country -- i will repeat this because this is a problem. a government that is so intrusive and overtaxed. we just want to eliminate the tax loopholes. why are businesses leaving these country? we have to level the playing field. i am not saying anything about who we should tax. i am getting tired of hearing if i can pick you against somebody else, you say fine. we feel we are in the 90% that is below. who determines to the wealthiest car? the government. nottelling you, these are the wealthiest people out there, these are the job creators. who have we penalize the most? the working people. when we talk about taking care

of people and corporate greed, there's not a day goes by the summit comes to cbs as we have a little league team that needs funded. who helps more than anybody than small business people? all of the charity does not need to come from the government to decide to get it and do does not get it. it needs to come from the people who are profitable. it is all fixable. going up and down the 79, i don't see a country that is in trouble. i see a country with unlimited potential. i don't see a government has to overregulated get so involved in our life that we cannot pick our doctor. if you are a senior, you are not going to see anybody. it is going to be rationed. when you add people to a system that is already overloaded and tell them not to worry about it, i'm telling you right now, i have talked to seniors. they cannot put their head in the pillow at night because they

are afraid with their government is going to take from them next. >> we have time for one more question and i'm hoping you can answer in one minute rather than to. we have been talking of a great deal about policies. let's talk about your character. what is it about your character that suggests we should give you are vote. -- should give you our vote? >> character is nothing more than saying much meat and meat in say. in this district, as have gotten through our lives on both knees. i have got to rely on the divine, i have got to rely on getting through these things with the help of god. my life is a 40-year body of work. people can go to my web site and find out what i'm doing. never thought it was something you should get pattern of the back for, but i have been a positive member of my community.

i have served on the school board and city council member. while that may be offensive to some people, i did not accept one penny any time i served. i did it because i thought it was a service and i do believe in this country, that has been based on the christian principles that the answer is really right there. it's not hard to see. we all know where it comes from and we all know where we have to go. especially when you're standing on the edge of the abyss and there's no one there to help you. but god. that is to i.m. and that is who i have always been. i'm a father and grandfather and that the reason i'm running is that i could not sit at the thanksgiving table and look to my kids and grandkids and say i knew it was bad, i knew it wasn't going to work, but i did not levy would have to go and fight for you. >> my life has always been guided by my strong face. my faith in god. i have always been a person

whose family comes first and, believe me, in this job, that is something difficult to hold on to. but it is my family who helps me every day and helps me continue to move forward for this country because they have been so supportive of the service i have given of the last two years. i continue to be a person filled with compassion for all. for our seniors, i certainly will not use scare tactics and untruths to scare seniors. i care too much for them. my mom and died -- my mom and dad died from cancer this year. i would have never voted on a piece of legislation that would hurt the people i love so dearly. i would never vote on a piece of legislation a letter by children, my friends, neighbors, or my constituents. my guiding principles of life is to try to make the world better. i was a scout once and they said leave the place better than you found it.

that is what i have always tried to do. whether that is in my church, my children's school, with my community or within the third district of pennsylvania. >> we're going to move on to closing statements and the audience can applaud after the closing statements. i know you are all dying to do that. >> thank you again for being here tonight. a lot has changed in two years. two years ago, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. two years ago, we lost 2.8 million jobs in 2008. two years ago, we saw $17 trillion in savings, your retirement savings, your savings for your children's college education disappear. what we see now is things are getting better. we have seen 14 straight month

of improvement in manufacturing numbers. we have seen 863,000 jobs created in the private sector this year alone. we are on track to create more jobs than were created during the eight years of the last administration. if my opponent sounds like a career politician, it is because he is. he says he is against bailout, yet he took cash for clunkers money. he sold almost $3 million for the cars and pocketed profits from that. he says he is against raising taxes, but when he sat on the dollar city council, he raised property-tax as. he says he is against the stimulus, but as the chairman of the redevelopment authorities, he has asked for stimulus dollars. he says he is against outsourcing the signed a pledge that will not allow him to close the tax loophole to allow american jobs to go overseas. he says he is against deficits, but says he will vote on

legislation to extend the tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires of this country. let me tell you -- i am for tax cuts for the middle-class and for small businesses. i am for making it america again and going after any country uses unfair trade practices to go after our jobs. i'm here to protect seniors, social security, our veterans and the promises we have made to them. things are getting better. i ask for your vote in november so we can continue to take this country down the right path for our children, for our grandchildren, so we can continue to grow this district into a place where they can live the american dream. i ask for your vote in november. [applause]

>> i think is wonderful to be able to stand here in this church at allegheny college in pennsylvania and make those kinds of claims. those are the same claims she made two years ago. my question is where was that strong galba stood here and told us as a mother and grandmother that she was worried about the growing deficits and the transfer to the debt to her children. if you were worried as a candidate, you should be sick to your stomach as a legislator. you have grown the deficit to the point that it will break the back of this country. we talk about things all the time, but i want to tell you this. i will never apologize for being a successful businessman, the same as your husband will not. that's how i feed my family and employ 110 people. i do it every day of the week. the same talking points you are hearing tonight are being posed

in every race across this country by every democrat because they cannot talk about their record. they have to demonize their opponent. [booing] where are we going? if you are really happy with the last 22 months and you enjoy seeing this great success the white house report has put out there, then that is fine. employment when from 8% of to almost 10%. deficits have grown off the charts. taxes continue to go higher. a future for your children that will not be there. it will not be the same america we had. going to be totally different. i want to tell you something. who do you want representing you? the question becomes what does one vote mean? let me tell you what one vote would have meant. when we talk about strong

leaders, at the end of september, one-vote, one vote from one congressman would have kept them in office and kept them in session and would have had a vote on a budget. one vote would have kept them in session and they would have to let you know whether that would extend tax cuts or cut the tax cuts. where is that strong, strong leader from the northwest that has your concerns? where is the person that was going to stand up for you pick a short current congressman voted to adjourn. she walked away and came back to campaign. she did not represent your best interests or do what is best for your interest or the country. if that is the kind of leadership you want, that is where we are going. thank you for allowing us to be here tonight. [applause]

