As I mentioned at the start of my interview with Bob Burr, my goal in reaching out to the campaigns is to try and capture a slightly different picture of the candidates as people and politicians. I am not asking them about their positions on specific issues, because if I want a stock answer I can just look at the website. Instead I'm trying to gauge their personalities, passions, and sense of humor.
For the time being I will let their answers speak for themselves, and hope readers will weigh in with their thoughts in the comments.
Without further ado, I give you my exclusive email interview with Democratic Senate candidate and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, uncut, unedited, unspun:
KS: What aspect of your career/experience has most effectively prepared you for the United States Senate?
Coakley: I believe that the experiences I’ve had as a prosecutor here in Massachusetts as an elected District Attorney, an Attorney General, and a federal prosecutor give me a unique perspective and approach to the job of United States Senator.
I learned early in my career that each case that came across my desk had a victim who needed my support, attention, and advocacy. In law enforcement, not everything is always black or white – to do your job well, you often have to focus on the best result for that individual victim or victim’s family. You have to look at the reality of what’s before you, and work towards the best possible outcome for those involved.
When I was Chief of the Child Abuse Unit in the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, I had to balance this all the time – working with a young child who had experienced horrifying abuse, weighing the further emotional toll of asking such a young victim to testify against his or her abuser. These direct, personal challenges force you to think creatively, and to focus on what’s important: seeking justice without further compromising the well-being of the victim you’re there to support.
I believe that is what we need in our next U.S. Senator – someone who will really focus in on getting the best results for all residents of this Commonwealth.
KS: Other than Ted Kennedy, who would you consider your political role model?
Coakley: As many of my friends and supporters know, I admire Eleanor Roosevelt. She had a way of tackling problems that was both effective and creative, and worked to give a voice to those who had none. For example, as First Lady, she began calling press conferences, but would only permit female reporters to attend. The major media scrambled to send women to cover the First Lady’s remarks, and the result was a strong, active women’s press corps covering White House activity for years.
(Continued after the jump.)
KS: Recession, war, health care: What is the greatest challenge facing the United States and how can you help to address it?
Coakley: As a country, we face crises on multiple fronts. The emotional, personal, and financial costs of the Iraq war and war in Afghanistan are devastating and consuming, the crippling upward spiral of health care costs leaves quality care inaccessible to over 47 million Americans and are unsustainable for the future, and the insecurity and economic loss caused by last fall’s Wall Street meltdown has left too many Americans without jobs, homes, or at the risk of losing one or both.
As a state Attorney General, I believe I have a special perspective on the root causes of this economic meltdown and some of the actions required to turn our economy around. Being on the ground in Massachusetts, I saw the early signs of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, and we worked quickly to issue emergency regulations to stop some of the most damaging lending practices. Our work holding the big banks and Wall Street accountable continues to this day, and I believe there are practices and regulations that, if implemented, could help prevent a similar crisis from returning.
Today, I released a special paper entitled, “Preventing Another Economic Collapse: The Need for Enhanced Financial Reform," which lays out several recommendations for common-sense financial reform, including stricter regulations for securitization, the creation of the new Federal Consumer Protection Agency, and opposition to federal preemption of state regulation. If elected, I will work to hold Wall Street accountable and to fight for appropriate reforms to prevent another economic collapse in order that all Massachusetts residents have a better chance at good jobs, lower risk of foreclosure, and more stable retirement futures.
KS: Politics in America has become unbelievably cynical and fractured. Can we make it civil again?
Coakley: Absolutely. The challenges before us are too grave and too complex for us to not bring everyone together to the table, roll up our sleeves, and get things done. I believe that new leadership can start to focus on solving problems, not battling sound bites. Despite some fractured, partisan debates over the past few years (most recently the discouraging public discourse over health care reform), there are real signs of hope. Studies have shown that the generations behind ours are more open-minded on policy issues, more pragmatic, and in many ways, less politically partisan.
KS: Given your legal background, would you aim to take an active role on judicial/DOJ/homeland security issues if elected? Or would you prefer to tackle new challenges in other fields?
Coakley: If given the privilege to serve, the answer is, of course, both. I do believe my experiences as a state and federal prosecutor will bring a valuable and unique perspective to the Senate -- not just on issues of law enforcement and homeland security - - but many of the other great challenges of our day.
KS: I think Greater Boston is filled with people like me who view Worcester as Western Mass. Given your roots in North Adams, will you make a concerted effort to bring electricity to the Berkshires?
Coakley: I love Berkshire County. Luckily, at last visit, electricity, running water, and all other basic amenities appeared to be working properly. I know this question is intended in jest, but I do understand that there are unique challenges outside Boston, outside 128, outside 495, and beyond. Some issues remain in Berkshire County relative to broadband access- a commodity crucial for economic development – and as a Senator native to Western Massachusetts, I would certainly work to represent the unique needs of all corners of the Commonwealth.
4 comments:
OMG I LOVE MARTHA COAKLEY! I got goose bumps, what an amazing woman, what a leader. Forget the Senate, Martha Coakley for PRESIDENT!
Character is important in a political leader and Martha Coakley's record suggests that she lacks this core quality. As an intelligent person, she had to have known that the "evidence" in the Fells Acres case was bogus, and the convictions of the Amiraults completely unjust. Her mentor Harshbarger put the Amiraults in jail to pander to the hysteria of the community, for his own political gain, and Coakley showed the same self-serving lack of ethics when she advocated against releasing Gerald Amirault, after the Mass Parole Board recommended that he be released... she was also playing for votes instead of doing what was right. I've never seen her apologize for her immoral actions on Fells Acres -- she is not qualified for any public office.
I think it is so interesting that Martha's role model is female, and the guys' role models are male. Are we still so sexist that we must choose our role models by their gender? Why is Elenor not an obvious choice for a male politician? -- she was fantastic with people, managed her private and public lives separately and impeccably, and made a significant mark on history!
My political role model is RuPaul, because s/he knows what the hell is going on, openly discusses love, and puts on a fabulous show.
I think you are forgetting that women and politics is still a developing field, not something that has been widely accepted until the last fifteen or so years. Therefore there are far more prominant male leaders than female leaders, leading to many peoples role models being male (probability). I think it is more apparent that women try to pick women as role models because the probability is just so much lower that this one specific women out of many male politicians is the most similar to the way you invision perfection. This is nothing against women politicians however, they are clearly deserving of their seats, and provide a slightly different view on many issues. In my opinion I think it is rational for people to pick role models based on gender because it is someone who you aspire to be exactly like, and I prefer to compare myself to someone of my gender. I also find it alarming the amount of women willing to vote for a politician just because the politician is a women. If a man specifically voted against a women it would be considered sexism, why is voting for a women irregardless of political strength not sexist against men?
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