By Jennifer Eder
Former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich faced off in a student-sponsored debate Tuesday evening at the George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium.
During the two-hour long debate, which was broadcasted live on C-SPAN, the politicians discussed five pre-determined topics: health care, the economy, national security and foreign policy, immigration and the 2012 election.
Both the College Republicans and the College Democrats sponsored the event – a bipartisan move that drew praise from both Dr. Dean and Dr. Gingrich.
“This may be the only place in the nation where the College Republicans and College Democrats share the same headquarters,” said Dr. Dean, former governor of Vermont. “The speaker and I were talking earlier. We think the respective presidents of both organizations should write an op-ed and show Congress how it’s done because they could use a little help.”
Josh Altman, president of the College Democrats, said that although the two student groups, which share an office in the Marvin Center, stand on opposite sides of the political spectrum, they have the same mission: to encourage activism and enthusiasm among the student body.
“Never before have GW’s two most prominent and active partisan organizations collaborated on an event like this,” said Jake Wolf, president of the College Republicans. “While rigid partisanship has descended upon our nation, our organizations aim to make the George Washington University a beacon; to tell everyone that although we may be strongly opinionated, we need not be divided.”
Both Dr. Dean and Dr. Gingrich, who is rumored to be a 2012 presidential candidate, agreed that in order to move the country forward, key changes must occur.
“We are in a phase where the problems are so much bigger than George W. Bush, so much bigger than Barack Obama, so much bigger frankly than Newt Gingrich or Howard Dean,” said Dr. Gingrich. “If we don’t find a way to have an adult conversation among all of us and find a way to fundamentally re-center our system in a localized, volunteeristic, genuine self-government model, we are in deep, deep trouble as a country.”
Neither politician said they fully supported the health care bill passed by Congress last year. But Dr. Dean said he doesn’t want to go back to a system where people are denied for preexisting conditions or where 26-year-olds can’t stay on their parents’ health insurance.
“I don’t think we should repeal the president’s health care bill,” said Dr. Dean, a physician. “But the biggest problem in health care is there is no cost control in any of these bills. The economic incentives drive medical costs up. We have to give doctors and nurses a budget, and we have to live within our means. You can’t blame everything on Washington. It’s time we take some responsibility for ourselves.”
Dr. Gingrich said there must be tort reform in order to reduce costs so that doctors aren’t continuously doing unnecessary medical tests to avoid lawsuits.
While Dr. Dean and Dr. Gingrich disagreed on tax rates, both politicians agreed that creating jobs, cutting the deficit and investing in industries like biotechnology should be top priorities for strengthening the U.S. economy.
The debate was moderated by Derek Malone-France, interim executive director of the University Writing Program and director of Writing in the Disciplines.
Dr. Gingrich argued that any honest assessment of the last 10 years would conclude that the U.S. is slowly losing the war on terror.
“Your generation is going to face a long struggle, I believe at least as long as the Cold War. I think it’s going to be extraordinarily dangerous, and I think if our opponents get either a biological or nuclear weapon, we are in real trouble,” he said. “We are not today having the national dialogue we should be having about how dangerous this is and how bad it could get.”
While arguing the need for a greater national dialogue about terrorism, Dr. Gingrich used the term “radical Islam” – a term Dr. Dean said singles out a lot of people who are not radical.
“A lot of Muslims are American citizens and are fighting against terrorism in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. What radicals do is polarize people to get this kind of reaction,” said Dr. Dean. “Intolerance breeds intolerance. We can’t fight intolerance with intolerance. If we respond that way, then they won.”
But Dr. Gingrich fired back that Americans should be able to discuss the belief system of the Muslim Brotherhood and its connection to the war on terror.
However, Dr. Gingrich argued for freedom of religion when a GW student asked him to defend his position on gay marriage.
“I come out of a tradition, which is several thousands years old that says marriage is between a man and a woman, and I think I have as much right to my belief as you have to yours,” he said.
Dr. Dean took a jab at Dr. Gingrich when he said he supports President Barack Obama in the 2012 election.
“I think he’s going to be better than the alternatives – no insult intended,” Dr. Dean said referring to Dr. Gingrich being a rumored presidential candidate.
And while Dr. Dean called for the opportunity of full citizenship for some illegal aliens, Dr. Gingrich argued that “you can’t jump past people all over the planet who have been obeying the law and waiting their turn to come here.”
Dr. Gingrich told the students that their generation has to make a major decision for how to get out of what he called a cultural, bureaucratic, political and financial mess.
“Are you prepared to pick up the work ethic, to pick up learning about America, to take on the responsibilities of citizenship, to be actively engaged yourself and to redevelop an American economy capable of competing and winning with India, China and Germany,” he said.
“I think it may be as difficult and as prolonged a struggle as anything we’ve faced in the history of this country, but I believe you are capable of doing it. And I am very optimistic that when we get done getting our act together, that we will once again be the leading power on the planet and we will once again prove that free people can outthink, outcreate and outwork all the dictatorships on the planet combined.”