Congressman Henry Brown and Democartic challenger Linda Ketner gave a good hour of debating last night (consider it prep for the big VP showdown this evening). For the most part, Brown did a fine job of defending his votes, but the key for Ketner was holding her own and getting more facetime in front of voters — she accomplished both.
Two points stick out to me.1. What can your Congressman do for you? Brown’s response was something along the lines of: only what his/her position on the ladder allows.
When Ketner suggested that she would have pressed for changes to the bailout bill, Brown responded, “There is some limits to what a Congressman can do … Ms. Ketner, you wouldn’t have been able to deliver, either.”
“I don’t count on somebody else to lead,” Ketner said. “If I see something, I’ll say something.”
2. How not to debate a woman. Now, I’m sure Ketner wouldn’t have wanted any special treatment because she’s a woman — treat her the same as you’d treat a man challenging you. But it’s not about what she wants, it’s about what the voters watching are going to perceive. Aside from his generally abrassive tone, there was one exchange that Brown is sure to regret.
Near the end of the debate, talk turned toward energy and it got personal. Brown challenged Ketner on one statement and she responded that she’s not surprised he has a different view considering all the campaign money he gets from the oil industry.
Brown asked Ketner about stock he assumed she owned in oil companines and she informed him that she had sold those stocks. “Good for you,” he responded with what looked to this reporter to be a snear. “You’re all pure again.”
Brown apologized after the broadcast, but not for that particular exchange, according to the Post and Courier.
“I don’t like talking about my opponent, and I apologize for being so curt with you tonight,” Brown said.
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