>> said the midterm elections are six days away. each night on c-span, we are showing debates from key races around the country. here's the lineup for tonight. we start at 7:00 with a live debate among the candidates vying to be the governor of rhode island. at 8:00, a debate between the candidates to be the next senator from florida. then the first of three house races with the focus on a hampshire's second district of west virginia's third, and the 17th congressional district of texas. we have the rhode island governors' debate coming up live at 7:00. voters in 37 states will be electing governors. cq politics says democrats have

the ability to win seats in hawaii. and -- >> c-span local contract -- local content vehicles are looking at the most content -- the most closely contested house races in this year's midterm elections. >> issues are important to me for bringing michigan back to how was. i had a close family member loses business after being in business for 60 years. >> pontiac went down. he had nothing. >> i am concerned about employment, definitely. the auto industry has changed. michigan used to be the hub of the wheel. michigan jobs were plentiful. now we have to address that

issue. >> the unemployment rate is at 12% in oakland county. the average of the state is 14%. the foreclosure problems have been horrible in oakland county and all over the state. the economy is really scary right now. people are losing their homes call losing their jobs and there doesn't seem to be a big enough recovery quick enough. there is a real anxiety out there. especially in michigan with the auto industry. so many people have lost their jobs and we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. >> our state is hurting. we were an industrial type of state and we needed now because the automotive industry has shrunk and or downsized. a lot of the jobs have been outsourced. we need to recover from that. >> i have had to businesses closed that i own. i have friends with businesses

that close and have moved to arizona and san diego. everybody is moving out of state. it's affecting me because i'm looking out of state because i cannot get full-time work. >> i want to come by personally and ask for your support. thank you. we're going to keep working hard. get all of your friends and relatives out there. >> you today realize everything washington does somehow impact us on our everyday life, everything from our health care to the taxes we pay to how our schools >> gary peter is the incumbent democrat. the republican is andrew "rocky"

raczkowski and a military veteran. gary peter is on a finance committee. he wants to bring money back to michigan to set up along program so businesses have the ability to give them money to expand their businesses. >> i love this obama care, make it hurt. >> raczkowski is very upset with the obama administration. it has always been some maintenance and it has been trending more democratic.

this past election cycle, in 2008, democrats won a lot of seats in a lot of different areas. >> we are hearing good things. the key thing is getting the message out but it's going to be important to get them to the polls. that is the challenge. >> they have never been employed. >> a big republican year. if it stayed even a little bit of the same, he would have no trouble getting elected at all. but just the mood of the state and the county, it makes it a much tougher race. peter has no plans to ask the president to come campaign for him. the president has come a couple times for fund-raisers, but he has not been back for a while. peters has said that obama is

not on the ballot, i am on the ballot, running on my record. it is going to be indicative of what kind of year it's going to be as far as a republican or democratic year. it could very well throw the majority of congress one way or the other. if he loses here, i fully expect the republicans will take over the majority in congress. >> leading up to the november 2nd midterm elections, we are travelling the country, visiting congressional districts where some of the most closely contested house races are taking place. for more information on what the local content vehicles are up 2, visit our web site, c-span.org /lcv. >> now, the third and final debate between indiana's u.s. senate candidates, former

senator dan coats, democratic candidate brad ellsworth and independent rebecca sink-burris . this is one hour. the final of three indiana senate debates. >> welcome today campus. welcome to the indiana debate hree for the u.s. senate. i am your moderator. this is the indiana debate. voters will ask the questions and indiana's hoosiers will watch on tv, listen on ready -- radio,nd tune in on the web as they listen to the candidates and get ready to cast their ballots one week from tomorrow. c-span will be rebroadcast in this debate tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern time.

the candidates drew lots for theilectern position. immediately xt to me is republican dan coats, in the middle is a democrat brad ellsworth, and a libertarian candidate. they have agreed to the rules for tonight's debate. the candidates will have one minute and 30 seconds to answer most of the questions. in announced that one answer will have to vary to accommodate a general final question. as moderator, in cut off a candidate who exceeds the time limit. and they call for additional time to fully answer a question. the questions come from hoosier voters. the candidates know that they can use only small nuts and no props. prior to the broadcast, the audience was apprised of the house rules.

the candidates have 30 seconds to introduce themselves and that starts with mr. cuts. >> is an honor to be here this evening and have the opportunity to debate and discuss t issues important for the future of america and our state o indiana. i passionately believe that the leadership of our country and the president obama, nancy pelosi, supported by my opponent are leading american in the wrong direction. i will fight to get americaack to work, hoosiers back to work, back on the right economic track. change can only come if we make a change. you have to pick a different direction. >> now mr. ellsworth. >> it is great to be back in not scammony. it has been and -- knox county.

i hear, and things. we need to get america back to work. work for us. keep honest. do not fall prey to a special interest. that is what i intend to do when you elect me senator. >> miss sink-burris. >> i want to thank you for watching these three debates. it has been a real pleasure. it highlights why i am libertarian rather than republican democrat. i want to stop the tennis match in washington. every campaign season we have candidates promising to end the partisan bickering, but it never stops. if a libertarian is elected to the senate, i'll not belong to big business interest or the white house b to you, the american people.

