Giffords, Kelly spar in front of hostile crowd

Jesse Kelly; U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Dick and Peg Powell, retired teachers from Tucson, came to see U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords debate the issues with Republican challenger Jesse Kelly.

What they saw, instead, was a debate sprinkled with a lot of sniping from the two candidates, and even more booing and heckling from the audience.

Giffords and Kelly kept to their talking points during the standing-room-only debate Oct. 18 at a University of Arizona auditorium.

Each painted the other as wrong for the district and wrong for the country. Giffords sought to portray Kelly as too extreme for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District; Kelly, in turn, wanted to paint the incumbent as a big-government spender.

They were passionate about their positions on a host of issues, including immigration and the recently enacted health care law.

Illegal immigration was a focal point of the debate; no specific questions were asked about jobs.

Giffords said she favors a comprehensive approach to solving illegal immigration, the same plan that Republican leaders like U.S. Sen. John McCain supported.
That plan entails securing the border first, implementing a national e-verify program, and then addressing the millions of illegal immigrants who are already in the country.

“I don’t support amnesty. In fact, no one supports amnesty,” Giffords said. “I support pulling people out of the shadows. We have to make sure that people would pay back taxes, fees and fines, go to the back of the line, learn to speak English, make sure they pass criminal background checks. You do all of those things, then welcome to America.”

Kelly said what needs to be done is to build a double-layer border fence along the Arizona-Mexico border, and provide the U.S. Border Patrol the manpower and resources it needs.

Kelly said a double-layer border fence has been effective in San Diego and Yuma, where violent crimes and arrests dropped, respectively.

It didn’t take long before the two candidates started swiping at each other.

Asked how much more money has to be spent on studying the effectiveness of border checkpoints, Kelly said:
“How much more money needs to be spent? Well, tell me how many more liberals we’re going to elect to Washington, D.C.”

In response to Kelly’s take on the health care legislation, Giffords said, “My opponent, Mr. Kelly, actually needs to read the legislation because there is tort reform.”

The two had more similar exchanges on a host of issues, including Kelly’s construction company, which worked on projects funded in part by federal money, on Social Security, and on taxation. Their answers were punctuated by boos and cheers from supporters.

For those who have been following the race, the two candidates’ views are familiar. None made a gaffe or an embarrassing blunder.

“If you’re happy with Congress right now, if you’re happy with Obamacare (and) with bailing out Wall Street, if you’re happy with high taxes, then please, continue to vote for Representative Giffords,” Kelly said in his closing statement as the crowd drowned out the rest of his sentence. “If you’re ready for something different, here I am.”

Giffords, in turn, said the choice is clear on Nov. 2.

“It is interesting that through this hour-long debate, Mr. Kelly has said ‘Arizona’ one time. I’m not sure who he thinks he wants to represent, but it’s not us,” she said, adding that instead of just talking tough on the border, she’s actually doing something about it.

The third candidate, Libertarian Steven Stoltz, mostly stayed above the sniping.

But it was the audience that forcefully let its presence be known, and if anyone still doubted that voters are angry, the question was settled.

The audience called the candidates names and often interrupted them. It was apparent that many, if not all of those who attended the debate, have already made up
their minds about who to vote for. Someone yelled “you lie” at Giffords. The moderator had to constantly remind the audience to keep their applause and responses to a minimum.

“They were not very cordial. It was extremely partisan on one side or the other, especially with Giffords and Kelly,” Dick Powell said of the crowd. Powell is a Republican who supports Kelly.

“I don’t like the bickering, the back and forth,” Peg Powell said.

The couple agreed that the temperament of the debate was divisive.

“It’s an angry district. People are pissed,” said Bruce Ash, a Republican national precinct committeeman.

Stoltz told the Arizona Capitol Times the debate shows how polarized the candidates and the voters are.

“Each side of the major parties is only representing half of the Constitution. So people flock to the half that they like the most and they tend to demonize the other half,” he said.

Asked about the heckling, Giffords said it is part of the political conversation.

“This is America and people have a right to express themselves,” she said.

Arizona’s 8th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat
Total raised: $2.98 million
Total spent: $2.42 million
Cash on hand: $1.34 million

Jesse Kelly, Republican
Total raised: $1.03 million
Total spent: $921,996
Cash on hand: $113,878