A Debate Afterall, Champion vs. Harpool

After all the back and forth, a debate did occur between Sen. Norma Champion and Democratic challenger Doug Harpool at Glendale High School Thursday.

It was a civil discussion between the candidates about clear differences on issues for over an hour. It was also a balancing act for Harpool, as the underdog challenger, of how far to go to crystallize those differences, and how tough to be in doing so.

The candidates were at first supposed to stand at podiums. But after some last minute maneuvering, including a request by the Champion campaign to not stand, the candidates agreed to sit down at a table on stage.

I would've enjoyed follow-ups. But for a debate that noone could land, and that the Champion campaign apparently never specifically agreed to . . . I'll take it :)

Many of these issues in the debate have been addressed in previous posts, others have not. Either way, here's a roundup of the ground covered: (Answers are paraphrased and edited for clarity and brevity.)

STEM CELL AMENDMENT
Champion - NO, "It's too soon to put it in the Constitution. There's no oversight. It takes the legislature out of the process. We need to move slowly."
Harpool - YES, "I believe in the hope for cures to diseases. I don't think it is appropriate for government to tell science they can't pursue research when other states will."

TOP ISSUE FACING TEENS
Champion - Education. "It gives families a chance at success. Under Gov. Holden, the government was withholding education dollars. Not anymore." Also favors counseling, mentoring programs so students can transition to jobs. Supports virtual schools.
Harpool - The cost of going to college. "It's up 56% in the past 5 years. It's unfair and inappropriate to put that kind of burden on our students." Addiction to meth and safety are also top issues.

TOBACCO TAX
Champion - NO, "It's a tax increase. It's not earmarked for any specific use. The tobacco settlement wasn't used correctly. A tax increase is not the solution."
Harpool - YES, "I support the measure. I was not there when the tobacco settlement funding was used appropriately. Senator Champion was. It can be part of the solution to the healthcare problem. Our tobacco tax is much lower than other states. Years ago, Greene County voters supported something similar. If I was a Senator, I would not impose it, but I am personally in favor of it."

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE
Champion - NO, "I'd prefer a minimum wage hike at the federal level, so it impacts surrounding states the same way. I have a problem with the consumer price index connected to it. Imagine it going up 3.1% to 3.5% every year. It's too sweeping."
Harpool - YES, "A person on minimum wage right now has to work 52 weeks to pay the average premium of $11,000. That leaves that person no money for anything else. It's shocking that we even have to submit this to the people and that the legislature couldn't even come to agreement on a modest increase."

PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING
Champion - "We need to fund it. Funding has been withheld before. This Governor promised not to do that. We have a good formula for Springfield. It's based on per pupil. It gives $2.2 million dollars more to the area. It's fully funded over 7 years."
Harpool - "It doesn't matter what formula we use for education if we don't put enough money in to fund it. We are hundreds of millions of dollars behind. Our teachers are the 45th lowest paid in the nation. We need to reallocate money from other programs, not 7 years from now, but tomorrow. We also have to protect our public money from private school vouchers. That would create a 2-tier system."

PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS
Champion - "I do not support school vouchers that take a penny of money out of education funding. I think first we need to strengthen our public schools."
Harpool - "With all due respect Senator Champion, in front of the League of Women voters two nights ago, you said you supported tax credits for private schools. Tax credits do take tax money away from our public schools."

BAN ON MINORS IN BARS
Champion- "This is a city issue. I have a philosophy that I don't take positions on city issues or federal issues. But I do think the city council should pursue an alternative."
Harpool - "I'm a dad with 3 kids. I can't go to sleep until they pull into the driveway and are at home and safe. I know there has to be alternatives for minors that do not include a drinking scene. It's unfortunate we haven't done that. But I will cast a vote in favor of the ban, even though it's politically unpopular and not what you want to hear."

STRAIGHT-TICKET VOTING ELIMINATED
Champion - "I hadn't really thought about the impact of it. I think it does improve the system. I like so it so you have to vote for each individual candidate.
Harpool - "Why did we abolish straight ticket voting in the first place? If someone wants to vote straight ticket, why should some politicians tell them they can't? This is just like the voter I.D. bill and abolishing the limits on campaign contributions. This is about a party using the state house for politics. Because of this, it will take a long longer to cast a vote. That may cause longer lines at the polls and that may cause some not to wait to cast a ballot. I'm for a more open process. I'd let anyone vote on a Saturday before the election if they wanted."

