The Battle Creek Enquirer - GOP Rep. Candidates Trade Barbs At Debate

GOP Rep. Candidates Trade Barbs At Debate

Andy Rathbun
The Enquirer

JACKSON — A debate between Republican congressional candidates started with an allegation of lawlessness, hit upon warfare and included accusations of liberal tendencies run amuck.

U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz and challenger Tim Walberg met in Jackson in what may be the race's only debate before the Aug. 8 Republican primary in the 7th Congressional District.
Walberg, a Tipton resident and former state representative, repeatedly has brought up the issue of earmarks throughout the campaign, saying Schwarz has contributed to frivolous "pork barrel" spending in Washington.

To support his claim, Walberg pointed Friday to a few votes made by Schwarz, including one that found the Battle Creek congressman voting to allow federal spending on private purchases of Viagra.

Schwarz responded, saying his vote was cast because the drug sildenafil, which is used in Viagra, also can treat pulmonary hypertension in children, a potentially fatal complication.
Walberg questioned that explanation, asking why Schwarz didn't share the information with his fellow representatives by putting forward some type of amendment.

"It's darn hard to do," Schwarz said.

"They do that all the time," Walberg responded.

"Getting an amendment on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is only about 100 times as hard as it is in getting an amendment on a bill in the (Michigan) House," Schwarz said.

"You did it wrong," Walberg said. "I would do it right."

In a nutshell, that is what much of the election has been about: Walberg has repeatedly attacked Schwarz as a liberal, pointing to a variety of past comments, votes and stances. And Schwarz has repeatedly defended himself by pointing to his own experience and record, which now includes service as a congressman.

The Schwarz campaign has taken its fair share of swings at Walberg. Most recently, the congressman filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Walberg of violating campaign-finance laws by coordinating efforts with Club for Growth, an anti-tax organization.

"Not guilty," said Walberg during the debate. "We have followed the law implicitly. ... Why don't we get to talk about the issues in this campaign that separate us?"

"That's a very big issue," Schwarz said. "A very big issue. You have to follow the law. You said implicitly you've done it. I would say explicitly you did not."

The word implicit can mean either implied or absolute.

The two candidates have a shared history. Along with serving during similar stretches in the state Legislature, they sparred in 2004 during the Republican primary, when the seat was open because incumbent Nick Smith, R-Addison, did not seek re-election.

During that race, there were six candidates, Schwarz falling the farthest left of the group. He won, taking 28 percent of the vote.

The campaign has at times turned to social issues, with Walberg touting endorsements by the national and state branches of Right to Life, an anti-abortion group.

At Friday's debate, which was organized by the Jackson Citizen-Patriot and WILX Lansing, Schwarz reiterated his position, saying abortions should be "legal, safe and very rare."

"In the final analysis, that decision should not be made by a bunch of middle-aged, gray-haired men like myself," Schwarz said. "It should be made by the woman."

"I take the opposite position," Walberg said. "I believe that life, all life, from conception to natural death, is a gift of God. It is a moral absolute."

The candidates also were asked if they would vote in favor of sending U.S. troops to support Israel in its current conflict with Lebanon.

"Absolutely, I would send troops," Walberg said. "It is a right of a free country to defend itself, and it has. Good free people need to be defended."

Schwarz first sidestepped the question, saying as a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, he had been briefed on the issue and Israel would not be asking for troops. Pressed to address the specific scenario, he declined.

"I don't get into hypotheticals that have to deal with American young men and women, and sending them into harm's way," he said. "I'll tell you what the facts are."

The two men did find occasional common ground. Both agreed the state should receive $1 from Washington for every $1 sent there by Michigan taxpayers. And both also said casinos were bad for the state.

"In general, gambling is a blight," Walberg said. "I'd shut them all down."
Schwarz agreed.

"I don't think any of the casinos have fulfilled their promise," he said.

http://www.walbergforcongress.com/news/jul22.htm