SPRINGFIELD — Both U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and GOP challenger John Deaton voiced support Thursday for east-west rail, the long-held dream of improving passenger service from Pittsfield and Springfield east to Boston.
It might have been the only thing they agreed upon during a testy hourlong debate, the second debate that had Warren calling out Deaton’s support for, and support from, the cryptocurrency industry and Deaton making veiled and then overt references to Warren’s claims of Native heritage.
“But I’ve never claimed to be someone I’m not,” Deaton responded to Warren at one point. “Can you say the same.”
The debate was also marred by an audio glitch for the first few minutes of the television and streaming broadcasts. The radio broadcast was uninterrupted, according to the host New England Public Media. The audio will be restored for upcoming rebroadcasts.
When the audio came back, the candidates talked over each other, and the on-air questioners, NEPM News reporter Adam Frenier and GBH News political reporters Adam Reilly and Saraya Wintersmith.
On east-west rail, one of the few Western Massachusetts-specific topics, it was incumbent Warren who pointed out that losing the slim Democratic majority in the Senate could imperil the large-scale infrastructure bills needed to make the trains a reality.
The rail, something she’s worked with in conjunction with the U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, can happen in the next few years and it can be high-speed service.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., back right, and Republican challenger John Deaton, back left, participate in their second debate ahead of the 2024 senatorial election moderated by GBH News Political Reporters Adam Reilly, front from right, and Saraya Wintersmith along with NEPM News Reporter Adam Frenier, at NEPM’s headquarters in Springfield, Mass., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Meredith Nierman/Pool Photo via AP)(Meredith Nierman/Pool Photo via AP)
“It does if we can retain Democratic control of Congress,” she said in a post-debate press availability. “The Republicans have little appetite for a large infrastructure bill. And doing east-west rail takes a lot of money,”
Deaton sees rail as a way to address housing costs. He also pointed to polls showing that while this race is not close, the Republicans might be poised to take the Senate. If elected, he’d be a crucial vote in a tight majority.
Warren also spoke of her role on the Senate Armed Services Committee bringing a half-billion in investments home to Massachusetts military bases, primarily Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.
Warren named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as someone she admires.
“The Ukrainians are fighting the frontline war for democracy,” Warren said.
And she cautioned people not to kid themselves about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We understand if Putin takes Ukraine, he’s coming for Poland, He’s coming for Estonia,” she said.
Deaton questioned why Ukraine’s membership in NATO is now a U.S. goal.
“I can’t tell you what our plan is in Ukraine. Because I don’t know if you have a plan,” he said. “My vote will have to be earned. Of course, I want democracy.”
But he fears that Russia will escalate the conflict.
When asked to name a foreign leader he admired, Deaton named pro-bitcoin El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele and didn’t respond to post-debate questions about Bukele’s human rights record.
Cryptocurrency has become an issue in the campaign. Warren pointed out Deaton’s backing from the cryptocurrency industry.
He accused her of stacking the deck in a Senate hearing by setting up Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler with questions and answers.
Warren said her role in that committee is oversight. The crypto industry has a beef with Gensler because it’s the one federal agency that can regulate them.
“Gary Gensler is pushing back,” she said.
Warren said she only wants warnings for consumers, similar to the rules for brokerages and banks, that investment carries risks.
Warren also touted efforts to fight climate change.
Deaton called for renewables, including limited nuclear energy, specifically in Western Massachusetts.
They renewed their sparring over immigration. Deaton blamed Democrats. “It’s a national security crisis,” he said. “But it’s also a humanitarian crisis.”
He blamed her for not voting for a compromise immigration bill.
“By the time that we voted on this bill, Donald Trump had killed it. It was dead,” Warren said.
Voting yes at that late date would have signaled support. She said wants enforcement, a pathway to citizenship and for states to be reimbursed.
“We are in a crisis on immigration. That means we need serious people proposing serious solutions,” she said.
But Deaton, and Republicans, are using immigrants as scapegoats, Warren said.
“If you have a problem here in Massachusetts? If it’s housing, blame the immigrants. If it’s crime, blame the immigrants,” Warren said.
The debate will be rebroadcast 4 p.m. Saturday on 88.5 NEPM and 7 p.m. Sunday on NEPM and at 6 p.m. on GBH 2 at 6 p.m. and on GBH 89.7 at 7 p.m.