In debate, Blum and Murphy draw contrasts on ISIS, Ebola, militarized police

CEDAR RAPIDS - Candidates for Iowa's 1st Congressional District offered slightly different views last night for how the United States should handle foreign threats, such as Islamic State jihadists.

In a debate at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Democrat Pat Murphy and Republican Rod Blum expressed reluctance to send troops to the Middle East.

Murphy said he would need more information than exists today to put boots on the ground. Blum said he supports beefing up the Central Intelligence Agency's covert operations and 'eyeballs on the ground in the Middle East” to gain better intelligence about what is happening.

Blum said our allies today could be our enemies tomorrow 'and use our weapons to kill our nation's finest.”

Murphy said the United States should not be involved in foreign countries right now given the circumstances where the nation is expected to play 'world police.”

'We need to, one, get more information, but two, it needs to be a solution that is a Middle East solution, that Sunni, Shiites and Kurds reach a solution,” Murphy said.

Murphy, a former speaker of the Iowa House from Dubuque, and Blum, a Dubuque businessman, met at Coe's Sinclair Auditorium for a debate televised live on KCRG 9.2. The debate was sponsored by KCRG-TV9 and The Gazette.

The candidates are vying to replace Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley, who is running for Senate.

Blum and Murphy offered contrasting views on the Ebola virus, Medicare, immigration, minimum wage and the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

On Ebola, Murphy said the United States needs to boost the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so the nation has the tools it needs to contain the virus.

Blum said he supported banning flights to certain locations, doing screenings in airports and sending doctors to treat patients in the country of origin rather the bringing patients to U.S. soil.

Turning to domestic issues, Blum said he opposes raising the federal minimum wage, saying it would cost jobs. He proposed raising a tax credit for low-income families.

'If we really want to help low-income families, let's raise the earned income tax credit (and) not raise the minimum wage,” Blum said.

Murphy said he supports raising the minimum wage, which he said will help grow the middle class.

The candidates also discussed the militarization of police forces, which became an issue after a police shooting in Ferguson, Mo.

Murphy said he supports military surplus equipment being transferred to police departments. He said he'd support ending a requirement that the equipment be used or the department forfeits it.

'We need to focus on getting tools through the federal government, quite frankly getting more cops on the street, and getting more information about when the equipment should be used and how it should be used,” Murphy said.

Blum disagreed. Police have enough firepower without military equipment, he said.

'I believe it is beyond the pale. Police do not need military equipment,” Blum said.

Blum and Murphy will meet for a second debate Oct. 18 in Waterloo.

A recent poll by The Polling Company puts Blum with a 40 percent to 39 percent edge among likely voters. The poll's margin of error is 4.9 percent.