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Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds (left) gestures as Republican challenger Bob McDonnell listens last night. |
RICHMOND
--Virginia's two candidates for governor met in their first televised debate last night, an exchange that broke little new ground three weeks out from the election.Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds took questions from moderator Judy Woodruff of PBS and four panelists in the hour-long debate, sponsored by the AARP and the League of Women Voters. It was their third debate of the campaign.
Deeds, down in the polls, accused McDonnell of lying to voters in ads that accuse Deeds of supporting higher taxes and federal legislation that could hurt businesses.
"Bob continues to talk about the cap-and-trade bill and he's spending literally millions of dollars lying to Virginians about it," Deeds said at one point. "He wants this campaign to be decided on issues he's going to lie about. I can't control him."
McDonnell said a number of newspaper editorials have said Deeds' own ads are misleading.
"So I'm going to let the people and the editorial boards decide who's being honest," McDonnell said.
McDonnell criticized Deeds as focused on the past--on the tenures of governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and McDonnell's own grad-school thesis--and accused Deeds of proposing tax increases.
Deeds portrayed himself as plain-speaking and honest, bringing up several times his own halting speaking style.
"I'm not the most eloquent speaker, but like Harry Truman, I'll tell the truth and work hard to get things done," Deeds said.
The debate, which included some questions from voters submitted online, covered a range of issues.
Prompted perhaps by McDonnell's 1989 thesis, in which he was critical of working women, the candidates were asked wheth-er they would renew an executive order that prohibits pay discrimination for state workers.
Both said they would.
"Women constitute about 54 percent of our population. Government should look like people my administration will be the most diverse in our country's history," Deeds said. "I can't imagine that my cabinet would be less than 50 percent women. I want the best people that I can hire."
McDonnell said equal pay is already federal law, but that he would extend that governor's executive order.
"Of course I will support that and I will enforce that," McDonnell said. "They ought to be getting equal pay for the equal work that they do."
The answers were different when it came to a similar question about an executive order that bans discrimination in state employment based on sexual orientation.
Deeds said he would extend that order, but McDonnell said as attorney general he ruled it unconstitutional, because while he opposes discrimination he felt the order violated the separation of powers between the governor and the legislature.
At their last debate, in Fairfax, Deeds made news with a confusing answer on how he'd fund transportation improvements. The question came up again in last night's debate, and led to a rather snippy exchange between the two.
Deeds says he would form a commission, if elected, to create a bill that would pass the legislature. He said that's "the only approach to transportation that's worked" in the past.
"If that commission can produce a plan that raises new funding for transportation that's supported by the General Assembly, I'll sign it," Deeds said. "The people of Virginia are sick and tired of sitting in traffic. If you want to move forward, I've got the only approach that will work."
"All I heard was no plan," McDonnell responded. "It's the same thing he's been talking about for months. He'll put together a work group after he's elected and figure something out. That's not a plan."
McDonnell has proposed a list of ways to fund transportation, except for raising taxes, although some of them have been rejected by the General Assembly in the past.
"I'm the only candidate in this race that actually has a transportation funding plan," McDonnell said, adding that he has innovative ways of raising funds.
"His plan is dead on arrival," Deeds said. "His laundry list of funding proposals, The Washington Post called phoney baloney."
On a question about ensuring every Virginian answers census questions, both men agreed an accurate census count is important because it impacts federal spending on Virginia.
Asked about why so much of their campaign money is from out-of-state PACs, Deeds said he'd like to see federal-style campaign finance limits in Virginia, but that he's going to play by the rules as they exist now.
McDonnell didn't indicate any problems with Virginia's current rules, but accused Deeds of taking a lot of money from national labor organizations.
Both men have touted plans to get more Virginians into college. Asked how they'd fund their proposals, both men said high education levels help lure businesses, and that they'd make higher education a funding priority, hopefully from new revenue generated by economic growth.
Asked about their proposals to help Virginia's aging population, Deeds mentioned working to make sure there are more health care providers in rural and underserved areas.
McDonnell said he is proposing doubling tax credits for those who buy long-term care insurance, and increasing criminal penalties for those who prey upon seniors with fraud and abuse.
On a question about the so-called gun show loophole, which allows private sellers to sell guns at gun shows without doing a background check on buyers, both men answered as they have in the past.
McDonnell said he opposes closing the loophole because he doesn't approve of restrictions on private sales of firearms. He said the real loophole brought to light by the Virginia Tech shootings was that people receiving mental outpatient services weren't reported to a data-base that keeps track of those not allowed to buy guns. That loophole was closed soon after the shootings.
Deeds said he long opposed closing the loophole but that his mind was changed by families of Tech victims, who made the gun show loophole a crusade. He said he tried to amend the loophole bill to protect gun rights, and that his amendments helped get the bill out of a Senate committee.
Both men said more needs to be done to encourage young people to farm, and to find new markets for farm products. McDonnell said that also includes policies that don't put more taxes or regulation on farms.
Deeds said he always supported eliminating the estate tax for family farms.
The candidates will hold their final debate next week, in another televised exchange in Roanoke.
Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