>> now we will ask the question of our candidates. >> with the passage of health- care reform, insurance premiums are expected to rise by 8.8% in 2011. what exactly would you do is a member of the u.s. senate to help hoosiers cope with the rising cost of health care? >> mr. coates. >> i would vote to repeal this massive 2000-page bureaucratic overtake of medicine by our government at a cost about one trillion dollars. there issues that need to be dealt with and we can do that with less than two dozen pages. we could do that without breaking the bank and without putting government between the patient and his doctor or her doctor. this tax care bill was not

supported by hoosiers or the american people. they do not want a one size fits all health care. held savings accounts, serving ,000 low-income hoosiers. it significantly reduces costs. this takes that away froour state. there are a number of provisions that will add so much bureaucracy. companies are still trying to figure out how best to deal with it. mcdonald's has come full with the plan, a number of aerospace companies and others. they now have to discard those plans because it will not fit under this massive bill in washington. we need to do sensible cost saving things with health care. but this bill was opposed by a large majority of hoosiers.

i think we ought to start over. to get let's move on to brad ellsworth. >> when the health-care debate started, i have hundreds if not thousands of individuals on the phone and in person about health care. when i ran for congress four years ago, i talked to dtors and nurses and hpitals say you have to pass health care in this country. i am glad that we took it on. hear some of the things it is going to do. none can turn people down for pre-existing conditions. closing the doughnut hole -- seniors came man and said clothes that hole. the whole idea behind this was to bring down the cost of health care in this country. the bill was paid for. we had to find different ways to pay for that. the congressional budget office

estimates itill actually reduce the cost of health care by $1 trillion. i am proud that this bill was taken on. it is not perfect. but to repeal the bill would not make sense at this particular time. we get to it or delete from it. it would not make sense to repeal it and start over. >> miss sink-burris. >> it is a real concern for everyone in indiana and the country. the main problem that we have with held car -- health care is how expensive it is. it is risen much higher and faster than inflation. this health care bill does nothing to address the costs. it is not one to save anyone any money. it is going to mean more money out of your pocket and out of your employer's pocket, and it will mean that employers cannot absolutely offer health care insurance to their employees.

i know someone in indianapolis wanting to expand his pizza franchises, and he would be playing employees more in health. then he would be paying them in salary. a business cannot do that and survive. ways been talking for about making health care less expensive. let the free market operate and control costs that way. we have not had a free market in health care in a long time. many of the issue -- many in new in this ruse -- one surgery is not covered by insurance. and how the quality ofhat operation has gone up.

>> sorry to cut you off. our next question there is to research singer richie is theresa singer. she has an education question. >> the notes child left behind policy has forced educational institutions to take costly measures to me the needs of the first to the populations. however, in doing so, a vast majority of the student body has been pushed through the education system with very weak reading comprehension and less than adequate writing skills. with the cuts in education been proposed, how would schools meet the needs of their diverse population such as special education and english as a second language, as well as the general population that is lagging behind the rest of the

world in fundamental knowledge and skills? >> mr. ellsworth takes the first shot at the question. >> our daughter is the third year educators here in indiana. we've seen the struggles of teachers in this country and the education systems. no child left behind is a great concept and phrase. but you have to fully fund it and allow it to happen. we should leave no doubt the hon. we cannot have teachers working miracles. doing one test on one particular day and learned this way, some are visual, and sunday their hands on stuff. you have to empower teachers to teach in different ways. i'm talking teachers across our great district.

they bring the students and with special needs and they are taking the toss -- test. we have to look it different ways that kids learn. charter schools, we have to fully fund our education system and not punish our teachers. >> rebecca sink-burris. >> i am a former teacher and i have been in the public system and the private school area. as a libertarian, we envision an educational system that leaves no child behind. it allows every child to have a quality education that they deserve. you do not get that from an education monopoly. that monopoly is more concerned with employee in adults than it is with teaching children. the federal program, no child

left behind, is one of many failed federal programs. education belongs at the loc level, not the federal level. not a single program the federal government ever put into place has improved our education, and is used dollars from taxpayers. the solution to this is adding more choice to education and empowering parents so that they can choose where to send their children to school, whether that is private or public. the funds should follow the child. by bringing in competition, you're going to get innovation like you have never seen before. you were going to get a variety of type educational settings and more availability of specialized teaching. this might meet a child better than the one size fits all that is happening right now. i encourage you to take a look

at libertarian ideas. >> let's move on to dan coats now. >> this should not be a decision made in washington, d.c. the department of education spends an extraordinary amount of money. as ms. sink-burris said, the one-size-fits-all does not apply. what is right for new york or los angeles or miami or chicago is not necessarily right in evansville or indianapolis. that is why at the state and local level, that is where the change needs to be made. more money into washington does not improve education. charter schools, alternative schools, i think that is good for the public system. it's good for our economic

system to have competition. parents are frustrated that the state-run public school system depends upon federal guidelines and their children and not getting the education that they need. some predict for some, it is the only way to get out. but it has failed them. we need choices, we need to get parents more involved, and the last thing we need is more money into washington with more programs out of the department of education. >> our next questioner is from the area here. >> i like to know where you stand on amnesty for illegal immigrants. >> rebecca sink-burris. >> when a libertarian looks at a problem, we try to work out what we have don.

if we find tt we have done things that contributed to the prlem, we want toemove those things first before adding another layer to answer the problem. but we have done in immigration has been to close the door to illegal immigration for both high skilled and low-skilled workers. we have made it so that people have been forced to practice -- -- forced to cross that border illegally. what we really need to do to solve the undocumented worker crisis is to open the door to legal immigration. make it orderly said that we know who is coming into our country. work visas, temporary, and those who me in here illegally need to register. i don't think i would give those people citizenship because they did come here illegally. but a lot of them have been 5-10

years and have been contributing to our society. i do not think that they should be deported. they need to be in part of that tax system. i talk about their tax at the last debate. it spreads the tax over everyone, legal, illegal, underground economy, no matter what you pay it is a fairtax. >> i do not support amnesty. i do not think we have secured the border like the government promised. the government did not live up to its responsibility. and the welfare system, the education system, and others have been overwhelmed. if that were happening in indiana, we too would want to take action when the federal government did not. in arizona, you are right, we have not done what needs to be done to get it done.

