Larsen Roulstone Agree To Disagree

Larsen Roulstone agree to disagree

Candidates engage in verbal sparring match this morning on Bellingham TV station KVOS

By JAMES GELUSO

There's one thing that Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and his Republican challenger Doug Roulstone agree on, and that's that Congress needs new leadership.

They just disagree on who those new leaders should be.

Roulstone said he has asked people in the Second District, which stretches from Everett to the Canadian border, if they're happy with Congress. "The resounding answer is no," he said.

Larsen said the best answer to that is to get rid of the Republican leadership by voting in a Democratic majority.

Roulstone wouldn't go for that, but did agree that changes are needed in Washington, D.C.

"The Republicans, to some degree, are at fault, and I think we need better Republican leadership back there," he said.

The two men sparred this morning in three segments on a news program on Bellingham TV station KVOS. In between, the morning news focused on the problems of the Republican leadership in the wake of the sex scandal involving U.S. Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, who resigned Friday.

Roulstone said he would be an independent voice, as opposed to Larsen, who he said has voted 89 percent of the time with House minority leader Nancy Pelosi.

Larsen said he has been independent, focusing on local issues such as methamphetamine abuse, pipeline safety and Internet mail-order brides.

"Do you have an 89 percent voting record with Nancy Pelosi?" Roulstone asked.

"I have no idea," Larsen answered.

The two men also split on earmarks, the process by which members of Congress designate federal money for projects in their district. Roulstone opposes the process.

Larsen said earmarks are what brought federal funding for cancer care at Skagit Valley Hospital and improvements to U.S. 2 in Snohomish County.

But Roulstone countered that allowing earmarks is what leads to projects like the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. Congress shouldn't be adding items to bills that then go unread by members, he said.

And for all Larsen's bluster, he hasn't gotten much actually accomplished on U.S. 2, Roulstone said. Larsen disagreed, pointing to guard rails and new signals on the highway. Roulstone also blasted Larsen for the absence of a Veterans Administration clinic in the area. "Rick's had six years and three terms to get a clinic up here," Roulstone said. "I'll make sure we get a clinic here the first term." "Can he do that?" asked the moderator, KVOS reporter Joe Bates. "No, he can't," Larsen said. Congress works at glacial speed, he said, and he has been working on the issue since 2002 and will keep working on it, he said. On Iraq, Roulstone said he believes the completion of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's trials will improve the situation. "Once Saddam's gone, I think the insurgency dies off pretty quickly," he said.

Larsen said no expert and no general serving in Iraq believes that.

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