One man clearly had the upper hand on Sunday?s “Meet the Press” during the final debate in the U.S. Senate race ? moderator Tim Russert.
Russert held the feet of Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican Michael Steele to the fire.
But Steele bore the brunt of the heat from Russert, who forced the lieutenant governor to clarify and defend his positions on the Iraq war, stem-cell research, abortion, Supreme Court nominees and his ties to President Bush.
Steele even accused Russert of a “gotcha” question on whether he would have confirmed the nomination of Justice Clarence Thomas, the only black person on the Supreme Court.
Steele, Maryland?s first black elected statewide official, said he disagreed with Thomas on a number of issues, and said that unlike the justice, he supports affirmative action.
Steele again called Iraq “a mess,” because of the Defense Department?s incorrect strategy of using conventional troops against an insurgency.
Russert pressed him repeatedly on whether the war was “worth the price,” despite the absence of weapons of mass destruction.
Steele finally conceded that “the war has been worth it” to the extent that it was to “establish a beachhead of democracy” in the Middle East.
Asked if he would fire Donald Rumsfeld, Steele said, “He wouldn?t be my Secretary of Defense.”
Russert asked Cardin if he continued to support other members of his party who want to cut off funding for the war.
“Congress needs to consider all options,” said Cardin, who voted against authorizing the war, but has supported appropriations to pay for it. “I will not support any option that puts our troops at risk.”
Kevin Zeese, the nominee of the Green, Libertarian and Populist parties who was excluded from the debate, said the show represented “the ultimate in corporate media,” since NBC is owned by defense contractor General Electric, “so they only allowed the two corporate candidates to appear.
“Voters were denied an opportunity to hear real answers to the problems they face.”
Zeese is strongly anti-war, and favors immediate “rapid and responsible” withdrawal of U.S. troops as the only way to stabilize Iraq.
Other issues from televised debate
Issues from Sunday?s “Meet the Press” debate included:
» Show moderator Tim Russert asked Lt. Gov. Michael Steele why he does not mention his party, after Russert held up a bumper sticker that said “Steele Democrat” and showed a video clip from his speech at the 2004 Republican convention supporting President Bush.
“I?ve been outed,” Steele laughed. “I?m a Republican. I?m not running away from George Bush. I?m running for the United States Senate. I?m running to get away from the polarization. Everybody in the world knows I?m a Republican,” he said, calling himself a “Lincoln Republican.”
» Rather than being a reliable vote for Bush, “I would be a reliable vote for the people of Maryland,” Steele said.
He disagrees with his party on increasing the minimum wage, and now says the federal No Child Left BehindAct has not worked well because of poor execution, teaching to the test and lack of funding.
“Where my party is wrong, I?m not going to stand with it,” Steele said.
» Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin again emphasized his ability to cross party lines, and said if Democrats took control of Congress, it will not be to conduct two years of investigations into the Bush administration.
“Congress needs to exercise its oversight functions,” Cardin said, but that does not represent a call for impeachment.
» Cardin denied that he supported privatization of Social Security, as Steele does, but said he wants workers to invest in their private retirement accounts, not with Social Security money.
» Cardin defended his vote against forcing parental notification in the case of a teenager?s abortion, saying the law should allow young pregnant girls not to ask their parents for permission in the cases of abuse and neglect.
» On abortion, Steele would not say if he would vote for or against a constitutional amendment to ban it. He said the Roe v. Wade decision allowing abortion “is the way it is,” and court decisions should be left standing.
But “I think it should be left to the states to decide,” Steele said.
? Len Lazarick
