2nd District foes go after each other in debate

DAVENPORT - U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack and his challenger Mariannette Miller-Meeks didn't hold back the barbs in Saturday's debate at St. Ambrose University, Davenport.

Both the 2nd Congressional District incumbent and the Ottumwa ophthalmologist making her third attempt to oust him from office took aggressive stances in what could be a final face off before the November election.

Loebsack, a Democrat, went after Miller-Meeks, a Republican, for not answering direct questions, specifically targeting her refusal to say whether she would repeal the Affordable Care Act.

'I'm not clear where she is,' he said.

Miller-Meeks accused Loebsack of repeating the 'lie of the year,' a reference to when President Barack Obama said during the Affordable Care Act debate that people would be able to keep their insurance. As it turns out, a significant number of Americans were dropped from their health insurance plans.

She criticized what she called the 'unaffordable' care act, but when asked, she didn't say she would repeal it.

In the hour-long debate, co-sponsored by the Quad-City Times and KWQC, each candidate had 30 seconds to answer questions on issues such as immigration, the economy, Ebola, fracking and foreign policy.

Even a question on drones slipped in. Miller-Meeks, looking at the issue from a military standpoint, said she is concerned about strikes on American citizens abroad. Loebsack looked at it domestically, saying drones ought to be highly regulated.

Their aggressive stances didn't let up from one issue to the next. On immigration, Loebsack said he's not in favor of the president using executive action, to which Miller-Meeks questioned whether he was being genuine. She said he votes with his party 'more than 90 percent' of the time and is 'lock step' with the president. She repeated the line multiple times throughout the debate.

Both candidates said they would protect Social Security, although they argued about Loebsack's record on Medicare. Miller-Meeks said he voted to cut Medicare more than once.

'When he says he stands up for seniors, I take that with a grain of salt,' she said.

Loebsack defended his record, saying he didn't cut Medicare benefits, but he did vote to cut money to providers and insurance companies.

The two were trying to appeal to Scott County voters side-by-side for the first time. Miller-Meeks has run against Loebsack twice before, in 2008 and 2010. At the time, the Quad-Cities was not part of the 2nd District.

Don Swanson of Davenport was among the hundreds who watched the debate. He liked Miller-Meeks and criticized Democrats for creating 'gridlock' in Washington.

'We need to kick them out,' Swanson said.

Some traveled from elsewhere in the district. Tom Gibbons of Clinton thought Loebsack articulated the issues while Miller-Meeks left him 'lost.'

'I'm not sure after what I heard today whether she'll repeal Obamacare,' he said.

Shannon Treiber of Muscatine said the candidates, given the tight time constraints, gave too many personal stories.

'They should have stuck to the issues,' she said.

The candidates shed light into their personal lives, both saying they come from humble beginnings.

Loebsack said he grew up in a single-parent home and didn't join the middle class until he was 29 years old.

'In my time in Congress, I fought for the middle class,' he said. 'I never forgot where I came from.'

Miller-Meeks said she kept her maiden name as reminder of her childhood growing up poor in a family of eight living in Texas.

Loebsack was called numerous times to defend his record. He tried to show some bipartisan credibility by saying he worked with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, on wind energy.

Miller-Meeks accused Loebsack, who has been in congress since 2006, of being part of the 'dysfunctional mess' in Washington.