FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday 10/31/08

CONTACT:
Matthew Robinson -- 617-314-6971
matt@JohnCunningham2008.com

Revere, MA – In their only scheduled debate of the campaign, challenger John Cunningham clearly bested long term incumbent Congressman Ed Markey yesterday. Cunningham showed how his principled, constitutional stances contrast to Markey’s partisan politics and philosophy that amounts to central planning.

Reflecting on the debate, Cunningham said, “Mr. Markey seemed intent on playing partisan politics. He repeatedly criticized the current administration, saying he has been ‘battling George Bush’ for eight years. Bush came up so much in fact; it made me wonder if Mr. Markey wished he was running for President.” During the debate Cunningham explained, “I pretty much agree with [Mr. Markey], the Bush administration has done a lot of things wrong.” And afterwards, John pointed out “It’s too bad that Mr. Markey followed George Bush on some of the most important issues like Iraq, the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, and the Billionaire Bailout. I have strongly opposed each of those.”

“It has nothing to do with who is in what party,” explained Cunningham during the debate, “it has to do with what’s right and what’s wrong. I’m not going to Washington to make friends… I’m just going to go with who’s got the right ideas no matter what party they might be in.”

In addition to trying to divide along party lines, Markey also tried to tout his accomplishments: “After my law passed, [the Telecommunications Act of 1996], it created a whole new industry with tens of thousands of companies. Companies whose names are now synonymous with our economy: eBay, YouTube, Google, Amazon.” He then claimed: “We now need a new plan. And I believe that a new triple technological boom is possible: One in energy, one in broadband, and one in biotech. This I want to, over the next two years, help put in place.”

After the debate Cunningham remarked, “Isn’t it a little arrogant for him to suggest he’s responsible for eBay and Google? It sounds as though he centrally planned and orchestrated the Internet boom, and now wants to centrally plan booms in energy, broadband, and biotech. Have we not learned anything from the central planning that tried to get more people in homes and ended up causing the housing bubble? Central planning doesn’t work and only causes more problems.”

“I know that he’s a very intelligent man, and I’m sure that as central planners go, he’s able to do as good job as anybody else, but central planning will never work as much as free markets do,” said Cunningham during the debate. “The federal government should not be trying to run our lives… run the economy…[or] run the world.”

Cunningham concluded by saying, “Send me to Washington and I’ll protect and defend the constitution.”

The entire debate can be seen at www.RevereTV.org