tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1870152115683426710.post5005239779290539376..comments2024-03-25T11:56:19.938-04:00Comments on Goochland on my mind: ChoicesS. E. Warwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617370499414107804noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1870152115683426710.post-41210078910508345652014-10-27T09:18:45.447-04:002014-10-27T09:18:45.447-04:00Hi Sandie. I think we both attended the same even...Hi Sandie. I think we both attended the same event. Here are the comments I made to the RTD blog following their article covering the event. <br /><br />The article has none of the "color" at the event. There were some interesting moments. I think the first was a collective gasp of disbelief when Trammell said that the ACA was saving money. He did not qualify that statement, and regardless of what he meant by it, his timing was awful. I assume others in the audience who gasped as I did, also received notices last week that their insurance policies were being canceled and that replacement policies would cost more (60% higher for me). That got him off to a poor start.<br />Another interesting moment came when Brat tried to blame "no child left behind" on Democrats, and a few similar lines questionable veracity. One woman loudly made her objection to this "lie" and had to be hushed by the moderator, and several others in the audience made their displeasure with her outbursts clear. I thought for a minute there they might have to eject her, but she sat down and stayed quiet after several somewhat heated objections to Brat's comments. Carr, the next speaker, made a plea that the candidates be permitted to make their pitch without such comments and he was roundly applauded, and nothing further was heard from our unhappy participant.<br />Carr also had the best moments and probably the loudest applause, including a rather pitched and vocal acknowledgment that he should be included in the RMC forum during his closing remarks. I think twice he had to ask people to stop applauding so his time wasn't all used up. Regardless of which party or candidate audience members supported, I got the impression that almost all thought Carr deserved a place on the stage, even if he wasn't the most polished speaker. Like he said, there really are a lot more middle of the road people out there, but they're afraid to waste their votes on someone other than the folks who have already put us into the position we're in - thereby ensuring that nothing changes; but that's Americans for you! I'm not sure how "broke" it has to get before we decide to fix it.<br />Brat (if it was Brat. I kind of thought maybe Eric Cantor went out for Halloween a bit early wearing a Brat mask and snuck into the forum), rather rudely, I thought, ignored Carr for the most part (though he did say he liked one of Carr's bits of humor about body slams at the Capitol), referencing what he considered to be his only competition as Trammell. Brat was the most negative of the bunch by far, being responsible for most of the attack rhetoric primarily directed at Trammell, who to his credit, let it roll off and did not get into the mud with him. Most of Brat's summation was an attack on Trammell, rather than saying anything about himself. Trammel's summation was professional, and devoid of attacks on Brat, as best I recall.<br />Unfortunately, to me at least, Trammell was uninspiring. I was looking at the points the candidates had to make, and they agreed with each other more than one would expect on the issues, but I was also looking for leadership, something inspiring, and though he was the youngest, I settled on Carr without much difficulty, so it was a useful exercise for me. I went in leaning towards Trammell, but came out voting for Carr. He was smarter and better informed than I expected, and my confidence in him grew as the event progressed; and to vote for the same two parties is to say I like things just the way they are. And I don't.<br />My 2 cents.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17115358933565444308noreply@blogger.com