Hagan, Tillis hurl accusations in first debate
Published September 4, 2014
by Associated Press, published in Winston-Salem Journal, August 4, 2014.
Sen. Kay Hagan accused Republican challenger Thom Tillis of shortchanging education as a leader of the N.C. General Assembly on Wednesday night, and he cast her as a rubberstamp for President Barack Obama in the first debate of a close and costly race with national stakes.
The hourlong confrontation marked the first major post-Labor Day event of a national struggle between the political parties for Senate control. Republicans must gain six states to win the Senate majority and have long listed North Carolina as a top target.
Hagan and Tillis stood a few feet apart at identical podiums as they exchanged accusations central to a race that public opinion polls rate a toss-up.
Tillis recalled Hagan's comments from her successful 2008 campaign, when she criticized her rival at the time for having voted 92 percent of the time with then-President George W. Bush. And yet, he said, Hagan has sided with Obama 95 percent. "Kay 1.0, Kay 2.0," he said unflatteringly, adding, "At the end of the day we need to say what we mean."
Hagan said repeatedly she had been named the most moderate member of the Senate, and cited examples of legislation she had passed with the help of Republican senators.
"I have stood up to the president and my party when it's right for North Carolina," she said, noting she supports building the Keystone XL pipeline and has opposed trade deals sought by the administration.
Hagan, 61, sought to turn Tillis' own words back on him. She quoted him as saying at a state Republican convention in 2011 that members of the state teachers' association don't care about children or classrooms — only about jobs and pensions.
"Folks, those are his words, not mine," Hagan told the TV audience when accusing Tillis of cutting education by $500 million and giving tax breaks to wealthy individuals while leading the North Carolina House. "And his priorities even speak louder than his words."
Tillis, 54, countered by highlighting the average 7 percent pay increase for teachers approved by the General Assembly this year, one of the largest in years. He also said that Hagan, while a budget-writer in the state Senate during the last decade, allowed a temporary sales tax increase to become permanent.
The Republican challenger repeatedly recalled Hagan's vote for the president's health care law, saying it had led to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of policies held by North Carolinians. Tillis said the law will not fulfill the promise she made.
Hagan responded that she is working to fix the law, and said Tillis' call for its repeal would return consumers to an era of less protection and higher cost. She also said it was dishonesty on the part of insurance companies that led some consumers to face the cancellation of their policies.
She accused Tillis of refusing to expand Medicaid for 500,000 state residents. The program provides health care for the low-income, and under the health care law, the entire cost of any expansion is picked up by the federal government for the first few years.
On international issues, both Hagan and Tillis said they were open to taking military action against Islamic State militants after a second American journalist was beheaded in two weeks.
"I want to see the president's plan, and I am ready to take action," Hagan said. But Tillis blamed Obama for not having a coherent strategy and Hagan for allowing his inaction.
The two rivals also disagreed on immigration, although both said Obama should not act unilaterally to allow immigrants to remain in the country legally if they arrived here unlawfully.
Hagan defended her vote for legislation that cleared the Senate in 2013, noting it provided for beefed-up security at the border with Mexico and enjoyed the backing of several conservative Republicans.
In a jab at Obama's statement that he might act on his own, Tillis said the president considers the three branches of the government to be "the executive branch, his pen and his phone."
"Granting amnesty would be a colossal mistake," he said.
Hagan, Tillis and their allies have already spent about $29 million on the race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, making it one of the most expensive in the country.
The next debate is set for Oct. 7. A third debate has been agreed to but details haven't been finalized.
September 4, 2014 at 9:45 am
Richard Bunce says:
Lesser of two evils debate... will be voting for the Libertarian.
September 4, 2014 at 10:38 am
Norm Kelly says:
'Hagan responded that she is working to fix the law': exactly HOW does one fix a law that didn't just allow the central planners to start a full take-over of the medical industry, but that also taxed medical device manufacturers on GROSS INCOME rather than NET INCOME. This is the ONLY industry, and the first time in our history, where ANY industry is taxed on GROSS INCOME. How is this fair? How does it help reduce the cost of medical care and how does it PROMOTE innovation? Has K described HOW she would FIX a broken law that is impossible to fix? Before anyone answers that question, let's remember that K stated that the problem with Obamascare is that it DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH! This means that K is a supporter of socialized medicine, where private business is REMOVED from the medical industry COMPLETELY! K is a proponent of European style socialized medicine, in her own words! So she needs to be asked exactly what her idea of 'fixed' is.
