Loebsack, Miller-Meeks make their pitches

Rep. Dave Loebsack and Republican challenger Mariannette Miller-Meeks talked about Loebsack's two terms in Congress tonight, and what Miller-Meeks would do differently if her second bid to unseat the two-term Democratic incumbent is successful.

“You always learn from your failures, as well as your success,” said Miller-Meeks,  an Ottumwa ophthalmologist who also ran against Loebsack in 2006. But now, “it's a different climate. People are nervous.”

“I've tried to do my best,” said Loebsack.

Loebsack said that includes his support for President Obama's $819 billion stimulus package, and the $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial markets in the waning days of the George W. Bush administration.

“The country would be far worse off than it is now” without the two measures, Loebsack said. “We would have had a financial collapse here in the United States, and probably the whole world.”

Miller-Meeks said the stimulus failed to create 3 million jobs some supporters claimed. Instead, she said, “what we saw our government do is dramatically increase government spending, but create no more jobs.”

Similarly, Loebsack defended is vote for Obama's health care reform as “the right thing to do.” He said the package will benefit 400,000 Iowans “who now have more stable and affordable health insurance.”

“There are good things in the bill, and they could have been done incrementally,” said Miller-Meeks. She said she supports the bill's provisions to allow young people to remain on their parents' plans until age 26, to control costs, and to force insurers to cover pre-exising conditions.

The two expressed not-quite-agreement over several issues, both pledging to support Iowa's biofuels, wind, and other renewable energy projects, farmers, small towns, and educational systems, while splitting on just how to do that.

For example, Miller-Meeks said she's support efforts to boost farm exports, even to Cuba, although she hedged on whether she'd lift the trade embargo against that nation.

“Trade actually helps to create more jobs in more places, and that helps to create peace,” she said. “That includes looking at countries like Cuba.”

Loebsack called the embargo “a Cold War relic. I don't think it makes any sense to continue it.”

Asked about climate change, both candidates also called for tax policies to support wind and solar energy, although only Loebsack directly addressed the question of whether global warming exists.

“It's a real thing, and it's supported by the scientific evidence,” he said, extending the issue to reducing imported energy and supporting homegrown renewable sources.

“We can't grow our economy without a stable source of energy,” said Miller-Meeks. “We do need to move away from fossil fuels.”

Supporters for both candidates nearly filled 130-seat Betty Cherry Heritage Hall at Mount

Mercy University. The debate was sponsored by The Gazette and KCRG-TV9, with Gazette political reporter James Lynch and KCRG's Bruce Aune and Chris Earl questioning the candidates.