Congressional candidates spar in debate

It was Denny versus Dennis with another fellow in the mix.

The second debate of the year for Montana’s lone Congressional seat was held Sunday morning in Whitefish.

Incumbent Denny Rehberg, R-Billings, is being challenged by Dennis McDonald, D-Melville, and Mike Fellows, L-Missoula.

All three seem to support Arizona’s new anti-illegal-immigrant law, but parted ways on health-care reform and other issues.

“Securing the border is not rocket science,” McDonald said. “We need the political leadership and the will to get it done.”

“Right now, it’s the Obama administration [causing the problem],” Rehberg said. “We’re ready, willing and able to shut the border down.”

Fellows criticized any potential national ID card, saying it will cost jobs because the government will pass laws “that will force employers to look at things more carefully.” Full implementation of the Real ID law has been delayed until May of next year.

McDonald supports a comprehensive immigration reform bill, saying illegal immigrants should “get in line, pay taxes” before being granted legal status.

“You don’t reward those who came here illegally,” Rehberg said. “Go back [to your home country] and apply.”

Moderator Greg MacDonald, president and CEO of the Montana Broadcasters Association, which sponsored the debate, asked Rehberg why he voted against the health-care reform bill that became law.

“It’s health insurance reform, not health-care reform,” Rehberg said. “It doesn’t control costs. You can’t buy health insurance across state lines. You can buy health insurance from a lizard across state lines.”

Fellows said someone should be able to purchase comprehensive insurance, catastrophic insurance or none at all, in contrast to the new law that requires everyone to have insurance.

McDonald said he favored a single-payer policy.

“We can get our arms around costs by reducing duplication of effort,” he said, adding that this would cover 46 million Americans currently without insurance.

Rehberg said the status quo is not acceptable, but noted, “We already have a high-risk pool in Montana.” He said there will be 80,000 more Medicaid recipients that have to be paid for by Montana’s taxpayers in 2014.

McDonald criticized Rehberg for a previous statement where Rehberg said Montanans should join the gym. Rehberg said the comment “was among a litany of things I was giving as an example. People should be able to deduct the cost of their athletic club. Why don’t we create opportunities for healthy living?”

Fellows criticized Rehberg for voting in favor of the Medicare reform bill in 2003 that provided a prescription drug benefit for seniors. Fellows said the cost was substantially more than projected, but Rehberg said it was supposed to cost $400 billion but actually costs $200 billion a year. The system created competition, Rehberg said.

McDonald called the law a “nearly $1 trillion giveaway to pharmaceuticals put on Uncle Sam’s credit card.”

McDonald criticized Rehberg for voting against “pay-go” rules for Congress that require one dollar in spending cuts or tax increases for every dollar of new spending. Rehberg said McDonald supported the federal stimulus and budget, which were not paid for. Rehberg also said he supported requiring a 1-cent cut in spending for every new dollar the government spends, but Democrats balked.

In response to a question about what they could do to jump start the economy, McDonald said the government should invest in people, not corporations.

Rehberg advocated cutting the payroll tax in half for two years, which “would cost the same as the failed stimulus,” zero out the capital gains tax like China has done, and lower the corporate income tax to 25 percent.

Fellows favors eliminating the federal income tax in favor of the “Fair Tax,” a consumption-based sales tax.

McDonald repeatedly called for increased bipartisanship. “The politics of ‘no’ has got to end,” he said.

A number of Democrats and Republicans from such states as North and South Dakota, Idaho and Montana have rallied against a “Cap and Trade” energy bill, Rehberg said.

“A no vote against a bad bill is not a bad vote,” he said.

In regard to the war in Afghanistan, which has been going on for nine years, “It’s difficult for me to see a victory,” McDonald said. “We have to balance the strategic need in that area with the idea that both of these wars [including Iraq] are making us poor.”

“You can’t set a timeline,” Rehberg said. “The president has made that realization as well.”

Fellows said achieving victory “is going to be hard unless we’re going to be there a long time, and I don’t think the Americans want it.”

Rehberg later noted that his campaign manager Tyler Matthews is set to leave for Iraq Aug. 15 as part of a National Guard deployment.

Fellows called for term limits for Congressmen and said divided government is good because it helps control spending.  “We do need change. A lot of people don’t see a lot of difference between Democrats and Republicans,” he said, noting Rehberg voted for the No Child Left Behind law and the Patriot Act.

In his closing remarks, McDonald leveled an unspecified charge against Rehberg for his “personal behavior.” Rehberg wasn’t given a chance to respond.

After the debate, Rehberg said he would be willing to debate a few more times. MacDonald said the Montana Broadcasters Association would like a couple more in September and October.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.