Regional
(2010-02-17)
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DENVER, CO
(KUNC) -
In Denver last night, democratic US Senate candidates Andrew Romanoff and Michael Bennet squared off in what's expected to be the only debate ahead of the March 16th party caucus.
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Before an audience of mostly young democrats at the Auraria Campus, Romanoff touted himself as a Washington outsider, while Senator Bennet defended his record. It was for the most part civil, with both men even joking at one point over how much they have in common.
"I appreciate the accord that's breaking out on the stage, and I welcome you to join our team," Romanoff joked.
Bennet responded, "I love you, I wish you were running a primary against one of the people that is causing the problems we were talking about."
But Romanoff went on to urge the sitting senator to sign a pledge against accepting political action money during the campaign, which he said is turning Washington into a country club of money wielding, special interests.
"If you agree with me, then join me, you and I tonight can become the first two candidates to turn down the special interest dollars that are corrupting Congress," Romanoff said, "Can you do that?"
Bennet declined to say yes or no, but he has said turning down PAC money is unrealistic in the current campaign finance environment. Instead he brought up the former house speaker's own past with PACs.
"And I know that you collected a lot of PAC money while you were speaker of the house, I know you had your own PAC, I didn't even know you could have your own PAC," Bennet said.
The two men also traded barbs on health care, with Romanoff chiding Bennet for voting for the Senate health care bill which included special provisions for democratic senators in certain states.
"Take the pork out, put the public option back in, and remove the anti-trust exemption for the insurance industry," Romanoff said. "That's the sort of leadership that I think is missing in the Senate. It's the leadership that I'll bring if I'm elected."
Bennet responded that he voted for the bill only to keep the reform effort alive, pledging to lead the charge toward putting a public option back in.
"I would not, it is true, vote at the end to kill health care reform, because I think we need an architecture here from which to work," Bennet said. "Had I voted the other way, we wouldn't have passed a bill in the United States Senate."
The senator said democrats shouldn't be fighting, rather they should be uniting to defeat the republicans this fall, noting his seat is being targeted.
Republicans believe it's vulnerable. Presumed GOP front runner Jane Norton has been outpacing both Romanoff and Bennet in recent Rasmussen polls.
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