Massachusetts’ Senate primary appears to be a dead heat.
In today’s Congressional Corner, WAMC’s Alan Chartock speaks with Massachusetts U.S. Senator Ed Markey. This interview was recorded on May 19.
Alan Chartock: Here we are with Senator Ed Markey in the Congressional Corner. So, Senator Markey, you've done remarkable work. Most of the incumbents that I know have supported you. Why do you think that is?
Senator Ed Markey: Well, I've worked very hard for the communities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And I think that's why so many of them are endorsing me. The overwhelming number of mayors, state representatives, state senators in Massachusetts have endorsed me in this race. And it's because I've worked very hard. I've worked to partner with them in order to accomplish things for their communities. Ultimately, it has to be a partnership. And I also work very hard with the activist communities across the Commonwealth as well. So I'm very gratified with the level of support which I have been received. And, and I think it's gonna show up, you know as a very powerful force in this in this primary on September 1.
Let's move over to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced a phase reopening plan on Monday. What do you think of Baker’s plan to go slowly back to normal?
Well, I think the governor has tried to reopen, but doing it while we are safe, because we have to listen to the scientists and base our steps on science and medical expertise. Massachusetts has some of the best scientific minds in the world. So we should rely upon them. And we have to put in place a comprehensive public health system for broad testing, and contact tracing, and antibody testing to know who has been exposed and ultimately we must develop a vaccine. So I think that we have to take this step by step, each step carefully calibrated so that we can understand exactly what impact that next step is having and if necessary to take a step back, if it is leading to a significant increase in the number of people who are being affected. So, this phased approach which the government is taking is something which I think we should be monitoring and ensuring that the public health is made the primary goal even as we want to reopen our economy. It's a careful balance. We have to walk the line. I think the governor is trying to do that, and hopefully we can be successful in achieving those goals
Ed Markey, I have to say, this is both a commentary and a question. We in the Berkshires depend on our culture. Boston has the Boston Symphony but we have Tanglewood. So my question to you is this. I'm sick over this. I mean, literally sick over the fact that we're losing the arts in the Berkshires. And I wonder if you have anything you want to say about that?
Well, in the in the cares act in a relief package, we made it possible for institutions that have 500 or fewer employees to be able to qualify for assistance, to help them to tide them through this crisis, this healthcare crisis, which has turned into an economic crisis as well. So nonprofits should be able to benefit from federal help in order to accomplish that goal. And larger nonprofits as well. We have to carve out a way in which they are able to participate as well. So the goal has to be that when we come out on the other side, that Tanglewood is there waiting for us, that all of these incredible nonprofit institutions that that are part of the fabric of our community that's still there, we can see very clearly now the role which they play in our lives and, and from my perspective, the more help that we can provide from the federal government, the better because we don't want to lose the special, special places that are so much a part of the lives of families in their communities. So, so I'm with you. It would be a tragedy if we if we lost these places.
And you know, we're talking about the Berkshire Theatre Festival, talking about the Barrington Stage, and all the other wonderful things that exist here which I know have so much respect for you and the work that you've done for the art. And so what about the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home? There has been an outbreak there. Have you been watching that at all?
I have been watching that. And in my opinion it's kind of a microcosm of the tragedy which is nursing homes, the tragedy which is that which has visited upon all of the families who have entrusted these facilities to take care of their family members who are very, very vulnerable. As we know in the state of Massachusetts, upwards of 60% of the people who have passed away from coronavirus have been in nursing homes. So, so from my perspective we have to get to the bottom of it. We have to find out what went wrong. Why was there not enough personal protective equipment? Why was around not enough testing? Why was there not enough attention that was paid? In many ways it was an avoidable tragedy which has occurred. And I think that we absolutely have to get to the bottom of it to find out what happened. And not just there, but in all of these facilities across the state.
Now, I know you're involved in a in a race, a primary race, but I can't let you go without talking to you a little bit about the president here. Now, this President is talking about people taking unproven drugs. Because he is he's a leader, he's the president, he has maybe 30% of the people who do what he wants. This could lose lead to the loss of lives. What are you thinking about this?
Well, I'm thinking that the President is not thinking when he says that he is a taking a drug that does not have a necessary relationship to the coronavirus, he's sending out a message that could be, in fact, replicated by other people in our country. And I just think it's very, very dangerous. If he wants to do it, maybe he should be allowed to do it. But don't, you’re the President of the United States Mr. Trump. Don't be, don't be almost bragging about the fact that you are doing it. Let’s not have hydroxychloroquine become something that people all across the country are trying to get from their pharmacists, from their doctors. He's been pushing this drug for months, now even in the face of the warnings from the FDA that hydroxychloroquine could cause dangerous heart rhythms in coronavirus patients. We know that he also made kind of crazy statements about disinfectants and how perhaps they could be swallowed by people as a way to cure coronavirus. We just need to trust the doctors, trust the scientists, trust the public health professionals in order to end this pandemic. And unfortunately, Trump has ignored the advice of scientists, from social distancing, to testing, to contact tracing. He's refused to listen to the experts and hydroxychloroquine and consuming disinfectants are just a part of this pattern of irresponsible behavior on the part of our president.
One last question. I know you gotta run and I know how busy you are. And that is, how important is it that the Democrats take the United States Senate, in your mind?
Well, it's imperative because the Senate confirms judges and right now the president could potentially wind up with two additional Supreme Court nominees that he is able to send up to the Senate over the next four years if he is successful. So that's why it makes it imperative that we have Joe Biden as president and we win the United States Senate. Because if we do that, then President Biden will be able to send us up nominees that advance the kind of traditional sense of justice and fairness in our society. And not these pre-selected Federalist Society approved candidates that are coming through like cookie cutter replicas of each other, that are going to set a very bad judicial environment for a generation to come.
Ed Markey, thank you so much for all your hard work. I really appreciate it and we'll be looking forward to talking to you again. Thank you so much, sir.
Thank you for having me on. I really enjoyed it.
