Dean and Jepsen Debate for AG

The Republican and Democratic candidates for state attorney general faced each other in a debate Monday night.

 

Democrat George Jepsen and Republican Martha Dean are vying for the seat long held by Democrat Richard Blumenthal.  Blumenthal is leaving the office to run for U.S. Senate.

 

Debating before a crowd of supporters and attorneys at Quinnipiac University, Jepsen and Dean agreed that they disagree on a lot.  This exchange on the country's new health care law summed up their differences.

 

Dean: He spoke to someone who couldn't get health insurance.  Well, I spoke to someone last week who couldn't fix his car.  He couldn't fix his car and get it to run and get to his job. And he worried that he would lose his job. Are we now going to start paying people to fix their cars?  Are we going to start giving them cars?  I mean, where does the role of government end?

 

Jepsen: This gets to a philosophical difference. I think that healthcare is something that citizens are entitled to and we should be a compassionate society.

 

Dean: Yes, I would say we are a compassionate society.  Americans are some of the most compassionate people in the world.  But compassion is not done at the force of a gun.

 

The candidates answered questions on subjects such as immigration, the ability of state's to nullify federal laws, and the question of whether a state school could hold a graduation in a religious institution.

 

Toward the end of the night's debate, the conversation got back to Blumenthal -- who Dean has criticized for using his office to file too many lawsuits against businesses.

 

Dean: It means ending the frivolous lawsuits. It means ending the sue first and ask questions later culture of the attorney general's office. It means ending the trial by press release of the attorney general's office. And it means ending the so-called and improper revenue reaising function on the attorney general's office.

 

Jepsen: Martha ran against Dick Blumenthal in 2002 and it seems based on the last debate and tonight's debate that she's been running against him ever since.  I'm your opponent in this race.  You know, if Dick Blumenthal were here and he were standing next to me, I don't think anybody would be calling me Dick Blumenthal-lite.  Maybe Dick Blumenthal with love handles, or something like that.

 

In their closing statements, Dean again linked Jepsen to Blumenthal, while Jepsen said that voters have a clear choice in November.

 

NOTE: Listen for more today (Tuesday).