​Joseph Daly

On October 8, 2014 there was an open forum/debate between the republican and democrat candidates for the district three seat in the federal House of Representatives. The republican candidate running for reelection was Ted Yoho and the challenging Democrat was Marihelen wheeler.

     The debate was set up so that the audience was able to ask a general question then each candidate would give their best answer to the question. Although the two candidates want what is best for their county and their district, they didn't agree on how to accomplish this.

Both candidates began the debate by telling the audience a little about themselves. Wheeler described to the audience how we, as young citizens of the U.S, are facing different challenges that what her generation faced and as a result of this the representatives in Washington need to be attentive to the young voters because we are the ones that are going to inherit the problems in the world. She also discussed how she is an activist who has been working on preserving our water in Florida for the last 2 years. She has a negative view on oil/gas companies that, as she believes, are trying to take advantage of Florida's natural resources at the cost of the environment.

     Yoho's opening statement was centered on why he ran for office in the past and why he is currently running. Yoho believes that he does his job for a cause that cause being the welfare of those in his district. He believes district 3 represents the best population in Florida. Yoho originally ran for congress because he saw that nothing in Washington was getting done and believes he can positively contribute to congress. Yoho said that he wants to preserve the American dream because it is American, not republican or democrat.

One of the more interesting questions asked during the debate was about our national debt. The person who asked the question wanted to know what the candidates would do decrease national debt. Yoho believes that it is a problem of spending and that the only way we can decrease out national debt is to cut spending or cut programs. To him, those are the only appropriate ways to raise revenue. He also believes that the Federal Reserve needs to be audited and that money should be backed by some precious material, like gold or silver, to secure the value of the American dollar. Wheeler had a very different view as to what would decrease the national debt. She believes in combination of factors like raising minimum wage, closing corporate tax loopholes, and decreasing student loan interest. She believes that a combination of all of those factors would not only increase the wellbeing of the citizens of the United States but it would also help to decrease the national debt.

     I felt like I agreed with Wheeler on more of the questions in the debate. But unfortunately, Florida's 3rd congressional district is heavily republican so there is no chance that Wheeler is going to win. I found the debate to be very interesting because it addressed a wide variety of issues, some that I have not been thinking about, and it allowed representatives of our government to connect with the people and answer the questions. It was a very interesting experience.

     This debate made me think about the individuals’ role in government discussed in the governing a good life section of the what is a Good Life course. According to Tocqueville, American democracy only works because of the participation from people in all levels of government. By attending debates like these we, the voters, are able to better participate by making informed decisions about who to vote for.

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