Hatch, Ashdown Clash In Senate Race Debate
2006-10-12
Source: CBS KUTV
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rss feedSharing the stage with U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch for the first time, Democratic challenger Pete Ashdown said Congress is not accountable to the American people, pointing to the page scandal as proof that lawmakers can't manage their own house.
"Why is this Congress so interested in monitoring the American people, even to the extent of violating the Bill of Rights, and they can't even monitor themselves?" Ashdown declared.
Hatch, R-Utah, and Ashdown met at a high school near St. George for the first of five debates before the Nov. 7 election.
The topics were suggested by readers of The Spectrum newspaper: the war in Iraq, Medicaid and Medicare, North Korea's nuclear capabilities, growth in Washington County, and protecting children from predators.
Hatch, 72, has been in the Senate for 30 years and is seeking a sixth six-year term. Ashdown is a 39-year-old Internet entrepreneur from Salt Lake City.
In his opening remarks, Hatch focused on his experience and emphasized issues tied to southern Utah, such as a new airport, flood assistance and radiation-exposure compensation.
"If I'm fortunate enough to be re-elected, then I will become chairman of the Finance Committee in a few short years," he said, referring to the panel that sets tax policy. "Now that's the most powerful committee in the Senate - some say the most powerful committee in the whole Congress."
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