Moulton not fretting over missing debate

Jun. 17--PEABODY -- While U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton's favorite beverage is milk, the Salem Democrat was "not crying over spilled milk" that he did not make the debate stage in Miami for the first round of 2020 Democratic presidential debates on June 26 and June 27.

After a town hall in Peabody Saturday, Moulton said almost half the candidates, nine out of the 20, didn't make the 65,000 individual donor threshold to earn a spot in the debates televised from Miami. The other threshold required 1 percent support in three separate polls.

"It's really a question of the polling," Moulton said, "and there were some polls that had us meeting the threshold, but the (Democratic National Committee) decided those polls didn't count, and I don't know why, but that's how they decided. But, I'm not crying over spilled milk. I knew getting in as late as I did (he announced his bid on April 22) that there was a strong chance that I would miss the first debate. The first votes aren't until February. We got a lot of time here, this is a marathon, not a sprint."

Mouton campaign spokesman Matt Corridoni said the DNC told the campaign Thursday they would not be part of the first debate, and that on Friday they had their biggest fundraising day since the launch. Moulton plans to travel to Miami during the debates.

In Peabody, Moulton put on his congressional hat for an 11:30 a.m. gathering in the Wiggin Auditorium in City Hall on a sunny day that drew about 35 people.

This town hall was sponsored by the Indivisible MA06 Collaborative, which is comprised of six Indivisible groups whose members are from the 6th District. The groups are part of the Indivisible Project, a grassroots movement which promotes progressive policies and leaders with an eye toward rebuilding the nation's democracy and defeating the agenda of President Donald Trump.

Moulton praised the work of groups like Indivisible.

"You have stood up and you said, 'it's not enough to just disagree, I'm going to get involved. I'm going to make a difference.' So, thank you for that leadership."

The town hall did not serve as a presidential campaign stop for Moulton, and he mostly kept to themes and legislation he has been working on in Congress for the 6th District.

In the audience sat his wife, Liz, and their daughter, Emmy, 8 months, and a few times Emmy piped up during the gathering. Moulton got personal when he talked about how he and his wife were two working parents "just figuring out the first child thing."

"Emmy is a big part of what we're talking about," Moulton said, "because this is her future. And I don't want her growing up in a world defined by Donald Trump."

Moulton's touched on a wide range of topics, from efforts to combat voter suppression -- he's proposed a new voting rights act -- the need to end partisan gerrymandering and the need to abolish the electoral college.

He got applause when he spoke about the need to protect women's reproductive rights, which he said were under assault from several state legislatures. He also spoke about a bill he filed to protect the North Atlantic right whale from extinction, among other topics.

On guns

Peabody resident Herb Harris thanked Moulton for his service in the Marines, then turned to the topic of guns, reading out loud the Second Amendment to press his point. He said the purpose of the amendment was for the creation of militias to protect the country at a time when the United States did not have a standing army, then listed several examples of mass shootings.

"When will Congress get off, excuse the expression, its collective (behind) and do something about this and show some backbone?" Harris asked.

Moulton thanked Harris for reading from the Constitution, and made him read the amendment, again: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Moulton gave an analogy, saying: "A well-maintained highway, being important for the free travel from Boston to New York, the right to have a horse and buggy on that highway shall not be infringed."

Moulton said at the time the Second Amendment was written, a horse and buggy was the only way to get anywhere.

"But I'm sorry, this is a different world ... and we don't need a well regulated militia to ensure a free country," Moulton said. But recent interpretations of the Second Amendment by the U.S. Supreme Court have ignored the first two clauses of the amendment, and Moulton said that was wrong.

"We get the point that horses and buggies were important once upon a time, so that doesn't mean we need to allow them on I-95."

Moulton said people don't need assault weapons to hunt, and they should not be on our streets or in our schools. There are laws outlawing weapons of war like grenades, for instance.

In fact, Moulton said he spent a total of three years of his life in Iraq as a Marine Corps infantry officer with two grenades strapped to his body almost every day.

"And I never blew myself up. I was perfectly safe. I would feel fully confident with two grenades right here today ... Would you be happy if I had two grenades on me?" No!"

He favored background checks for purchases at gun shows. He said those on the terrorist watch list should not be allowed to buy guns. He said a majority of Americans favor such restrictions, "but we cannot get it done in Congress because of the NRA."

After about an hour, Moulton said he was pressed for time because he planned to officiate his first wedding as a member of Congress that day. He said he was officiating a wedding ceremony of a same-sex couple who also lives in Salem.

Town hall reaction

"I thought it was great, totally great," April Nichols of Greater Andover Indivisible said of Mouton's town hall talk. "Any time you get people to have these kinds of conversations. It just makes you feel this is how the world should work."

Nichols said she felt Moulton "has all the right answers," but Nichols said she was open to any candidate for president at the moment.

"I thought he was terrific," said Amy Hollman of Andover, another member of the Indivisible group, "I thought he was a compelling speaker and I like the way he related on a personal level to the crowd and I felt that he was able to speak in a manner that tells a story, which is also very compelling.

Hollman said she was leading the environmental working group of their Indivisible chapter and she was aware Moulton had favored the Green New Deal early on.

"I appreciate that and I was interested to hear in what he thought the structure of the Green New Deal should be, because our chapter is focusing on climate change," she said.

Hollman said she thought Moulton had a good grasp on the issue, however, she has been a long-time fan of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is also running for president in 2020. Hollman said she was not sure if she would go for her gut instinct or vote for the person she thinks is most likely to beat Trump.

"I'm waiting for the field to narrow, which it will inevitably," Hollman said.

On a separate question to Moulton after the town hall, when asked about Trump telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos if his campaign were approached by Russia or China with information he would "maybe" both accept the information and call the FBI, Moulton said he would never accept such opposition research from a foreign government.

"I'd go straight to the FBI," Moulton said. "And I would do anything I could to protect this country, as I always have." As to Trump's statement, Moulton said, "Donald Trump is not a patriot ... and he seems to think he's above the law."

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @TannerSalemNews.

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