House hopefuls hold triple smackdown

This was the last Athens League of Women Voters' candidate forum of the season, with U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-St. Clairsville, squaring off against Republican businessman Bill Johnson of Poland, and Libertarian Party candidate Martin Elsass, of Columbiana. Constitutional Party candidate Richard Cadle did not attend.

Johnson said he is running because Americans aren't getting good government, but instead an ever more over-reaching, over-spending, out-of-control federal government. He slammed the TARP bank bailout bill, the health-care reform legislation and the stimulus package as examples.

"Our federal government is incurring a debt we cannot fund, creating an economy that's not competitive on a global scale," he said. "And my opponent's support of (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi's job-killing policies has been devastating to our district, to our state and to our nation."

Wilson said the reason there is so much interest in the election is because so much is at stake. He said that jobs are the number-one priority moving out of the recession, adding that he voted against the "cap and trade" energy legislation because it threatened the energy-intensive jobs of the district.

"We need to embrace policies that create more jobs, not destroy them," Wilson said, criticizing trade deals such as NAFTA and the outsourcing of jobs. "I have voted so many times to close tax loopholes and sweetheart tax deals for jobs being shipped out of our country... I want to go back to Congress to fight for you."

Elsass said he got into the race because he lost his job after his company went out of business due to the bank bailouts. He said that if he is elected, he has three simple objectives. These include repealing "Obamacare," passing legislation for Congress to consider only one subject at a time, and having the government perform a full audit of the Federal Reserve.

"This is a two-year job, and these are three things I think that we can handle immediately," he said.

JOHNSON AGREED WITH ELSASS on the idea to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law in March.

"It's more expensive... and it's bad for business," Johnson said. "We needed health-care reform. We just didn't need this massive takeover of our health-care system."

Elsass criticized mandates on individuals and businesses as unconstitutional, as well as charging that health reform will increase the national debt.

"I'm in favor of repealing it, and I believe we should accept no substitutes," he said.

Wilson said that while it's not a perfect bill, it does represent a good first step and has put the country on track to contain health-care costs.

"Whatever we can do to make this health-care bill better, I'm all for," he said, adding he would work across the aisle on the issue. "I'm also very fond of the consumer protections that are in this bill."

When asked for specifics on how he would decrease the size of government and get spending under control, Johnson said the federal government needs to get in line with the U.S. Constitution. He said he would cut the National Endowment for the Arts and earmarks, as well as eliminate duplication of services in the military and other places.

Elsass said he would eliminate the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Endowment for the Arts and the federal Department of Education. He said earmarks also need to be cut.

"If you're looking for a candidate who's going to bring a lot of money from the federal government back to your community, I'm probably not the guy for you," he said, adding that he'd like to see a full repeal of the federal income tax.

WILSON SAID THAT HE HAS A plan called, "Tackle the Debt," that is made up of 10 different bills he has signed onto that will help reduce the nation's deficits as soon as possible. The first of these, he said, is pay-go, which would require Congress to fully fund each piece of legislation as it is passed. The second, he said, is to deliver a 2 percent reduction for all discretionary spending, which he said would save $400 billion over three years.

"I like the idea of being able to say that we have a new committee that will sunset and study every government program there is," he said. "If they're not doing what they should be doing, they'll be sunset and they won't be here any more."

With regard to attracting high-quality, living-wage employment to the area, Johnson criticized those touting the stimulus bill as bringing jobs to the region, noting that it contained $2.3 billion in manufacturing tax credits that went to foreign companies that mainly operate overseas, and said that 80 percent of the green-energy projects from the bill went to the same companies.

"That's the kind of irresponsible leadership we have," he said. "Leadership that says one thing down here in the district and does another thing on the other side of the Potomac."

Wilson said he would begin helping to create jobs by investing in small business, and pointed to efforts that have already done so by providing tax breaks and making capital available.

"More than anything, stop outsourcing jobs from America," he said. "We need to have American pride in American products that are made here in America."

Elsass said the worst idea he's ever heard in his life is to have government invest in business.

"I think it's a horrible idea to have government put anything into business," he said. "What government does is they take money out of your wallets and they kill business. That's all they do."

He pointed to the U.S. Post Office and Amtrak running deficits as examples.

AS FOR THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT in addressing poverty, Elsass said again that at the federal level, government should have no role.

"It is in communities that people understand the needs of their neighbors and they help, or they don't," he said. "It is not the role of the federal government in any way, shape or form to regulate any of that behavior."

Johnson said that people are struggling because of the absence of jobs, and that the government needs to get off the backs of businesses.

"It's called private enterprise, a free enterprise system," he said. "We give people jobs; they will innovate; they will compete; they will prosper. Get the federal government out of the way."

Wilson said the role of government is to provide tax breaks to small businesses so they can hire more employees.

"People don't want a hand-out; they want a hand up," he said. "And I think that's what we do. We give them that opportunity by producing small business."

With regard to regulation of Wall Street, Elsass said he disapproves of all forms of federal regulation because he said it gets in the way.

Wilson said he voted for Wall Street reform and would do the same again because he said the lack of transparency and oversight over the past 10 years led to what he called the horrific meltdown of the American financial system.

Johnson said he'd like to know how America made it so far without regulation, and said the government needs to back out of regulation of everything from the financial system to the environment.

In closing, Johnson slammed Wilson for what he called his votes to send jobs overseas. This came after Wilson had hit him on the same issue by saying that Johnson's company has been outsourcing American jobs for years.

Johnson responded, pointing out that he doesn't make decisions at the company on where to do business; that the company has been doing international business for many years making Asian products for Asian markets and then using the profits from that to create jobs back in America.

He also hit Wilson for not advocating enough to keep jobs in the district. "It's another case of saying one thing here in the district and going up on the Potomac and doing right the opposite," he said.

Elsass said he's tired of seeing his opponents' attack ads on TV.

"I will say that I can agree with both of them (that) neither one of them should be elected," he said.

Wilson said he wants to go back to Congress to fight for the people of the district by protecting natural resources, getting friends and neighbors back to work, and returning communities to prosperity.

"We need to fight against any free-trade deals or outsourcing policies that are still making us suffer," he said. "There is still a lot of work to be done."

At the end of the forum, one audience member, Rebecca Thacker, stood up to question the candidates after the debate had ended. When library employees and the forum moderator pointed out that there was no time because the library was closing, Thacker said that their time of the evening was over and it was her turn. At that point, the candidates all declined to address her question. She then followed Wilson through the room pulling on his suit and demanding to know if he would support extending the Bush-era tax cuts. Wilson declined to answer due to her abrasive approach. Both Elsass and Johnson had indicated in comments earlier in the evening that they would not support letting the cuts expire.