In their first formal debate of the election season, the candidates running for Delaware’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives drew a difference between working in tandem with those across the aisle and standing up alone, even if it means going across one’s own party.
U.S. House debate highlights
U.S. House debate highlights
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John Carney, the Democratic incumbent, said he’s heard from officials like Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve that Congress must “do no harm in the short term and have a strong fiscal plan in the long term.” He said to turn around the economy, it’s important to hold the economy firm now while building plans to address taxes and deficit reduction to move the country in the right direction.
Tom Kovach, Carney’s Republican challenger, said “do no harm” is the wrong idea. He said it’s Congress’ job to “fix these problems,” and not to be concerned with “things that aren’t going to kick start our economy.” He vowed to stand up to Democrats and his own party to make things happen.
The candidates also discussed healthcare reform and education. Kovach said the idea of “free healthcare” would lead people to be “less responsible” in needless medical testing and other procedures and in the end controlling costs and medical tort reform is the only way to truly control the rising costs of healthcare.
Carney said people wanted to have their children be able to remain on family insurance plans until age 26, that the protection against having an insurance company deny coverage because of a pre-existing condition was important and other aspects of the Affordable Care Act were what citizens approved of.
U.S. House post-debate reaction
U.S. House post-debate reaction
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On education, Carney noted that Delaware has often been at the forefront of reform, including using Race to the Top federal grants for large-scale reform.
As a Republican, Kovach said he believed in “smaller, more effective government” and that the federal government should provide the minimum of standards and achievable goals, but should put the responsibility of education largely in the hands of local government. He said of the $113 million of Race to the Top funds, he said he believes none of it has actually made it to the classroom level.
As introductions began in Mitchell Hall at University of Delaware Tuesday night, a group audience members started a shouting protest that seemed to be rooted in the absence of third party candidates from the debate. The exact words were difficult to make out while moderator Nancy Karibjanian made introductions over the ruckus. Campus police and other law enforcement escorted 17 protesters out of the hall before the debate began in earnest. University officials said two were arrested for disorderly conduct. There were no further disruptions during the evening.
John Fluharty, executive director of the Delaware GOP, said as a Kovach backer he believed his candidate took the night, but that it was a lively debate.
Watch complete Watch U.S. House debate./h3>
Watch complete U.S. House debate.
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“People don’t need people to run breakfast clubs (like Carney). They need them to pass legislation to create jobs, to lower taxes that helps stimulate small business growth,” Fluharty said. “You look at Tom Kovach, you see a man who has a track record of making those things happen. I think that was a very big difference between them.”
For the most part, the debate was civil and cordial, with only subtle difference between the two candidates. For example, both concede raising taxes may be a necessary evil of bringing down the deficit. And even though there has been pressure to commit to signing on to Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform pledge never to raise taxes, Kovach said he would not because “everything has to be on the table.”
“In this case,” Carney said after the debate, “I consider myself as a fairly moderate Democrat. Clearly I stand up and believe in the Democratic values and I think my opponent is more of a moderate Republican so maybe the differences aren’t so great.”
Kovach said the biggest difference in his mind is that Carney “has not once stood up to his own Democratic caucus.”
“We as a country need to stand up to both parties,” Kovach said. “I will stand up to my Republican caucus as I have in the State House, as I have as county council president. Reaching across the aisle is not going to do it.”
