McMorris, Barbieri lob new shots in debate
Cathy McMorris and Don Barbieri outlined their stark differences Wednesday as the 5th Congressional District candidates added new charges to support their positions on health care and protecting the needs of children.
When a City Forum debate at Spokane’s First Presbyterian Church turned to the nation’s health care crisis, McMorris, as she has often in the campaign, focused on the need for medical malpractice liability reform and her party’s call for caps on noneconomic damages. But this time, she added a shot at Barbieri.
“I am concerned that my opponent has accepted $10,000 from the trial lawyers association,” she said, suggesting the campaign contributions would influence his position on tort reform.
As he has throughout the campaign, Barbieri said there is more to health care reform than the cost of malpractice liability, which represents a small fraction of the overall cost of health care. Any discussion of health care, he said, should include the growing number of uninsured, low reimbursement rates for Medicaid and Medicare, and the high cost of drugs.
Rather than capping damages on malpractice, he said, Congress should look at capping what doctors have to pay for insurance and finding out how insurance companies set their rates. He also called for reinsurance pools for catastrophic malpractice liability.
Barbieri also went on the attack, criticizing McMorris’ commitment to Eastern Washington. For the first time, he pointed out her vote against the state’s 2002 Supplemental Capital Budget providing funding for Eastern Washington projects, including Blair Elementary School at Fairchild Air Force Base.
He also criticized her 1999 vote against the state’s involvement in the federal Child Insurance Health Program and a 2000 vote against mandatory child restraints, to which McMorris did not respond on Wednesday.
When the debate turned to the economy, Barbieri said he favors tax breaks for the middle class, but not for the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers.
Citing the $7.5 trillion national debt run up by the Bush administration, Barbieri said, “We need to provide revenue to pay for this debt. I believe we should give back the tax cut for the top 2 percent.”
McMorris said she supported all of President Bush’s tax cuts and said the top 2 percent mentioned by Barbieri includes a lot of small business owners.
“In Olympia, we proved we can balance the budget without raising taxes and still protect the most vulnerable,” she said.
Both candidates spoke of making the nation safe and secure, but differed on how to do it.
“We spend as much money in three days in Iraq as we have spent in three years securing our borders and ports,” Barbieri said.
McMorris said she supports the president’s efforts in Iraq and was optimistic that nation will have a stable government there soon. She also favors better communication between the nation’s intelligence agencies.
When asked about their faith, both candidates came down squarely in support of the power of prayer
“It seems like life goes better when I take the time to pray,” said McMorris, an evangelical Christian, adding that she feels “a personal relationship with my Lord.”
Barbieri, a Roman Catholic, cited his relationship with the late Sister Peter Claver, longtime president of Sacred Heart Medical Center who taught him words of faith must be accompanied by deeds.
“I believe we must walk the talk of religion,” he said, adding that he prays he may use his talents for the “wellness of the community.”
After the debate, both candidates released their campaigns’ latest poll results. Both showed the Democrat trailing, but differed on the size of the gap between McMorris and Barbieri.
A Moore Information survey financed by McMorris and the National Republican Congressional Committee of 300 district voters between Oct. 17 and 18 showed McMorris ahead 50 percent to 37 percent. A poll taken during the same time by Feldman Group for Barbieri shows McMorris leading by 45 percent to 40 percent, a gap that has narrowed by more than half in the last month.