Underdog Gomez Goes on Offensive in Debate with Markey

U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey and former U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel E. Gomez, the two men seeking the Commonwealth’s open U.S. Senate seat, traded jabs on a host of issues, spanning from abortion to gun control, in a charged debate Wednesday night at WBZ-TV studios in Allston.

With the election less than three weeks away, Gomez, the Republican whom most observers consider an underdog in the race, was aggressive throughout the night in his attempts to paint Markey, the veteran Democratic congressman from Malden, as a source of gridlock in the Capitol.

The debate was contentious from the beginning, but hottest in its closing minutes, when the candidates were asked about the recent controversies that have embroiled Washington, D.C.

When asked about revelations that the Justice Department monitored the phone records and activities of journalists in a leak probe, Gomez addressed his opponent directly.

“You are basically Washington, D.C. I'm sorry, sir, but you are and that's what the common thread is down there,” Gomez said to Markey. “At the minimum, Attorney General Eric Holder should resign, and at a minimum, I think the President, while he has come out and said the right things, needs to make sure that we have a special investigator outside of the Justice Department get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

Markey, on the other hand, did not address Holder directly, though he did condemn the Justice Department’s actions.

Just a few minutes later, co-moderator Cynthia Needham, political editor for the Boston Globe, turned the debate to abortion. Gomez said he would not oppose a law being considered in various state legislatures, though not yet in Massachusetts, that would require women to wait 24 hours after seeing a physician before having an abortion.

“I’m Catholic, it’s my faith, and I’m personally pro-life,” Gomez said. “I think asking somebody to wait 24 hours before they can actually go and have an abortion is not asking a lot.”

That response drew almost immediate criticism from Markey, who said, “The decision should be between the woman and her physician. That’s it.”

The Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts also rebuked Gomez. In a statement released shortly after the debate, spokesperson Tricia Wajda called Gomez’s support of the 24-hour waiting period “ignorant and dangerous.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the organization’s political arm, has endorsed Markey in the race.

Gomez was aggressive from the start of the debate. In her first question of the night, Needham asked the two men if their opponent’s character should be a primary consideration in the race. Gomez, answering first, took the opportunity to suggest that Markey, who has served in Congress since 1976, is a political insider who is out of touch with Massachusetts.

“Congressman Markey, after 37 years in D.C., welcome back to Boston,” Gomez said.

When the discussion turned to gun control, Gomez pounced again. He accused his opponent of making a personal attack in a Markey campaign advertisement that referenced the Newtown, Conn., school shooting in connection with Gomez’s opposition to an assault weapons ban.

“Gomez is against banning high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the Newtown school shooting,”’ the ad said.

Referencing that ad, Gomez told Markey, “You are the first and only political candidate to invoke the Newtown massacre for political gain. That is beyond disgusting.”

For his part, Markey denied that he was trying to link Gomez to Newtown, saying that to do so would be “ridiculous.” But he criticized Gomez for only supporting background check legislation and not a full assault weapons ban.

Calling background checks for a wider range of firearm sales “the minimum” response to gun violence, Markey said that he believed that Massachusetts representatives should lead the way on progressive gun reform.

“We are supposed to be the leader. We know that the assault weapons should be off the streets. We know that high-capacity magazines should be banned,” Markey said to his opponent. “That is a huge difference between what you and I are promising the people of Massachusetts.”

The candidates went on to discuss a wide range of issues. When talk turned to the Affordable Care Act, the massive health care legislation of 2010, Gomez attacked Markey for not voting to repeal the medical device tax, which affects the Commonwealth’s large medical device industry.

“It just tells me that you put party and politics before the people of Massachusetts,” Gomez said of Markey’s nay vote.

Throughout the night, as Gomez continued to try to portray Markey as a firm partisan, Markey defended himself.

“This whole idea that Mr. Gomez is going to be bipartisan and that my basic philosophy isn’t bipartisan is totally wrong,” Markey said at one point.

Before the debate, the scene outside the studio was dominated by Markey supporters, who turned out in droves to wave signs for the Malden congressman.

“Take a look at the support. It’s indicative of also what you’ll find in other places,” one Markey backer, Robin Huer of Weymouth, said in an interview. “It’s just more of a positive thing with the Democratic ticket.”

For Huer, maintaining the momentum of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s victory last November is a primary consideration.

“She’s a rockstar, I campaigned for her,” Huer said of Warren, who is a former Harvard Law School professor. “It’s very crucial. We can’t negate Elizabeth Warren’s vote.”

The special election is slated for June 25. President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign for Markey in Boston next Wednesday.

—Staff writer Matthew Q. Clarida can be reached at clarida@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @MattClarida.