McFadden And Franken Clash On Mining, Health Care
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota's U.S. Senate slugfest moved from the airwaves to the debate stage Wednesday morning as Democratic Sen. Al Franken and Republican challenger Mike McFadden clashed over the economy, health care, mining and railroads during their first head-to-head meeting.
McFadden repeatedly tried to capitalize on Franken's reported 97 percent voting record with President Barack Obama, prompting the freshman Democrat at one point to quip: "What was that number again? I'm going to write that down."
In response to McFadden's charge that he's too partisan for Minnesota, Franken rattled off names of Republican colleagues he's worked with and bills he has sponsored.
Here were some other areas of disagreement during the forum in Duluth, the first of three debates scheduled before the election:
BUSINESS AND VOTING
Franken said the vote studies McFadden has employed against him "slice and dice" numbers unfairly. In 2008, Franken and Democratic groups used similar vote studies in their push to oust Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008.
McFadden branded Franken "the Ted Cruz of the Democratic Party," a reference to the Republican Texas senator backed by tea party activists.
The Republican businessman said he wouldn't apologize for his record as an investment banker, assuring the crowd of more than 100 that his business, Lazard Middle Market, operates and pays taxes in the U.S.
MINING
Franken downplayed the years of regulatory review on the proposed PolyMet mine as necessary to ensure the project doesn't harm Lake Superior's watershed.
"We want this to happen, but let's make sure that we do this right," he said. "The only thing worse than taking a long time to get this right is getting it wrong."
McFadden said nine years is too long to approve the mine. He has regularly held up that process as a hallmark of government's regulatory inefficiency, which he has promised to pare.
HEALTH CARE
McFadden plugged his new plan to replace the president's health care law: a state-driven approach that includes mix of GOP-favored proposals such as allowing consumers to buy insurance across state lines. He highlighted Franken's critical vote for the law, which he said isn't working.
Franken mentioned no fixes for the troubled rollout but focused on highlighting the law's perceived successes, such as Minnesota's uninsured rate dropping to 4.9 percent.
RAILROADS
McFadden cranked up the heat on Franken for shipping delays that have hit farmers, placing blame on not voting to approve the Keystone XL pipeline or fast track other pipelines that could eventually pull crude oil off the rails.
"Until you start passing pipelines, we're going to have a railcar shortage," McFadden said.
Franken countered that he supports the ongoing review of the Keystone project and jabbed McFadden for a prior comment that he'd support using Chinese steel to build the pipeline if it's cheaper.
"I fight for Minnesota jobs. Maybe that's the difference between me and Mr. McFadden," Franken said.
McFadden's campaign later clarified that he would prefer using American steel and would not support using materials subsidized by China.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
In a rare moment of agreement, McFadden said he backed Franken's vote to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State extremists. But the Republican again criticized the Franken and the president for not leaving a residual force in Iraq, a blunder he said allowed extremists to take hold in the region.
Franken dismissed McFadden's critique that he hasn't done enough to curb recruitment efforts in Minnesota. McFadden called Franken's recent letter to the Department of Justice requesting more focus on those efforts "a day late and a dollar short."
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