Candidates go for jugular in first debate

INDIANOLA - The first debate in Iowa's open-seat U.S. Senate race went quickly from candidate introductions to candidate attacks.

Get settled in, Iowans. There are two debates yet to come.

Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst debated for an hour last night at Simpson College. The event was moderated by KCCI-TV news anchor Kevin Cooney and Des Moines Register columnist Kathie O'Bradovich.

During their introductions, Braley claimed Ernst has a 'radical, tea party agenda,” and Ernst in hers cast Braley as a Washington, D.C. politician emblematic of problems with the federal government.

And during a heated exchange late in the debate, the candidates traded accusations over each other's perceived ties to special interests: Braley accused Ernst of being beholden to oil companies after 'secret meetings” with the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, and Ernst responded by telling Braley he is in the pocket of billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer.

Ernst accused Braley of threatening to sue a neighbor over chickens wandering onto Braley's land, an allegation Braley denied.

'I think it's going to surprise a lot of people how negative it was right off the bat,” Kedron Bardwell, chairman of the political science department at Simpson College, said after the debate.

'I think it's going to make people wonder what the second and third debates are going to be like. If we get chickens and secret meetings with oil companies (in the first debate), where can it go from there?”

In those moments, Sunday's debate was an extension of the relentless television advertising in the race. Special-interest groups on both sides have joined the candidates in pouring millions of dollars into advertising, much of which has been negative 'attack ads.”

There were, however, moments last night when policy discussions came through.

For example, Ernst addressed some of the issues for which her position has been criticized by Braley's campaign. The state senator from Red Oak said she wants to preserve Social Security and Medicare, and is open to having a discussion on all options that would keep those programs solvent for the long term.

'We have to keep those benefits, but we have to acknowledge there is a problem with Social Security and Medicare, and within 20 years the system will be broke,” Ernst said. 'We have to address those problems, and there are many options out there.”

And Braley, a lawyer from Waterloo who has represented northeast Iowa in the U.S. House since 2007, explained why he opposes tort reform.

'I just happen to think that we need to be doing more to protect Iowa consumers and families, and not taking away their rights under the Constitution,” Braley said.

Ernst responded to multiple questions about the minimum wage. While Braley supports raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, Ernst reiterated she believes the matter should be left to the individual states.

When asked what Iowa's minimum wage should be, Ernst did not advocate for anything above Iowa's current $7.25 minimum wage.

'We combat this by growing the economy to have good-paying jobs,” Ernst said.

Braley was asked about his change of votes on the Keystone Pipeline. He supported the pipeline in a committee vote, but later voted against it.

Braley said he ultimately voted against the pipeline because promises made early about the project's benefits were not made in the final legislation.

'There was no assurance that the oil was going to be sold here in the United States. And there was no guarantee that it was going to create a significant number of jobs that would benefit Iowa,” Braley said. 'So for me, on energy policy, you need to look at, is it going to be reducing our dependence on foreign oil, promoting renewable energy … and it didn't pass that test.”

Bardwell said he thought both candidates made missteps. He said moderators had to press Braley for a specific tax deduction he would be willing to eliminate. Ultimately, Braley gave the vague response that he would favor 'eliminating corporate tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping jobs overseas.”

And Bardwell noted that when asked for a current job-killing rule or regulation she would repeal, Ernst responded with cap-and-trade, a proposal that is not law.

'I'd give the overall advantage to Braley, but I think Joni did better than expected,” Bardwell said.

The next debates are Oct. 11 in Davenport and Oct. 16 in Sioux City.

Election Day is Nov. 4.

Braley and Ernst are running to succeed longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, who is retiring.

l Comments: (515) 422-9061; erin.murphy@lee.net