their laws are more than reasonable. my mother came here when the ship pulled into ellis island. her father had come to years earlier. e said that we are americans now. i do not want to hear another word of swedish. you're going to learn english and you can live the american dream. that is illegal immigration. illegal under -- illegal immigration undermines that. >> this is something that the federal car man should have done a long time ago. if they had better laws on the books, we would not be in this situion. we did not secure the border. the desert creates i own fenced sometimes. we think of this is a national

security problem. we have to let employers know that if they hire people illegally, we're going to punish them also. that is extremely important, holding them some -- responsible. mr. coase just said that he was against amnesty and yet he voted to give amnesty when he was in congress before. it was part of a bigger bill but one of his republican colleagues in the congress filed an amendment to take the amnesty portion out, and he voted against that. again, he voted for amnesty and when he had the chance to take that amendment out, he voted against that too. >> the next is an accountant. she could not make it here so i will ask the question.

recently released data suggest on capping social security earnings would solve the funding problem. do you support the wealthy continuing to pay social security tax of of the $106,000 cut off. >> social security needs to be saved from itsf. the system is paying out more money than is coming in. there needs to be an adjustment to the long-term structural way that social security is set up. i think we can do that by increasing the age of retirement gradually, maybe 67.5 in a couple of months. the important thing is not to turn this into a political got cha, have a discussion on a bipartisan basis to address this particular problem.

one provision is on the benefits that go to the wealthy, if warren buffett does not want to pay social security, i think we should honor that. there should be an area where people can adjust to that and perhaps have an opportunity, given their income situation, where they do not have to take social security. but the real problem is for the people on the system. we have to address that. when i ran for congress, there was a vote -- there was an amnesty portion, but that was 26 years ago. i have had 12 or 15 votes that oppose that now. >> but you did take the vote -- when the amendment was there to

take amnesty out, you voted against that. going back to his thing, we need to put america back to work. create an atmosphere that creates jobs and our country. i am opposed to raising the age. that might be fine for someone who is keyboarding or pushing a pan, not someone on the end of a jackhammer. mr. coase has endorsed a plan to privatize social security. i am totally against that. at the last debate, he said we need to work together in a bipartisan manner. but this would stop that. that is not what the people of inana won. we should work together to work on this in a bipartisan manner for all of these problems facing our country. that is what we should do.

now's the time to raise taxes. >> ms. sink-burris. >> it is important to save social security which needs changing. it is insolvent. we should not hurt those who are already depended on social security and those who are near retirement age. unfortunately, according to the supreme court, you may have paid money into social security your whole life. that does not mean that you have a right to that money coming back to you. the government can change what he gives out to you at any time. i would like a more secure system for our elders and for those working now and who expect to retire in the future. one plan i likes using your

payroll taxes that you pay and your employer pays to have that going into an account that the worker would fund, so that you could not -- they could not take it away from you on a whim. the other half coming the other 6.2% would continue to pay befits for current retirees and disabilities, etc. the social security administration has says it has plans to keep the system solvent in the long run. they would not raise taxes or raise the age of benefits. >> our next questioner is an analyst. >> the u.s. worker cannot compete with cheap labor. how you plan to curtail freetail fta, which such as naphth

continued to take jobs out of this country to placesike mexico? >> probably the number-one issue in campaign is putting in keeping america back to work. it is clearly the atmosphere that allows for private at best -- private jobs in this country. we need to create things and make things and a country that sells things. that includes trade agreements. nafta, 50,000 jobs in our loans are directly related to this. multiplied that across the country. you want to repatriateies jobs, but when dan coats ship jobs overseas, he was a lobbyist for th company. we had -- that creates another

dip -- another government program. they are eligibleor the employee assistance program. >> almost every time that government make something, you can bet the result is going to be opposite of the name. a free-trade agreement ends up being a trade for favored company's agreement. if we had true free trade, the world bank has figured that each person -- each citizen in this country would benefit by almost $8,000. from lower prices on items. to make jobs in this country, we need to change the tax system. i mention the fairtax earlier. if you have not looked at the fairtax, look at our website their tax -- fairtax.org.

when companies overseas are asked if united states changes that system, what they would do, they said that they would really cade and start building facilities here in this country. -- it would relocate and start building facilities here in this country. we need to get back to work by changing the way we tax and the complicated system that have now. we have to stop the spending right now. and we have to lower our taxes business. we're the second highest on business taxes in the world. that sends labor and capital away from this country. we need to lower that down to 15% to be competitive with the world market. american workersan be competitive. >> the worst thing that this country can do would be to enter

into a trade war. that happened after the great depression. our economy was flat for over a decade we ought to open trade barriers. we have urged the democratic congress to move forward on opening trade. one in five hoosier jobs are due to exports. if we throw up trade barriers, that will not happen. it is so important to employment in this part ofhe state. to adopt a policy where we on not allowing businesses to compete worldwide in a global system, because our taxes are so high, because regulation is so high, because of health-care

mandates on businesses, miss sink-burris is again correct. we need to get money to repatriate money back here and get them on an even playing field with our competitors worldwide. even amnesty on taxes would bring companies back here and invested here with new jobs and new equipment and new hires. >> a software consultant near columbus, they do so much for making the trip down today. >> wel experienced professional engineers and technicians and other professionals along with recent graduates remain jobless, companies continue to import professionals for overseas under the visa program

to fill technical positions, knowing that there are available qualified candidates here. the you think that this is a problem or is it an expected component of free trade? what policies would you support regarding this issue? >> miss sink-burris, you go first this time. >> by bringing jobs back to this country, we will producmore jobs within this country. we will have a boost for occupation in skills and every level. for every h1b visa that comes here and fills a job, that company could add five more jobs to support that position. but we really need in this country are more jobs. that is why i'm so enthusiastic

about their tax. every indication is that we would build our economy, almost doubled in the first 15 ars of a fairtax, and that is a lot of jobs. we would be bonding more immigrants to come to this country. worker compensation will go up by 40% in the first 10 years. that is the kind of growth and prosperity that libertarians want for america. and it can happen. we just have to get behind it. >> mr. coates. >> how are we going to get americans back to work? we cannot do it by passing trillion dollar programs out of washington, stimulus programs that did not stimulate. the only thing it stimulated was more dt and more government workers. the only entity in united's.

