Ray Hackett, discussing the debate in his "On Politics" column in this morning's Norwich Bulletin, wrote: "Best Overall Performance: Democrat Merrick Alpert. By far, Alpert's performance was unmatched by either his Democratic rival or the three Republican contenders. He demonstrated a strong understanding of the issues (and more importantly, the questions he was being asked) and answered with a clear response of his position on each. He showed passion and exceeded all expectation."

Is the current health care system really controlled by health insurance companies? Do they really call the shots? Take a look at an article in this morning's paper that helps explain the problem: "The American Medical Association last week released its annual study examining competition in the health insurance market. The verdict: competition is dwindling. In 24 of the 43 states studied, the two biggest insurers together covered at least 70 percent of the market." Insurance companies may talk about the benefits of an open market, but in fact that is not what the market looks like. It is a monopoly controlled by a very small number of insurance companies that protect their position by making massive campaign contributions to members of Congress.

I listened to UConn students this evening tell me that they were concerned about their futures. On a cold night in Storrs, they spoke about their fears that they would graduate from school only to find they would have to leave Connecticut to find a job. It was clear to them that career politicians have failed to build an economy that produces the type of high-wage jobs they deserve.

It was a constructive night for Connecticut politics. For those of you who joined me at the Democratic Senatorial debate this evening, I want to thank you. For those of you who were unable to attend and could not watch the debate on television, you can watch it by clicking here. A very clear difference emerged from the onset. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called for "incrementalism" while I called for bold solutions on the issues of job creation, health care, and removing our troops from Afghanistan. I welcome your feedback about the debate. Please email me at info@merrickforachange.com.