Democratic Senate candidates offer differences

DAVENPORT - On climate, campaign financing, college costs and a handful of other issues, three of the Democrats seeking to unseat U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, differentiated themselves from one another in a 90-minute debate Monday night on the campus of St. Ambrose University.

The debate in Davenport was just one of several forums the candidates are taking part in before the June 7 primary.

All are seeking the right to face off against Grassley, who Democrats think is more vulnerable this year because of the controversy over the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy.

A fourth Democratic candidate, former Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, did not attend. Her campaign said she had a previously scheduled event with volunteers in Ankeny.

Tom Fiegen and Bob Krause, both former state legislators, called for free college tuition. Krause said he would start with community colleges.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said college debt repayment should be tied to ability to pay, but free tuition also would benefit the wealthy who don't need the assistance.

On a question about political action committees, Krause and Fiegen said they take no PAC money, and Fiegen argued it is corrupting.

'Corporations own Democrats who take their PAC money,” he said.

But Hogg, who argued he is the most electable, said that he hoped to receive PAC money, from labor groups and elsewhere, and that money hasn't influenced his votes in the Legislature.

'We've got to win this thing. That's how we change the system,” he said. He added that Fiegen, too, has taken PAC money in the past.

Perhaps the biggest conflict of the night came when Fiegen, a former state senator from Clarence, criticized Hogg for failing to get through the Senate a bill aimed at hobbling the proposed Bakken pipeline through Iowa.

Hogg, who had emphasized his record in the Legislature, said he fought for the legislation, but 'we didn't have the votes.”

Fiegen asked: 'If you can't get 25 other people to vote for you in the Iowa Legislature in your back yard, how are you going to get 50 United States senators, who are lions compared to the Iowa Senate, to vote with you?”

Hogg responded by defending his record and questioning Fiegen's electability and past record as a state lawmaker.

'You were there half a term, and you lost three elections. I've won five elections ... and we've passed a lot of legislation,” Hogg said.

All the candidates were critical of Grassley for failing to convene a hearing for Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court. But Fiegen also questioned Garland's nomination. He said the appellate judge had been 'deferential” to the executive branch.

All the candidates praised the Rock Island Arsenal, when asked about rising defense spending. Hogg said weapons systems were more the culprit. Fiegen, too, said that costly weapons programs, such as the F-35 fighter jet, need to be cut.

Krause said the Arsenal has unique capabilities that shouldn't be sacrificed.

The debate Monday was not televised, but Iowa Public Television is sponsoring a debate that will be attended by all four candidates. It is May 26.

Monday's debate was sponsored by the Quad-Cities Alliance for Retired Americans.