>> at this is that is adding people. that tells us a lot. -- the only entity in the united states that is adding jobs. that tells us a lot. i talk to people all over the state, and they are saying, i do not know what is coming down next. we've got to get our economy moving again. that will put americans back to work. we can talk about small statistics, but how do we get this country back on track? the policies of this administration have not solve the problem. that is simply not the answer. my opponent has supported those policies 90% of the time. that is not the right direction. we simply need to change direction. >> i think as that to staying in

the same place. we need to reinvest and give our kids energized about the maps and sciences in this country. we've got a lot of talent and brainpower. we just have to bring the jobs. in other countries -- one person said that she had a good job, and it is unpatriotic and we are shipping jobs overseas. i am for it taking our products overseas and finding new customers. companies take advantages of a loss to ship our jobs overseas and that is plain wrong. one woman made an investment in some and advanced manufacturing equipment. she told me she had at -- she

cut me out a piece of aluminum and she -- i keep it on my desk. it's an investment in our kids. american workers working here on american soil, that is the answer. >> a quick word about our questioners. he cancelled travel plans after s question was selected to be here tonight. our next questioner is a student at the university of indianapolis. he watched the first debate. he is a political science major. i don't think he gets extra credit for being here tonight. >> elected to the senate, wha measure wod you propose to control the growing cost of college education to keep students from graduating with a lifetime of debt? >> we have ograms in place that provide loans for students and programs for students.

-- pell grants for students. i think that we have to recognize as we look to develop the work force for the future, we have to make sure that our institutions adapt to the changes that take place in our economy, that we havehe kind of variety of options available. some people -- many people want to get a quarter-year education , and others want a community college education. others might want to go into a vocation. those options and those varieties need to be available to us. and i go back to the facts if we try to solve all these problems out of washington, and this administration has spent $3 trillion of the last 20 months, and predicted another $3 trillion -- it'almost

incomprehensible. it will affect our military the spending for education, and a whole number of areas. we cannot keep looking t washington to solve all our problems. i think our states have taken their interesting steps to develop educational alternatives in training at low cost for students without having to live on campus. >> i would end of moderators' privilege here. i would ask a question of mine. senator evan bayh opted not for re-election cites the climate in washington and the frustration created by all the gridlock and infighting. how would you propose to overcome this obstacle and accomplish our stated goal for indiana? i will start with you, miss sink-burris. >> as a libertarian, i have the freedom to work with anyone i

want to in the u.s. senate and the government. there'll be times when i would combine my views with those of the democrats. other times more closely aligned with the republicans. that way i can bring people together to solve some of our problems. one planned cuts military spending without hurting our troops. there are some other plans out there and different ways to include the issues that we've got. they had been worked on by a group of people, not all from one side. that's the kind of thing i would combine my efforts with. i would have the freedom to do so. i would not being beholden to special interests.

i am not beholden to pay them back with special favors and helping them with everything. that is me the freedom to represent the american people and help turn our country to the limited governmentradition of our founding fathers. >> when i decided to run in this race, iully expected that i would be competing with senator bayh. a well funded candidate, someone will none. -- well none. he supported a bomb was agenda 70% of the time. i was concerned that that was not the duration indiana wanted to go. i was surprised when he announced his retirement and i

am running against a different candidate. he has voted for the obama agenda of 90% of the time. but there's a very clear choice for people i want to go and a completely different direction. let me just say that as a coervative, someone who is putting our children and grandchildren in great jeopardy for the future, totally on the wrong track. i would welcome democrats that would admit that the last two years have been a disaster. if they want to work together and try to stop the spending and this big government, social welfare state, we would welcome bipartisanship on that basis. >> you as the most important

question in this debate. when someone called the dispatch center, and he did not as someone was a democrat republican, and i made that same pledge. that is why you did not say me sayi these republicans are these democrats. i don't think anyone has a corner on the market of good ideas. you don't hear me making speeches about how bad the republicans are. when i got the congress, i joined a caucus with 25 republicans and democrats. there is not a member of the senate that i will not work with on the republican side to try to move the agenda forward. regarding that 90% vote, anyone who tracks are votes know that this is the same old tired political thing. i could come back and say, mr.

cuts, you voted with nancy pelosi 60% of the time. 54%. that should never happen. the record shows that. we have to get away from saying that these are all bad and these are all good. >> i did i get the other two candidates to answer your question. >> elected to the senate, what measures would you propose to absorber the absorbent costs -- the eight sorbent cost of college education. >> i would love to see it brought in. mr. coats and i presume this. not everyone is going to go to harvard or yale. itve got technical schools,

got middle-of-the-road schools. we've got master's programs. driving down the cost, what is the way that we can use the best use of dollars to bring down the cost for you? having jobs on the other end is the best way. when you come out with some debt, it is going to be a job that you can repay debt. you can reduce the interest rates on pell grants and putting more money in there. more money would be available for you to come back and reduce the interest rates. these are private institutions that have to pay payroll and keep the lights on. but we do not want to saddle you with that. >> now your opportunity. >> many view in this opera critique audiencwill remember -- many of you in this audience will remember that it used to take a kid working to a summer

at a construction job to pay for an entire year of education. that is not possible anymore. partly becau of government involvement. you were sent us stude loan program and the prices of college went up and upecause colleges did not have to compete on a price level anymore. they knew that a student could get a loan. programs were put in with the best of intentions, but there were unforeseen consequences. this happens to be one of them. our dollar is not worth what it used to be because our government has inflated the money supply. in the 1970's, when we went completely off the gold standard, the worth of our dollar has continually dropped. it takes more dollars to pay for your college education. getting those things back in

