The format of the debate was a little bland, but questions emailed and phoned in from the public were asked giving it a little bit more variety.
Roy Blunt pretty much stayed on the party talking points, while Jim Newberry reached out to all sides, saying he wanted to represent everybody regardless of party affiliation.
My favorite part was when Libertarian Kevin Kraig said that the incumbant was probably going to win like he always does, so people should vote for him instead of Roy Blunt to send the Congressman a message that we are disspapointed in Congress' fiscal irresponsibility. I honestly think Mr. Craig might grab some votes away from Blunt.
Here is what the Springfield News-Leader reported in today's paper:
http://springfield.news-leader.com/news/today/1002-7thDistric-192208.html
Published October 2, 2004
7th District hopefuls exchange ideas
Rather than debating, each candidate responds to series of questions.
By Matt Wagner
News-Leader Staff
A televised debate Friday featuring Missouri's 7th District congressional candidates had it all -- minus the debate.
All four candidates. Check.
Moderator. Check.
Questions submitted by the public. Check.
Simulcast on two public TV stations and six radio stations throughout the district. Check.
But southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt and his challengers never personally engaged each other during the hourlong event.
Instead, they answered a series of questions asked by moderator Missy Shelton, senior governmental affairs producer for KSMU and Ozarks Public Television.
As they responded, the candidates often gravitated toward central themes.
Blunt focused on his long-running rapport with the people who elected him to Congress four consecutive times, starting in 1996.
Blunt, the House majority whip, said his top three priorities if re-elected are improving the economy, strengthening homeland security and to be "the person who tries to cut through the red tape, the person who helps people when they're frustrated with government."
Democrat Jim Newberry, a Springfield attorney, said he would strive to reverse the federal deficit, make health care more affordable and fight unfair trade agreements that hurt the U.S. economy.
Libertarian Kevin Craig and Constitution Party candidate Steve Alger repeatedly said the federal government has overstepped its constitutional authority with social programs subsidized by taxes.
"Capitalism works and socialism does not," said Craig, who moved to Taney County from California a year ago. "Socialism leads to tyranny and poverty."
The candidates' viewpoints on the Iraq war and homeland security varied widely, with Blunt backing the invasion as one facet of a larger war on terrorism. Alger, a father of 10 from Carthage, opposed the war, which he said was never officially declared by Congress.
The congressman borrowed some of the phrases used by President Bush in his first debate with Sen. John Kerry on Thursday, suggesting the U.S. government has to "be right 100 percent of the time" to combat the "ideology of hatred" fueling terror attacks.
"I think we can protect our freedoms and at the same time protect our national security," Blunt said.
But Newberry said he's concerned Blunt and the GOP-controlled House is attempting to skirt some of the 9-11 Commission's recommendations by drafting another version of the USA Patriot Act.
"This is another example of partisanship standing in the way of what's best for this country," he said.
The topic of extended deployments for National Guard and Army reservists also arose Friday.
Calling the lengthened tours a "problem," Blunt said he was one of the first lawmakers to question why reservists were playing such a large role in the war effort.
They should only be called on "at moments of peak need," he added.
Craig called for the immediate return of all American troops stationed in the Middle East and around the globe.
"We have stirred up hornet's nests all around the world," he said.
The candidates also touched on the future perils of Social Security, with Newberry criticizing Republicans for not doing more to keep the fund solvent and viable.
"Spending has been extravagant to the extreme," he said. "The only way we can keep our promise to our seniors is to keep our financial house in order."
Both Craig and Alger said citizens should have the discretion to invest their Social Security earnings, rather than having to trust that the government will plan for their retirement years.