'and said Tillis' call for its repeal would return consumers to an era of less protection and higher cost'. As opposed to what has already happened under Obamacancer? The ONLY advantage of socialized medicine phase 1 is that people are FORCED BY GOVERNMENT FIAT to purchase more insurance than they MAY WANT! It's true that in many cases, NOT ALL, that more protection is provided because of the central planners interference in the market. In many cases this is unwanted and not needed coverage that simply costs individuals and families MORE MONEY. For instance, I'm near 60. I have no desire to have any more children. I am currently not capable of having any more children. But this is ignored when purchasing socialized medicine. Because, by central planner fiat, I am FORCED to pay for maternity benefits. Not because I will use these benefits, but because the central planners, as in all good socialist systems, are forcing me to subsidize other peoples maternity benefits. Kinda like the idea behind the demoncrat party forcing my central NC homeowners insurance rates to be artificially higher so I can subsidize homeowner rates for people who live near the coast and are prone to flooding and storm damage. Gee, imagine that. The demon party in both Washington and Raleigh believe in spreading the costs to everyone, even people who don't need the 'coverage', in order to make it less costly for some of the people. As is done in EVERY SOCIALIST COUNTRY in the world! Common theme. Common party!
'She also said it was dishonesty on the part of insurance companies that led some consumers to face the cancellation of their policies'. Except the FACTS prove this statement to be completely, totally, 100% false! Did this make it past any of the 'fact checkers'? The entire administration KNEW when they LIED to us that cancelling policies was BUILT INTO socialized medicine phase 1. How will K 'fix' this aspect of the scheme? Will her scheme involve removing insurance companies from the process completely, with a take-over of the entire insurance market by the central planners? It is, after all, what they did under Obamascare with the college loan program! A completely unrelated aspect of the economy, yet the central planners were able to implement their plan for socializing college loans! If not 'socializing', then what exactly do YOU call this scheme? Taxpayers have NO authority in the college loan program, it's fully in the hands of the dishonest and untrustable central planners, yet it's we taxpayers who are on the hook for everyone of their decisions.
Did anyone followup with K to ask what dishonesty on the part of insurance companies that caused millions across the country to have their policies terminated? Could K possibly explain this lie, as she has not been asked that I see, about her lie that we could keep our insurance if we liked it or we could keep our doctors if we liked them? Will this possibly be a follow-up question for K in the next debate?
Will anyone ask K why her scheme didn't allow individuals to buy health insurance across state lines? Did anyone ask K why none of socialized medicine phase 1 addressed tort reform AT ALL!?? Could it possibly be that too many lawyers in Washington didn't want to negatively affect the gravy train that they chose to ignore tort reform?
'the entire cost of any expansion is picked up by the federal government for the first few years'. Does this refer to the central planners who have put us over $17TRILLION in debt, with no end in it's increase in sight? That federal government? The one where the demon party plans have expanded the national debt from over $10TRILLION to more than $17TRILLION? The central planners where they EXPECT the national debt to top $20TRILLION before the end of the next presidency? So the cost of expansion is covered at 100% by the central planners for the fist few years. Those who can't afford it promise to pay for it. With what? And when the 100% payment stops, then how does the state manage to pick up the tab? How much will it cost, estimated of course, for NC when the central planners stop paying 100%? How will the state adjust to this automatic increase in state spending when the central planners stop paying their share of this scheme? How much will our taxes have to increase in our state in order to cover this budget buster? Does K have a scheme in mind to take care of this? Has anyone asked K what her scheme is for this part of the plan? Will this be a follow-up question for K in the next debate? Unless K defines what her scheme is to cover this short-fall, budget buster, why would anyone choose to vote for her? Unknowns are NEVER a good reason to vote FOR a person.
It seems that virtually everything K has done since achieving the central planner position is to LIMIT, RESTRICT, personal freedoms, increase regulations, improve/concentrate central planner control, cost us lots and lots of money, and benefit only an extremely small group of people, some of whom are NOT American citizens! Has anyone asked K about the illegal alien aspect of the central planner take-over scheme as it concerns health care coverage? Has anyone asked K how the states are supposed to deal with the large influx of illegal aliens that have hit our southern border in the past few years? Has anyone asked K what she is doing to make sure the Senate passes a budget, finally?!
Tillis may not be the best candidate the Republican party could have put forward. But just about ANY Republican is better than K. Anyone who supports central planner schemes the way K does should be easily defeated. Except for those voters who are on the take, and those voters who are 'low-information' since they actually DON'T know what K's positions on matters are - that's what defines them as low-information.
