly characterized Markey’s call to give people $2,000 a month for the duration of the coronavirus crisis — funded in part by repealing Trump’s tax cuts — as a “grossly irresponsible proposal,” saying further that Markey “throughout this campaign has proposed these free lunch programs that are totally unaffordable that will bankrupt future generations.”

It’s never bothered career Democrat politicians like Markey to spend money this country doesn’t have; he and others of his red-ink ilk are one of the reasons why this nation’s current debt load surpasses $23 trillion.

While it’s difficult to gauge the competitiveness of this Senate race, a recent survey of 907 likely Massachusetts voters conducted by Remington Research Group paid for by the O’Connor campaign showed the Republican trailing by 10 points.

We’re certain Markey, who trailed Congressman Joe Kennedy III at the outset of their Democratic primary race, benefitted from the exposure gained from their multiple debates.

That he won’t extend that same courtesy to his Republican challenger now shows that he’s unwilling, or afraid, to let the Massachusetts electorate — Republicans, Democrats and Unenrolled — make an informed decision about whom should represent them in Washington.

Clear minority

And though Republicans constitute a clear minority in this blue state, the ranks of the Unenrolled exceed the combined number of both major parties.

We’d ask this major bloc of supposed independent individuals keep an open mind and truly ask themselves if we really need to pack this state’s congressional delegation entirely with freespending, left-leaning Democrats.

Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown proved — however briefly — that it need not be the case.

And while O’Connor faces a well-entrenched Washington Democrat who’s been adopted by the “Squad” of radical first-term House members — as opposed to the state’s attorney general in Brown’s case — we believe there are enough voters who want to see a mainstream Republican looking out for our interests in Washington.