hat our that there i -- dollar is worth something, so that students can afford a college education without going into a lifetime of debt. the important thing is to get the jobs going so that when people get out of college, they can become productive members of our society. >> our next question is from evansville. >> indiana has been number one in the entire country in preventable child abuse deaths. since federal tax dollars are used by the child welfare agency for the prevention of abuses, why doesn't the federal government clothes are in the an agency -- hold the agency accountable? would you call for congressional hearings for indiana as well as child welfaretes'

agency? >> the first answer is mr. brad ellsworth. >> i look back aty career protecting people no matter what the crime was or whether was against children. we prosecute them fully when that occurs. it is horrible when someone hurts a child. i'm very proud of my record of going after the bad guys seeking successful prosecutions of those. certainly, as in any federal program, of oversight, if we're sending federal taxpayer dollars into the program, it should have federal oversight. when it is not being in ministered, you approve that or you pull the program. >> rebecca sink-burris. >> protecting those who cannot

protect themselves is certainly within the purview of government. it is one of the duties of government. for us to be failing at that as we have in indiana is just not acceptable to many of us. part of the problem is we ve allowed the government to go way beyond its core duties. that means it is not able to focus on those core duties and take of those in the way that it should. there's so many things that governments are involved and that should really be in the private stor or in civil society, that these dined -- that these kinds of things have happened. the federal program, of course there should be oversight. what i would prefer is thathe federal dollars come to the state of indiana in block grants so that the stated in the and i can decide how to use those

monies -- so that the state of indiana to decide how they use those monies. it should be up to us to hold our state and loc governments accountable to doing their core functions of protecting those, with the youngest or the very oldest, from abuses. i am not satisfied with the job the government has done in this. i demand better. >> when i served in the congress, i was the chairman of the committee with the problems that you name and others that came before us very frequently. one thing we learned is that congress is very good it passing programs, but not good at following up. there were 336 programs at the time directed toward children, including abusive situations.

we looked into those. which ones that did not work and why. we found out that there was tremendous overlap, one hand did not know what the other hand was doing, and there are a lot more than that now. the idea -- then we started looking at alternatives. what were the alternatives to help support in dealith problems? turn to our local communities, but also of the community and save haven institutions outside the government. i worked with g brothers big sisters, worked with an stitution in indianapolis that reaches out for instanc -- whether it is churches or synagogues, community groups, volunteers, we need to get involved and get engaged with this. government cannot afford to do

everythi. and what the government pays for, often does not work. >> i'm going ask a question on the energy. how can you help indiana become energy independent? you have 45 seconds. >> energy like any other good or service is best provided by the free market. you get innovation, you get variety, you get a sensibility with a free-market. you do not get a program controlled by the government. i would encourage the coal industry to operate in a responsible manner, and make sure that we're not hurting our environment. indiana as special conditions because of delay about land. we often have ozone problems in

indianapolis. because of that, we have to be especially concerned with coal- burning plants. >> dan coats for 45 seconds. >> indiana relies primarily on calls for energy production. our rates are among the lowest in the country. it is a benefit to consumers. it is a benefit to our producers. the alcoa aluminum plant can effectively complete worldwide. it produces lowost energy to produce aluminum. that is true for our steel mills and everyone in the manufacturing world. i am for using this resource.

it helps make is more energy independent. >> i apologize. brad ellsworth. >> colas important to the state of india, no question about it. .e're 95% coal i can tell you one thing. i am a coal supporter. i voted against cap and trade. dan went to lobby for cap and trade legislation in washington. there was a billionaire they wanted to make money at of cap and trade and mr. coates lobbied for him. >> is it appropriate to ask for personal charge like that that is not true? >> we're coming down to the end.

can it did sm to be more loyal to their party. if elected, are you going to be more loyal to your party or to the people who put you in office? be honest. remember, we are watching. [laughter] so we go first to demand cuts. d you may answer however you like. but bear in mind, there is a better question on the table. >> if i'm elted to ser the people of indiana, i have one client -- the people of indiana. i know exactly what they won in washington. they want to cut spending. they do not want big government. they do not want to continue massive programs that put the future of our country into jeopardy. under represent those views. my position for lobbying have been totally miss characterized by my opponent. our regret that. if you go to washington saying you're a conservative and you

vote for $1 to find -- $1 trillion program, and you run our country deeper into debt, if you bail out the big banks, if you do not have anything else to come home and talk about except going after your opponent. this country has faced difficult decisions before. we have faced crises from the beginning of the time of our country. history -- americans have faced wars, bad economies, depressions,nd each time the spirit of the american people has risen and addressed those successfully. we have a challenge in front of usoday. we can succeed but we have to change direction to do it. i am confident the american people will come out and vote on next tuesday. i would be glad to have your vote because i will fight for change. >> ellsworth. >> i think that answer did a

couple of times. i do not -- that voted against my party on several issue cap and trade, abortion is used, stem cell research, and i was one of the most independent voters on the democratic side the house. it is all on the record. people foralking to -- mr. coates came back and talk to people for nine months. i never left indiana. mr. coats moved to virginia and bought a second home. he said he hoped to move down here. if you do not tell the good people of indiana, you can shake your head all along. >> we had an aging parent.

