4th District Dems Debate Defense Spending, Candidate Qualifications

As the clock ticks down to the Sept. 6 state primary, 4th Congressional District candidates squared off for a  in a Thursday night debate at  in Newton.

Democratic candidates ,  and  sat down with NECN's Jim Braude, and shared their opinions on deficit spending, medical marijuana and what qualifications the candidates brought to the table.

To view the debate, go to the NECN website.

When asked whether he believed Kennedy was qualified to represent the district, Robinson, a Newton engineer, highlighted his own work experience and "creative problem solving" in the private sector.

"I don't think [Kennedy] is as qualified as I am," Robinson said. "I have 30 years experience doing problem solving in the private industry." 

But at both the beginning and end of the debate, Kennedy defended his work as a prosecutor on the Cape/Islands and as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County, saying that he has spent his career "fighting for people who felt like they were playing against a stacked deck."

Kennedy also stressed his door-to-door campaigning efforts, saying that he has done 160 events across the district, knocked on doors and "shaken more hands than any other candidate in this race."

After moving on from Kennedy's qualifications, Braude turned to Brown and talked about her supporters from the Lyndon LaRouche PAC's use of posters featuring President Barack Obama with "Hitlerian" mustaches and "impeach Obama" slogans. 

"How can anyone take that kind of candidate seriously in a race for the United States Congress?" Braude asked.

She responded, "I've qualified the mustache, particularly with Obama's health care plan, which includes the IPAB board, which is modeled off of the T4 program in Nazi Germany."

The candidates were asked about defense spending and whether they support President Obama's plan to stay in Afghanistan until 2014 or current 4th District Rep. Barney Frank's proposal to cut defense spending by $1 trillion and take troops out of the region immediately. 

Kennedy said, "I support getting our troops home, but making sure we don't allow a vacuum to be created in Afghanistan. I certainly support rolling back the defense budget ... but I don't know if I'd go so far as $1 trillion."

Robinson said he would like to see troops come home sometime next year and would support a $1 trillion cut in defense spending, but not all at once.

"We've got to remember that budget cuts mess up the economy," Robinson said. "You do a trillion dollars in budget cuts and that's going to be a lot of layoffs and maybe a 3 to 4 percent uptick in the unemployment rate."

In a final, lightning round, Braude asked for quick opinions on legalization of medical marijuana and doctor-assisted suicide, . 

Kennedy, who admitted he needed to "look into" both subjects before making a final decision, said he couldn't support medical marijuana at this time.

Aligning himself with Barney Frank, Robinson said he supported the legalization of marijuana "medical or otherwise." He also supports the ballot question related to physician-assisted suicide. 

The state primary will take place Sept. 6.