4th District Congressional Debate Tonight On KET

Bill Goodman will host the debate between libertarian/republican Thomas Massie and democrat Bill Adkins tonight as the two candidates for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional district seat meet for their only debate.  Adkins and the democrats have complained that Massie has refused other debate opportunities so tonight could be quite a show.

Adkins has a record of making strong anti-TEA party statements.  He also has a record of strongly worded political sentiment in favor of the democrat position on most issues.  He is very partisan in his rhetoric and has moved very little if any at all toward a more centrist view in the general election.  I expect that he will not be able to contain himself tonight.  And though his party holds a slight advantage in voter registration in the district, with the exception of Ken Lucas, the seat has been solidly republican for nearly 50 years.

Massie has no connection with most of the district and is a virtual stranger to many voters.  He took advantage of a strong grass roots TEA party organization in Northern Kentucky and hundreds of thousands of dollars in private money from a Texas college student to win the primary in a crowded field.  He also had the endorsement of Senator Rand Paul and a long history of being a Ron Paul devotee.

Massie has said very little since the primary and has been seen even less.  He finds TEA party meetings to be his comfort zone and has treated the general election like the outcome is a foregone conclusion requiring little work on his part to win over voters in the district.

Massie’s chairman, Phil Moffett and his biggest supporter, Phyllis Sparks of Union, both left the day to day operation of his campaign a few weeks ago.  Moffett says that was because his business picked up and Massie was assured a win.

Goodman is a very nice guy with a gentle demeanor so it will be up to the candidates to find opportunity in his questions to step up to the plate and deliver hard hits.

Look for Adkins to rail against the TEA party ideas, but that doesn’t play well to many outside of his own party.

Look for Massie to talk about cutting spending, balancing the budget and reducing the deficit.  His ideas will closely track the Ron Paul talking points but will do little to reassure the district’s other elected officials that they will have an advocate for their needs in Washington.

There are still a few openings each candidate could exploit and so this could be more of a show than most people expect, it all depends on which one comes ready to fight harder for the seat.

The debate airs tonight on KET at 8 pm and can be watched on their live stream by clicking THIS LINK, http://www.ket.org/live/.