>> i will work wit anybody to move the american agenda for. >> rebecca sink-burris. >> you elect a libertarian to the u.s. senate, the swing vote will not belong to large corporate interests or the white house, it will belong to you, the hoosiers and the american people. i know this is more difficult for the democrats of the republicans. but i have left that two-party system for reason. i will not give up principle for party. i will not badger an opponent because he comes from some other place. i would rather wake up in the morning knowing that i have not wasted my vote on the lesser of two evils.

as a libertarian, i can be an independent voice in the congress. i have not taken money from pac's, from big business and unions, from a trial lawyer associations. i am a free agent and i can represent you and the constitution. there is a mood in america to both the bums out. but we do not have new faces up here. we have old voices. it is time for change. i humbly ask for your vote on november 2. if you like to know more about my views, my website is selectrebecca.com. >> i think you for watching the u.s. senate debate sponsored by the indiana debate commission. we also want to think our candidates, the staff, and our partners in media.

and our hosts, vincennes university. also a special thanks to the voters who went of and beyond -- who went above and beyond. election day is tuesday, november 2nd. for more reformation, log on to the indian and debate commission's website. once again, thank you and good night. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] ♪

♪ >> the midterm elections are six days away. each night on c-span we showed debates from key races around the country. here is our lineup. in 45 minutes, a live debate from the candidates for rhode island's next governor. and then a florida senate debate. and then new hampshire's second district, west virginia's third, and tx 17th. with just days until election day, all the key races and candidates on c-span.

go online to see archived debates at the c-span video library. you can see upcoming campaign coverage and resources. see the rally this saturday at noon eastern on c-span. through the weekend, we will show campaign events, debates, and interviews and open our phone lines for your comments. follow the campaign coverage right through election day. >> more on campaign 2010 with a look at the latest poll numbers from across the country. we will watch this until 0 live road island governors' debate at 7:00 eastern. continues. >> sean miller of "the hill" newspaper, here is your front page this morning. how do you know this? guest: we have been doing polling in 42 senate and house races. we have had the majority of the

republicans up in these races so we are looking at some of the races we pulled, and in addition to the ones that are just too far gone where we see democrats with a massive deficits -- host: who is too far gone? guest: who is too far gone? one of the guys we pulled who is not probably coming back, he runs the illinois district across the mississippi river. we found him down against a republican bobby shilling by double digits -- host: why? guest: it is puzzling because he did not have an opponent in 2008. it is district is a safe democratic territory. it is an illinois, the president's home state. but it is hard hit by the economy. when i was there in 2008 -- the economy was tough and it stayed that way. now we see sort of the industrial midwest, the visceral action to members of congress.

host: what about the senate race in an illinois? guest: the senate race and a illinois is really going to come down to turnout. in 2008 we saw really high african-american turnout in illinois and that really helped the democratic ticket there. now they are under this cloud of rod blagojevich's administration and the end of that. and it has been a nasty race between mark kirk and alexi giannouilis -- mark kirk because of the military record and his opponent, because of the bank loans. host: we are talking specifically about the house but sean miller can talk about nearly all the races in the country. if you want to talk about a specific race he could start dialing in in just a minute.

you have six relatively long term democratic congressman and your hair, going, going. let's go would budget chairman john spratt of republicans have been after for several terms but they have not really gotten that close. what does your polling say? guest: we got him down 10 points against republican mike will be neat. -- mulvaney. that race is always a target for republicans. the reaction there is the budget that was never passed. the republicans have been able to hit him as the budget committee chairman saying, all america's financial woes are the congressman's respon ability. and congressman spratt does not lend themselves to the new media age. he likes to explain himself, he is very eloquent, but in this era of sound bites we see it is easy for a congressman to go down, especially in south carona.

really a battle of sound bites. telling people to turn off the glenn beck, and that is a sound bite that step. host: the side story is gop tsunami ready to sweep this out. it is the part of that? guest: we saw the largest deficit for democrats in the south. chet edwards, who is down more than double digits to bill forest in texa alan boyd having a tough race against keith sutherland in florida. jim marshall down considerably to austin stock in georgia. these are guys who survived a previous republican waves. looks like democrats currently -- they are on pace to lose a dozen of those. host: paul kanjorski, a mocrat in pennsylvania.

his opponent ran a pretty good race. he was fairly controversial for his positions on illegal immigration, some of the laws adopted. he has kept a relatively low profile this cycle. what that hasone is allowed him to really ride the wave of anti-income and anger. host: chet edwards, a democrat, texas, 10 terms. guest: the friend of veterans. spent his career fighting for veterans minutes and writes -- host: and a conservative democrat. guest: yes, these are blue dog democrats. recently these are guys on the front lines of the rebirth of the conservative movement. host: de know if chet edwards voted for the health care bill? guest: he did not vote for the health care bill. this is a bill he came out against. alan boyd, on the other hand,

would have for all three democratic priorities. he still find themselves in a position where he is losing his base. host: you show chet edwards down by 12 points. guest: it has come down to the economy. and texas is not hurting as badly as the rest of the country, but folks who are feeling anxiety. years inn't think congress is a qualification for the job anymore. they see it as in fact counterproductive. host: a race that has been really closely watched is the out large south dakota seat. representative stephanie sandlin running against cristi nome, the republican. you have the democratic incumbents up. jacob -- guest: s went into the

offense. cristi nome, said house majority leader, 1 month figure. she was looking at a tough race. she was running contrast adds. that put her back into a situation where she has a bit of an edge. host: finally, before we goo calls, another at large seat right above south dakota. in north dakota. earl pomeroy. guest: he is within the margin of error but he is up a point of one republican rick burke. at this point, he is at 45. congressional wisdom, if you are a democrat and at 45 or below, pack your bags. but i think he has a chance to pull this out.

