STAMFORD — Tuesday night’s debate between Democratic Congressman Jim Himes and his two challengers, Republican Michael Goldstein and Independent Benjamin Wesley, was a spirited clash of substance and style to cheers, sometimes boos, and calls of “genocide” from a divided audience of about 150.
Hosted by CT Examiner at the Stamford Ferguson Library, it was the first and only debate between the three candidates for the 4th Congressional District seat, representing 17 towns and cities in southwestern Connecticut.
Himes, who was reelected in 2022 with more than 59 percent of the vote, was also the first Connecticut congressman to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
Questions about immigration and the war in the Middle East led to many of the most heated moments between the candidates. The three also debated energy, housing, taxes, abortion and the future of democracy. Gregory Stroud, editor of CT Examiner, moderated the event.
Goldstein, a 74-year-old Greenwich ophthalmologist who defeated a party-backed rival in the primaries, said he was running because he was horrified by the country’s direction. He said that the Biden administration had created “open borders for criminals, terrorists, slave traders, drug smugglers and economic immigrants who are coming for benefits at the expense of taxpayers and taking away funds that could be used to help veterans and other Americans in need.”
Wesley, a peace activist and engineer, who has said he plans to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the presidential election, told the audience that he had come around to a similar view on immigration.
“A lot of times they [immigrants] get benefits instead of some of the older constituents, many of whom happen to be Black and Hispanic,” said Wesley, who described himself as proudly Afro-Latino, proudly Black and proudly American. “It’s tough to say, hey, look, this open immigration policy is working.”
Himes, who has held the seat since 2009 and is running for a ninth term, also acknowledged that there was an immigration problem and agreed the country needs “secure borders.” But Himes said former President Donald Trump and his supporters wanted to “run on this issue, not solve it.”
Himes pointed to a bill strengthening border controls that was negotiated by Sen. Chris Murphy and Okhlahoma Republican Jim Lankford, but failed to receive a vote in the House.
“I’ve been critical of the Biden administration because too many people have flown illegally across our borders,” said Himes, even as he pointed to abuses while Trump was in office. “It happened under Donald Trump as well. Donald Trump decided to criminalize that and as a result, we watched children separated from their parents at the border. Most Americans weren’t comfortable with that.”
Wesley said that if elected to Congress he would support an increase in border security, but he also questioned the U.S. economic sanctions on Venezuela, one of the countries from which many immigrants recently arrived to escape economic hardship and an authoritarian government.
“It maybe makes more sense to stop sanctioning Venezuela and then maybe they’ll want to stay home,” said Wesley.
Goldstein linked immigration to an increase in crime, citing a recent robbery and murder in Stamford as an example. He also criticized the cost of healthcare for immigrants to the United States.
“We’re financially rewarding people for coming here illegally, which only incentivizes more people to come,” Goldstein said. “This is all at the taxpayer’s expense.”
Peace, war and the Middle East
Wesley said the main reason he was running was because of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and the fear of thermonuclear war sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Congressman Himes, I think your cowardice in acting not to stop an arms embargo against the Israeli army has led to 100,000 children dying and I think that’s unacceptable,” said Wesley.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, from October 7, 2023, to date there have been 43,000 fatalities in Gaza. This data on conflict-related casualties is reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Wesley cited an article in the medical journal The Lancet that said applying a “conservative estimate” it was not “implausible” that the conflict in Gaza would result in up to 186,000 or more deaths.
Himes called out Wesley for overlooking the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the conflict.
“It was the most grotesque, horrendous terrorist attack ever on the state of Israel and the murder of 1,200 innocent Israelis. The gleeful murder, the rape, the amputations, the kidnapping of babies, some of whom are still being held in Gaza,” said Himes. “Israel has a right to defend itself and it is a right to defend itself, not just from the monsters of Hamas, but from Hezbollah and the Houthis and Iran.”
Goldstein said he agreed with Himes and recounted that he was the son-in-law of Holocaust survivors.
“I can assure you that the Jewish people are not going to go to their death without a fight,” Goldstein said. “Mr. Wesley is proposing something that will lead to the extermination of the Jews of Israel and that is completely unacceptable.”
Goldstein also rejected the numbers cited by Wesley as unreliable and biased.
In defense of U.S. aid to Ukraine, Himes drew a parallel to World War II.
“We need to give the Ukrainians the authorities and the tools not just to fight to a standstill but to win,” Himes said. “History has shown us that despots and dictators don’t stop until you stop them.”
Energy, housing and taxes
All three candidates agreed on the importance of nuclear power as a clean and reliable source.
Goldstein, however, proposed “massively producing oil and natural gas” for export to “third world countries” to replace dirtier burning coal. He also pointed out that the United States was not the world’s biggest emitter of carbon, but rather China.
According to Climate Watch 2021 data, China emitted 29 percent of human-caused greenhouse gasses, followed by the U.S. with 12 percent. European Union countries emitted 8 percent. The three account for almost half of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Goldstein said that if elected, he would extend the tax cuts passed during the Trump presidency, which expire in 2025. He said it was a way to boost business and create jobs.
Himes opposed the tax cuts for primarily benefiting the wealthiest one percent, and as a poor trade-off for spending on defense, Medicaid and Social Security.
Goldstein countered that it made no sense to raise taxes on the wealthiest because there were always loopholes that would allow them to avoid paying.
“There were always ways to get around it,” Goldstein said. “That’s not realistic.”
Abortion and democracy
Both Wesley and Himes supported a federal law establishing abortion rights throughout the country.
“This is not a state’s rights issue in this country,” Himes said. “We say certain rights are so sacred, the right to associate, the freedom of expression and the right to bear arms, which I take an oath to every two years. We say that these things are so important that states don’t get to decide for me.”
Goldstein countered that the Supreme Court had ruled that abortion was not a constitutionally protected right and was therefore a matter for each state to resolve.
Himes replied that Congress could enact a federal law regardless of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
“I am an institutionalist, but Dr. Goldstein is sort of a little bit of a Supreme Court worshiper,” Himes said.
In his opening remarks, Himes accused the MAGA movement of endangering democracy. He mentioned the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and last Sunday’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York City where a speaker made racist jokes aimed at Puerto Ricans and Black people. Himes said his Republican rival had attended the event and had live-streamed it on Instagram approvingly.
In his closing remarks, Goldstein said the danger to democracy was instead Harris’ candidacy. He said that should the Democrats win, the U.S. would go from being a democratic republic to a socialist economy, with increased government regulations, higher taxes and more “destructive green energy policies, crime, no border, crowded roads, no control over your children’s lives.”
Himes said he was “stunned” by the claim.
“His candidate has called for a day of dictatorship, suspending the Constitution. He has said that the media is the enemy of the people,” Himes said. “Our constitution and our democracy matter.”