Full video replay of the debate is available at the bottom of this story.
The debate is also available at Cox on Demand for Cox Communications subscribers.
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• Video Below: Watch the debate.
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U.S. Rep. Lee Terry faced criticism Tuesday from challenger Tom White that he has done nothing to change Congress during his six terms in office.
“You cannot pretend to be an outsider when you've been in Washington for 12 years,” said White, a Democrat who is an Omaha state senator. “Washington is broken, and sending the same people back won't fix it.”
Terry, a Republican, said that he has repeatedly voted against spending proposals that would add to the deficit and that he is a strong voice for helping the private sector, not government, create jobs.
The two 2nd District congressional candidates commented during their first debate this fall. The hourlong matchup was sponsored by The World-Herald and Cox Communications.The candidates are running in a swing district that favored Democrat Barack Obama for president in 2008, and both Terry and White touted their bipartisan credentials.
White said he is a pro-life, pro-gun fiscal hawk who believes in good ideas, not party affiliation.
“We seem to have lost the ability to cooperate across party lines,” White said.
Terry said he has been rated one of the most bipartisan House members and regularly works with Democrats. He said he has supported Obama's policies on Afghanistan and gave a neutral assessment of Obama's record.
“I'm not sure the president has had a real opportunity to show what he can do yet,” Terry said.
But the two candidates challenged each other sharply. White said Terry often takes positions that run contrary to the middle class and would benefit Wall Street and big business.
Terry criticized White for supporting the stimulus spending bill, which he called ineffective, and the federal health care legislation.
“We've seen that experiment didn't work to create jobs,” Terry said of the stimulus.
White said Terry claims to be a fiscal conservative, yet he has voted for budgets that ballooned the national debt.
Mike Holmes, The World-Herald's breaking news editor, moderated the debate.
The candidates fielded questions from World-Herald political reporter Robynn Tysver and World-Herald Washington bureau chief Joseph Morton. Many of the questions were suggested by readers.
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