In a one-hour debate on Oct. 29, hosted by the Connecticut Examiner, and broadcast by Connecticut’s CTN state television channel, Independent Party candidate for the state’s 4th CD Ben Wesley repeatedly intervened to force his opponents, incumbent Jim Himes (D) and Michael Goldstein (R), to respond to his vigorous denunciations of U.S. policy enabling the Israeli government’s policy of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and escalating military conflict with Russia to the point of nuclear war. Both other candidates refused to endorse any action that would rein Israel in, or pull back from escalations against Russia.
Wesley stated in his concluding remarks, citing the Biden Administration’s consideration of allowing Ukraine to use U.S. ATACM missiles to strike deep into Russia, “we’re closer to nuclear war than at any time in our history.” If that is not stopped, “then none of the issues we have been discussing tonight would be of any relevance.” On the genocide issue, “nearly 100,000 children have died in Gaza. This is a moment when we must truly step up as Americans and find our inner morality and strength, and say, ‘enough is enough!’ If you are looking for peace, for someone who’s advocating for diplomacy, someone who’s not looking to fund more wars, I’m your candidate.”
In response to an opening question from the moderator on energy policy, Wesley asked what Hines, a ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, had done to investigate the charges of a U.S. role in blowing up the Russian-German Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Himes dismissed any U.S. role, but added smugly that the U.S. had greatly benefitted from shipping Germany LNG to replace the Russian natural gas.
Rather than answer the next question, on tax policy, Wesley turned to Himes and charged him with being a “coward” for his failure to stop Israel from killing 100,000 Palestinian children. When the following question directly addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Wesley reviewed the appalling statistics on deaths of children and other civilian innocents, and asked, “How are we going to stop the suffering of children? What about the laws of proportionality? We have kids, grandkids—when are you going to act?” Himes eventually responded that he fully backed Israel’s “right to defense,” but had raised questions on how Israel was doing this, to the “Israeli ambassador and others.” He, and the Republican, adamantly refused to endorse any U.S. cutoff of the weaponry enabling Israel’s massacres.
