By Julia Wille
Two weeks ago, I went to the debate between the Democratic candidates competing to fill retiring Congressman Rush Holt’s seat in Congress.
I have to say that, by far, Upendra Chivukula was the most impressive person in the room.
All the nominees spoke with enthusiasm, but Chivukula stood out for his obvious intelligence and passion for progressive ideas.
Instead of broad themes and rehearsed lines, Chivukula’s responses were detailed-oriented and offered policy solutions backed up with evidence.
In many ways Chivukula reminded me of Rush Holt, a man who was often the smartest person in the room.
Having real solutions matters. Having real knowledge matters – it’s the only way progressive Democrats are able to fight against the ignorance, obstructionism and short-sightedness of the Tea Party Congress.
I’m tired of politicians on both sides of the aisle giving vague answers to specific questions that never seem to answer the question – I found the two other political candidates disappointing on this level
They offered broad rhetoric but little specifics, quite a few times saying “I need to look into that” or “I’m not sure if…” or “I think I heard that…”– neither seemed to have a strong grasp of internet or technology issues, for example.
Sen. Greenstein and Asw. Watson Coleman both admitted they wanted to ‘learn more’ about the issues, or as Mrs. Greenstein called it "the policy part."
I’m not comfortable sending someone to Congress so they can "learn more" – I want to send someone who can be a powerful advocate for me on the issues I care about – like education, investment in jobs and fighting extremist Republicans.
I was also surprised to hear that Sen. Greenstein supported keeping the death penalty, which to me, is a fairly anti-progressive stance.
I’ll be waiting to hear more on policy from all the candidates, but so far, Chivukula’s been the only one to make a strong impression – and was also the only one to provide a detailed policy handout at the door.
When Rush Holt retires, we need to elect a person who has the intelligence and problem solving skills of a scientist, who will fight for progressive values: That person is Upendra Chivukula.
