Posted on 11/01/2006 5:29:26 PM PST by NautiNurse
ORLANDO, Fla. - Republican Katherine Harris and Democrat Bill Nelson clashed on taxes, the Iraq war and the future of Social Security in their final debate before next week's U.S. Senate election.
Harris, a Longboat Key congresswoman, again attacked Nelson as a liberal who would raise taxes. Nelson, the incumbent senator, said he voted against President Bush's initial tax cut bill because it was flawed but has voted 81 times to cut taxes or extend tax cuts.
"I'm not going to let her get away with this," Nelson said, sitting at a table with Harris and moderator Tim Russert in the televised debate. "She has made a number of statements that are not true, and credibility has a been a problem for my opponent in this campaign."
The debate was seen as critical for Harris, who lacks the money to run statewide TV commercials. She was feistier Wednesday than during the first debate last week, but there were few fireworks and it's questionable whether she got the boost she needed to close the gap between her and Nelson, who has a big lead in the polls.
Continually pressed by Russert to say whether she would vote for the war now knowing that Iraq did not have the weapons of mass destruction, she repeatedly declined to answer.
Instead, she said, "If we knew today what we knew back then, there never would have been a vote called to go to war."
Nelson told Russert he would have voted against the war with the knowledge that Iraq did not have the weapons.
"The word is not mistake, the word is misrepresentation," Nelson said of what lawmakers were told about weapons in Iraq. "We were given the wrong information. We were given massaged information."
When asked if Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was doing a good job conducting the war, Harris said it was "adequate" and added that "he needs to focus on a new strategy, one that is flexible."
Both candidates said a new strategy is needed in Iraq, including work toward a political solution. They also agreed that a timetable cannot be set for military withdrawal. But they had opposing views on the whether troops can be win the war.
"We can clearly win this war. When you talk to the troops, they say it's winnable," Harris said.
After Harris criticized Democrats for not offering solutions to protect Social Security, Nelson accused her of making it a partisan issue.
"Listen to the words of my opponent - the Democrats this, the Democrats that," he said. "The only way we can solve these kinds of problems and lot of the other problems, including Iraq, is to reach out to both sides of the aisle and bring people together."
On the stump Harris paints Nelson as a far-left liberal who tries to raise taxes, coddles illegal immigrants and undermines President Bush's policies.
Nelson's campaign repeatedly has attacked Harris' claims and credibility, characterizing him instead as an effective freshman senator who has fought for tax cuts, voted in favor of the Senate immigration bill supported by President Bush and leans more toward the center than the left.
Harris, 49, gained the adoration of the Republican rank-and-file - and the scorn of Democrats - in 2000 when as Florida secretary of state, she oversaw the recount that put George W. Bush in the White House. She won her congressional seat in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004.
She continues trying to repair the damage that has plagued her campaign all year.
Support was lacking initially from state GOP leaders, including Gov. Jeb Bush, who tried to recruit someone else to run. Campaign workers have defected in droves, she has made questionable public statements and has had to answer questions about her dealings with a corrupt defense contractor.
As of Sept. 30, she had less than $1 million in her campaign coffers, compared with $6.8 million for Nelson, 64, who is seeking his second six-year term in the Senate.
Nelson has been running statewide TV ads and also has donated $500,000 from his campaign treasury to the state Democratic Party.
I have to give her credit for sitting there and keeping her mind focused..and never sounded irritated.
I gotta say that I have a hard time believing that any of the terrorists in Gitmo have been given the 3rd degree and treated like Russert treated her tonight.
You are a personal friend of hers? That is why you call her Kitty? I'm just asking because you demonstrate a familiarity that no one else seems to have.
Well, she shows some capability of independent thought, for one, and it's not as if they hired her on as a cheerleader or something. They didn't even sign her on as a candidate for Senator, cause they sure in the #^@& aren't paying her very well.
You are full of it. Harris did a great job. She was debating both Tim Russert and Nelson at the same time. Talk about two against one. Could you do that? I think not! Too bad you didn't care enough to listen to Harris the whole way through, she was brillant how she came back with answer after answer and put Nelson on the burner every single time.
Harris was awesome! She debated two liberals tongith at the same time and won as far as I am concerned. Her answers were right on target and neither Russert nor Nelson could come back with anything.
You are horrible and I don't believe at all that you are voting for Harris. NO way, you are from the enemy camp, you know those that hate America.
Katherine Harris did a great job tonight I am very proud of her. I don't see a single post in this entire thread by anyone that could answer and debate as well as Harris did tonight against two jerks.
Agree again with you. I am very tired of Russert. He is a bully, thug and not very TV photogenic, wondering why he is where he is in the TV. Russert is not very smart so how does he claim the titles he has? Hoping that Harris pulls this race out, GOP wasn't very nice to her.
I love your spirit...and I agree with everything you said about Katherine Harris...she did wonderful tonight...
I hope a lot of Floridans actually watched the difference between her and Nelson.
I voted for KH today in early voting. Sadly, other than a few yard signs here or there, there has not been much publicity for her at all. This has been a very low profile race, Nelson has had the same commercial running for about 3 weeks now, and thats about it.
Part of the problem re: Russert is....even the talk show hosts and newspersons that are totally opposite of him, politically...schmooooooze him.
Hannity, and even Rush have said that he is a "friend"..and they like him...then, they bash him...but, you can tell that Russert nevers gets the criticism that he deserves for being so openly partisan..
You put him on with Sissy Chrissy Matthews...and it is disgusting.
However, it says a lot about Harris that she took everything he threw at her and had an answer.
Exactly.
Thank you, I agree with you, I hope so too.
Sure how their last minute thinking is smart and they vote for Harris.
I'm struggling to see the negative here. Maybe you can help me out? Blackbird.
In Florida being for the Prescription Plan is not seen as a negative. It kind of disputes her claim of being a conservative, though.
Please stop calling her Kitty.
The Republican Party has been too busy supporting RINO's such as Charlie Crist and Lincoln Chaffee, while giving Harris no support. I even received a letter from Jeb Bush urging me to support a state senator, but nothing from him about supporting Katherine Harris. Time to switch to Independent.
She was drawing him out to discuss senior citizen issues in a state with more senior citizens than any other. Nelson was out to lunch.
Perhaps Harris got better as the debate went on. When Russert started hitting her on her support for the fair tax, it was apparent she didn't even take the time to learn exactly how it would work. Her answers were completely lame. That is when I tuned out.
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