McMorris, Goldmark square off in Spokane

Incumbent Rep. Cathy McMorris and Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark argued over the nation’s new prescription drug program for seniors, the value of lobbyists and progress in the Iraq war.

They agreed that English should be the official language of the United States, that the nation’s forest policy needs revising and farm imports are important.

And in between, they managed to work a few political “talking points” on the war or Congressional scandals into a largely civil debate in front of an overflow lunch crowd for the downtown Spokane Rotary Club.

The biggest disagreement in their first matchup of the campaign came over the new Part D prescription drug plan, which allows Medicare and Medicaid recipients to sign up for lower cost prescriptions.

McMorris, a first-term Republican, called the plan “a huge success,” and said average costs are lower than projected. There are some problems that need to be addressed for people in what’s known as “the doughnut hole,” a gap in coverage between the initial coverage of some drugs and the point where the cost of all prescriptions is covered.

“It’s a success for those choosing between drugs and food,” she said.

No, it’s “a disaster,” said Goldmark, an Okanogan rancher. The regulations were hard to decipher, and drugs in the plan should be subject to competitive bidding to help bring down costs.

“It’s a great example of what happens when you let large pharmaceutical companies write the legislation,” he said.

Goldmark was critical of most lobbyists, saying they give too much money or gifts to influence legislation. If elected, he promised to take no gifts, no meals and “no fancy jet plane rides.”

McMorris said lobbyists sometimes get “a bad rap” but most provide valuable information, and represent the interests of everyone in the room.

While both called for a strong military to combat terrorism, Goldmark was more critical of the administration, saying it owes the troops fighting in Iraq and the country as a whole better answers about how the training of Iraqi troops and police are going, and “is it an insurgency or is it a civil war?”

McMorris said the country has made “tremendous progress in Iraq” although the country needs to accept a greater share of responsibility for planning its future.

“I certainly opposed the cut-and-run approach that has been proposed by some,” she said, using a phrase that is often used by President Bush and administration officials.

Asked to pick one program where spending should be cut, and one where it should be increased, neither candidate could come up with specifics. McMorris said she’s always looking for opportunities to cut spending, and as part of that supports a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Goldmark said he’d cut pork from the budget, and go after corruption in programs such as the response to Hurricane Katrina and contracts to private companies to rebuild Iraq.

While the campaigns have exchanged salvos in recent days over the resignation of Florida Rep. Mark Foley and the GOP leadership’s response to it, neither Foley nor House Speaker Dennis Hastert came up by name. The closest Goldmark came was to express concern in his closing remarks about the integrity of the Congress and its “lack of leadership.” McMorris didn’t rise to the bait, saying she wanted to be “solution oriented” because “each one of us can point out what’s wrong.”