Republican Linda McMahon and Democrat Dick Blumenthal sounded a common theme during the Connecticut Senate race’s first debate Monday night: My opponent has serious character flaws, and I’m not like those Democrats in Washington.
Blumenthal didn’t trot out any new policy positions Monday night, but the Connecticut Democrat’s performance was nevertheless a striking example of how toxic the national political environment has become for Democrats. Blumenthal said that he would have voted against both the stimulus and TARP–a somewhat implausible claim coming from an establishment Democrat. He said he supports the death penalty, which the state legislature has voted to abolish. And his tepid defense of Obamacare (a “good start”) left The New Republic‘s Bradford Plumer less than impressed.
