Bradenton Herald: District 13 Candidates Clash During TV Debate

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By DUANE MARSTELLER

This time, the gloves came off.

The second 13th Congressional District forum attended by all four candidates often resembled a verbal sparring match Wednesday.

They sharply disagreed on Iraq, the economy and other issues.

They challenged each other's campaign tactics, honesty and integrity, with one calling out another's campaign manager.

And they faced questioning about their own political skeletons, including lawsuits, campaign-finance complaints and late campaign payroll taxes.

Even the audience of more than 125 people, mostly supporters, who watched the forum at the University of South Florida's Sarasota-Manatee campus got into the act. At times they applauded their candidates' comments, despite repeated reminders to refrain; at other times they snickered, laughed or made other dismissive noises when the opponent of one of their favored candidates spoke.

Most of the fireworks centered on Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Sarasota Republican, and his Democratic challenger, Christine Jennings, who lost a bitter 2006 race to Buchanan by 369 votes.

Jennings went on the offensive from the start, not mentioning Buchanan by name as she criticized his Congressional voting record and personal business dealings. Buchanan's recent reversal on a $700 billion bailout package — he voted against the first proposal, but supported a revised and more-expensive version that became law — illustrates that "my opponent is playing politics" who only voted for the package "after $150 billion was added in sweeteners," she said.

She also challenged Buchanan's integrity, citing a recent spate of civil lawsuits accusing him and/or his car dealerships of consumer fraud, breaking contracts and violating campaign-finance laws.

When asked by forum moderators to respond to the suits, Buchanan called them "unfortunate" and not reflective of his 32-year business career. He also said they were distracting voters from the campaign's real issues, such as improving the economy, providing tax relief and making the United States energy-independent.

"I, like Jan (Schneider), will continue a very positive campaign on the issues," he said in a veiled jab at Jennings, whose television spots have focused on Buchanan's legal troubles.

Some Jennings supporters snickered in response.

Even Schneider and the race's other non-partisan candidate, Don Baldauf, faced scrutiny and criticism.

Schneider, who previously ran for the seat three times as a Democrat, defended her filing of a campaign-finance complaint against Jennings that stems from the 2006 Democratic primary. The complaint contends Jennings' campaign used unpaid payroll tax money to launch negative ads against Schneider.

"Negative campaigning is character assassination," Schneider said. B

aldauf, an alarm contractor from Bradenton, defended a recent Bradenton Herald op-ed piece he wrote that raised questions about Jennings' banking background. "I did what she asked me to do, so I looked at her record," he said. "I just don't think she's as good a banker as she thinks she is."

Baldauf also criticized Jennings' campaign manager about a phone conversation between them over Baldauf's recent appearance at the same Bradenton restaurant where Jennings was campaigning.

As for the payroll taxes, Jennings said she paid them — with interest and fines — as soon as she learned they had not been remitted by her then-campaign treasurer. "For someone to insinuate I did not pay my taxes is absolutely wrong," she said.

When it came to other issues, the disagreements were just as sharp:

* Iraq: Jennings said "we have to bring our troops home in a responsible manner," while Baldauf said "when the military people say it's time to come home, it's time to come home." Schneider called the U.S. mission a failure, saying "you can't impose democracy on Iraq. We've done what we can and we need to get out."

* The economy: Buchanan defended his support of the bailout, saying ‘This was about seniors" whose retirement savings are shrinking because of Wall Street losses. Baldauf criticized it and said the financial crisis was precipitated by the federal Community Reinvestment Act, which he said should be abolished. Schneider said she opposed any bailout.

* Energy: Baldauf called for allowing oil drilling 25 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast and building a refinery in Manatee County. Buchanan, Jennings and Schneider opposed any drilling closer to shore, with Buchanan saying the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge should be drilled, which Schneider opposed.

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