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
Champion - "I believe we need to support as little government as we need to get by with. The number one priority should be education."
Harpool - "Government should empower people. The problem is the lobbyists in Jefferson City are giving people lots of money. Government should be a parachute, a safety net. It should not give one business a tax break over another."

HEALTHCARE/MEDICAID
Champion - "I stand firmly on we need Medicaid reforms and we need them immediately. As soon as the session resumes, that's one of the things we're going to be working on. We could raise taxes a billion dollars or we could reform the system, but we had to get money for our top priority, which was education. We still spend more money on social services than we do education. We still have over 900,000 people in the state on Medicaid. I want to push individual responsibility and sharing in the cost."
Harpool - "The Medicaid cuts were a mistake. They did the wrong thing, at the wrong time. If there was a problem with Medicaid, they should've fixed Medicaid. Those people are not still getting healthcare and those of us who have health insurance are paying for them. And we're paying more than we would've paid if we'd used our tax dollars to take care of them. There's been a lot of talk about withholdings. I want you to know that this Senator and other Senators were overspending their budget on personnel on the very day Governor Holden withheld money from our schools and caused teachers to laid off at Glendale, Parkview and Kickapoo. The Medicaid cuts were a mistake and should've been reversed. There's been a 61% increase in healthcare premiums. We've got to take care of healthcare costs, not merely ignore the fact people need to be able to get healthcare."

GAY MARRIAGE
Champion - "The voters supported a constitutional change to same sex marriage. I support their decision."
Harpool - "I would vote no on allowing gay marriage, and I'd base that on the vote 2 years ago. The people spoke. It would be wrong to overrule the people."

ENERGY
Champion - "I support the 10% ethanol bill passed in the legislature."
Harpool - "I voted for ethanol back in 1986. We had oil lobbyists telling us in the halls to vote no. A lot of other people weren't looking forward back then. But I don't believe ethanol is the only solution to our problem. We are going to need better fuel standards for some cars ultimately."

VOTER I.D. REQUIREMENT
Champion - "It's good and reasonable to require voters to have photographs. It helps with fair and open elections."
Harpool - "I was opposed to the bill in Missouri. It was much more restrictive than other measures around the country. Other states delayed it, we put it into effect this election. The right to vote was impaired for about 300,000 Missourians. Since a fraud allegation in 2000, I know of no other voter fraud allegations. It's no secret that this was meant to disenfranchise voters."

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Champion - "I want to empower law enforcement to be able to enforce federal laws. I don't think the federal government is taking the right steps. There is nothing we can do if we arrest somebody. We also need to work to crack down on businesses who hire illegals. I heard of a contractor using state tax credits while hiring illegals. That needs to stop."
Harpool - "I'm not in favor of diverting the Highway Patrol to crackdown on illegals. I'd rather have them pursuing other crimes. If the Highway Patrol finds them now, they can turn them over, and they can be detained and deported. We need to keep the focus on our state. If we give more money to this, it has to come from education and healthcare. We need to keep our focus on the big picture."

MAKING COLLEGE MORE AFFORDABLE
Champion - "We have been working to get more equitable funding for our schools. We got more money for SMS, but it isn't enough. The MOHELA plan will help with capital improvements. It won't hurt loans. We have got to have equipment and buildings. This will help. I also want to help strengthen the Coordinating Board."
Harpool - "We can reduce duplications in a lot of these programs. Our colleges are underfunded. We need to cut Senator's salaries and Senator's staff in order to better fund our schools. We have to support low-cost student loans. We have to make sure this MOHELA deal doesn't dry up the money for students."

DEATH PENALTY
Champion - "I support it."
Harpool - "The death penalty by lethal injection has been ruled unconstitutional. I support that. I support the death penalty, but not for juveniles or people with mental disabilities."

THE METH EPIDEMIC
Champion - "It's a bigger problem in Southwest Missouri than anywhere else and it is connected to child abuse. The anti-meth bill I passed helped reduce meth labs by 52%. We also want to look at an electronic system between pharmacies. The Children in Crisis legislation I sponsored also helped me get funding and services in special areas. Now we have to deal with the problem that the meth is coming from Mexico."
Harpool - "We have to help law enforcement deal with this. I'd like to establish some type of Tips network, a hotline for people to call about potential meth houses. Too often, people dealing with meth are violent and people are afraid to cooperate and report it. Also, monitoring children is key. Children of meth frequently show signs of abuse and neglect."

After closing statements, Champion and Harpool received brief applause.
There was no handshake between the two. Just a quick comment from Champion to Harpool about whether he will get to keep the toy donkey positioned in front of him on the table. Then, Sen. Champion whisked passed Harpool across the stage.