COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A Senate debate in Colorado Springs nearly got out of hand Friday with several dozen supporters of Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet and Republican Ken Buck shouting and heckling their opponents.
Bennet and Buck themselves were polite to each other throughout the hourlong debate. But the boisterous crowd of about 200 had to be chastised several times by the moderator, KOAA-TV news anchor Rob Quirk.
At one point, Quirk threatened a hissing Buck supporter with ejection and said, “Let’s keep the elementary antics to a minimum.” Democrats in the crowd were just as guilty of jeering Buck, though no one on either side was ejected.
Bennet and Buck were more sedate, even dressed alike in blue shirts and dark blazers. They disagreed on the health care overhaul, which Bennet voted for and said was necessary to rein in health spending. Buck decried the plan as too expensive and flawed for leaving out potential cost-cutters such as federal limits on malpractice awards.
The candidates also disagreed on allowing undocumented college students to receive in-state tuition breaks when they’re in the country illegally but came to the country as small children.
Bennet is a co-sponsor of a federal bill to allow in-state tuition for some of those students; Buck said he opposed extending in-state tuition without asking undocumented students to agree to military or community service as a way to earn their place.
On Social Security, Buck called for partial privatization for younger workers. Bennet insisted he’d oppose privatization of Social Security but called for efficiency cuts to other federal entitlements such as Medicare.
The candidates also disagreed on social questions. Buck repeated his opposition to abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research, though he said abortion should not be a “litmus test” for confirming Supreme Court justices. Bennet said he supports funding for embryonic stem-cell research and said the government should stay out of women’s reproductive decisions.
Bennet and Buck also clashed on gays in the military. Bennet said the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gay servicemembers has “absolutely no benefit” and should be repealed. Buck said the military’s need for homogeny means the armed forces should not allow what he called “lifestyle choices” to “become part if the discussion.”
“I think it is a policy that makes a lot of sense for morale purposes,” Buck said of the gay ban.
As they have in the past, the candidates both sought to show their independence from their national parties. Bennet told the audience he wasn’t afraid to disagree with President Barack Obama, while Buck repeated his campaign mantra that Republicans are “every bit as much to blame for the mess that we are in as Democrats.”
The Senate hopefuls’ next confirmed debate is Oct. 11 in Denver.
