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Republicans eyeing Himes’ seat decry spending, healthcare reform
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Written by Ken Borsuk, Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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Ridgefield Press
© Copyright 2010 Hersam Acorn Newspapers . All Rights Reserved.
Published On March 25, 2010
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With the critical state convention looming in May, several Republicans looking to take on U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) this fall brought their cases Monday night at a candidate’s forum at Greenwich Town Hall..
Dan Debicella, Will Gregory, Rob Merkle and Rick Torres appeared at the forum and took questions from both the moderator and the audience. The two other Republican candidates, Rob Russo and Tom Herrmann, could not attend the event due to other commitments.
Before the event, the four candidates described their positions in interviews.
Dan Debicella
State Sen. Debicella (R-21), the deputy minority leader, is quick to counter any argument that the race doesn’t have a front runner yet, saying that he is leading the pack. He points to endorsements from all over the district, including Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei, Selectman David Theis, State Sen. L. Scott Frantz (R-36) and State Rep. Alfred Camillo Jr. (R-151), as a sign that he is the man the party believes has the best chance of beating Mr. Himes in November.
“For all the talk about health care, I really think this election is going to be about the economy and the long-term sustainability of our budget deficit,” Mr. Debicella said. “People want to hear our plans for actually creating jobs now and cutting spending in Washington so we don’t have these record $1.6-trillion deficits.”
Mr. Debicella claimed the stimulus package has not worked and instead Congress should adopt his plan, which takes back the unspent stimulus money and allows instead for a payroll tax cut in half for a year, which he said will allow for more money to go directly to people and will also benefit small businesses that pay half of the tax and allow them to create jobs.
Mr. Debicella said he believes he will win the convention in May, and the question after that will be if any of his fellow candidates run a primary campaign against him for the nomination.
“My message is very specific, and people like that,” Mr. Debicella said. “We need a spending cap on the federal government. The federal government can be no more than 20% of the GDP and can grow no more than population plus inflation. If you put a spending cap in and take it out of the hand of these politicians you will be able to eliminate this deficit by the middle of next decade by reducing spending.”
Will Gregory
Mr. Gregory, executive director of an education-based non-profit organization, said he believes three main issues would characterize the election through November: Jobs, debt and spending. He said his campaign was looking to create jobs through the free market principles and incentives that he believes will spur economic growth and allow businesses to create new jobs.
“We’re trying to cut spending and implement checks and balances that will make sure government lives within its means,” Mr. Gregory said. “We’re also trying to reform Washington to instill confidence from the American people in their government again.”
Mr. Gregory still believes this race can be won by any of the six Republicans seeking the nomination and contends he is the only candidate to actually put forth a congressional reform package, which is detailed at his Web site gregoryforcongress.com. By pushing forward those plans, Mr. Gregory said it will re-establish that Congress is there to work for the people, not the other way around. Mr. Gregory said he has received an “incredible response” from voters, showing his electability.
The health care reform package was also a topic Mr. Gregory touched upon. He granted there would be difficulty in simply repealing it, but said there is a “unique opportunity” to take action, because so many aspects of the reform package do not go into effect until 2014. He said to really be able to take action, though, Republicans must win large majorities in Congress and the Presidency in 2012.
“With things going the way they are, I think we have every opportunity to do that and that’s what I will be fighting for in Congress,” Mr. Gregory said.
Rob Merkle
Mr. Merkle, a Westport business owner who has been endorsed by the Ridgefield Republican Town Committee, is expecting this election to be about who can earn back the voters’ trust.
“People don’t trust politicians right now,” Mr. Merkle said, citing the healthcare reform package. “Just look at the shafting we got at the hands of Congress and the Senate and the Presidency. You see a movement of people across the country getting off the couch and getting involved in politics for the first time in their lives and that’s going to be a critical component. They want to know the person they’re backing has the strength to stand up for them. Himes isn’t doing that.”
Mr. Merkle believes the momentum is behind him because he is an outsider in the race and can unite the varied members of the party behind his campaign. He said his candidacy will bring in both support on the grass-roots level and also from Republican Town committees in the district and national Republican organizations.
“I go and talk common sense,” Mr. Merkle said. “I’m a small business owner. I’m not a politician. I haven’t been tainted by the political system. I’ve lived through the issues that people are struggling with right now. I’m coming to this as a citizen, representing the people like me. People recognize that and are gravitating toward me.”
He said by reducing the role of government and returning it to what he sees as a “constitutional, limited federal government” the country can get back on track. He said all issues of importance, from international relations to reducing spending, have their roots back in the Constitution.
Rick Torres
A Bridgeport business owner and former candidate for mayor, Mr. Torres said he had an advantage the other candidates did not have because he believes he can draw support from the cities that Mr. Himes will need to do well in to win re-election.
“What you have in me is a very rare specimen, a conservative from Bridgeport,” Mr. Torres said. “Bridgeport will be the battleground and most of the Republicans here will win the towns in the district, but how badly do we lose the cities? This is a critical race for Democrats and they’re going to throw a lot of money at Jim Himes. Most of that money is going to land in the cities and they’ll be going after Bridgeport in a big way. I can win in Bridgeport.”
Mr. Torres cites the political belief that “It’s the economy, stupid” when it comes to answering the question of which issues the focus will be on during the election. He also is a strong opponent of the healthcare reform package, calling it a “loss of liberty.”
“This bill was not about healthcare,” Mr. Torres said. “It’s about power and who has that power and who can control that power. What’s happened, whether we understand it or not, is that the United States public has lost an additional 10% of its liberties in this process. This means the government now controls 10% more of our lives. Never mind the finances of that, but also in real practical terms they’re going to dictate to us what kind of insurance to have and what kind of coverage to have. Eventually they’re going to tell us what to eat and what we can do and can’t do associated with healthcare. That’s a very dangerous and un-American activity to go on.”
The forum was sponsored by the conservative-minded Live4Liberty.org, a non-profit group co-founded by Greenwich resident Rosa Fini. She said she had not been politically motivated until recent years and that she was hopeful events like this would get more people involved, too.
“We need to bring politics to people and make it more real,” Dr. Fini said. “We have to get people engaged because if people aren’t engaged in our political system, then it won’t necessarily reflect our wishes the way it needs to.”
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