talking about a lot of specific races and campaign 2010. brandy, dem you have to turn down the volume. put you on hold. we will come back to you if you stay on the line but you've got to get the volume down. peter, a memphis, tennessee. independent line. caller: i have a question on the poing. what i wanted to know is these holdings, do they really considered the minorities like black and hispanic? because everything i heeard during this election is pulling republans. even msnbc, surprising, all four republicans. seem to consider both from marty is --

minorities. guest: that is an excellent question. our polling is picking up a lot more white voters because they are saying they are more likely to vote in the midterm elections. not necessarily that our polls are only attempting to sample white voters but it comes down to, we are asking likely voters of their views on the congressional race and their views of the president and what not so just comes down that typically in a midterm election, the electorate is skewed to older and white heard voters. -- or a wider electorate, for that matter. host: in fact, in the newspaper it tells how the poll was conducted. very quickly, over four weeks the from poll before "the hill" in 42 key toss of braces that

will be critical in determining control of the house of representatives. accomplished by a team led by mark penn will helpeaders obtain unique insight into the thinking of voters who will decide which party will likely control the next congress. go to thehill.com and you can find out exactly how many people were contacted, etc.. brandon, are you with us in charlotte? caller: thank you very much for allowing me to speak. i read "the hill" every day. i am a registered democrat in north carolina who will be voting for the gop candidate. north carolina democrats are really runhe state to the ground. the state has been under democratic control since the past hundred 12 years.

a lot of corruption, fraud and waste, and i am black and i am voting for richard -- and many other gop candidates, and i am proud of it. and i think it is time for voters to stop just looking at the party and looked at their issues and the public record and service record and see what the candidates have actually done. north carolina, i have to say the democrats have not done a good job running the state. host: sean miller? guest: brandy certainly is not alone when she says she is voting for senator -- elin marshall, the person running for senate, really has not been able to catch fire. she has been on the periphery of the national story line. this is a seat democrats thought theyould pick up this cycle. looking at north carolina and louisiana as vulnerable

republican incumbents. but it has been a candidacy that does not necessarily caught a lot of attention. that said, -- elaine marshall is a well-known figure but it might not be hurt year. a profile of the wisconsin state that dave obey has held for a lot of years. guest: that is a situation where he has been ready for a challenge. and it seems like his family called time, said we fought the good fight for years and years and we are going to sit that one else. the democrat has stepped up, state senator. she has been behind even in our polling and john duffy is ahead in this may be one of the trophy seats the republicans get this cycle. caller: good morning.

host: who is the other one? caller: gabrielle deede host: your congresswoman in tucson? are you voting for? caller: no, i am not. host: you voted for the republican? who is the republican? caller: jesse kelly, i believe his name. host: are you voting for john mccain for senate. caller: yes, i am. host: two senate seats. kind of surprised people. guest: he told a district that was cut for a latino politicians. he is someone wh fits the district very well. on the other hand, he got into some trouble after the state

legislature passed the 1070, the controversial anti illegal immigration law. he called for a boycott for the state and it did not sit well -- well with a lot of constituents and now he is in trouble, running against a young woman who is a rocket scientist, the republican candidate, and she has got a lot of attention recently because the seed is a trophy for arizona republicans. gabbi gifford is a tough race against jesse kelly. former marine. he ran into trouble, endorsed by an anti-illegal immigration group that had backed jd hayworth against john mccain. some old quote surfaced from mccain spokesman saying how they were supported by skinheads and the neo nazis. the people of the event -- and

their people vehemently denied this and is at the edges looked for a change in immigration law. host: another race that has been closely watched is indiana ninth district in southern indiana. it congressman barren hill running for reelection not against mike this time. guest: he must have been saying, time for a change, but still in a tough race at the same time. we have him up. two points up on todd young, republican state lawmaker. he may be able to pull this race out. it comes down to win races are this close, individual candidates and congressman -- he knows his district. he has lost before and i am sure he learned a lot. he is one of those incumbents in see coming back.

host: leonard boswell, iowa, longtime democratic congressman. thought to be in trouble. your poll has him up. guest: still under0, but he is a beloved figure. he has been around a long time. it usually sings the national anth at democratic events. he is well known. looks like he got out in front and started campaigning hard. and his opponent never really caught on to folks. host: jim marshall, george. running anti-nancy pelosi adds. and way down. guest: some of the southern democrats are really in a catch- 22. they want to run away from the national party, the president,

and speaker pelosi, but they want something they can take to their base and say tn out to and georgette is looking like one of the state where the democratic base does not seem motivated. and he should be up against nation -- nathan deal came bac with baggage -- for governor, right. it looks like democrats have not been able to get excitement. host: why did you go to the university in ottawa in canada. guest: it has a good journalism school -- and i am canadian. my wife is from boston, though. host: democrat. caller: how are you gentlemen? do not underestimate african americans this year. i was very offended saying -- when you said you are only polling white districts. we died for the right to vote.

african-americans should be very offended by comments like this. we died -- we shed blood. i lived in birmingham alabama and we have an agenda on our ballot this year that we are coming out in droves to vote for. i do not know if you polled and alabama but we have a gambling measure that we lobbied against hard. african americans are coming out in droves to vote for this bill because we do want gambling in alabama. you need to start pulling in black areas. i was very offended by this, and because we died -- host: we got theoint so let me get a response from john miller. guest: certainly did not mean to suggest that that there is any sort of racial reason for and not voting in the midterms. it is demographics more than anything. in the case of alabama, they ran into trouble recently where some

state lawmakers were rounded up in a vote buying scheme because they were trying to push through gambling legislation. that has not really reverberated and a lot of the ngressional races. a tough race against martha rob i in net income received. there are still tough races for democrats. arthur davis made a run down there, gubernatorial nomination in the bid to become the first african-american gubernatorial nominee in alabama. there is obviously a lot of action down there on the democrat from. host: there was kind of a fund political ad being run by somebody running for commissioner of agriculture in alabama on the republican side. i can't think of his name. any idea how he is doing? guest: i think he was shooting

at -- i have to say i have not caught up on his race. host: denise in michigan. caller: i am an independent in michigan and my specific question is regarding word -- voter turnout. we have a term limit to the governor and as you know our state is doing very poorly economically and a republican candidate is taking it away. my question specifically for mr. miller is, what does he think regarding the independent voter turnout because poles can say one thing but the physical turnout for someone is quite different. i am just stunned at california, jerry brown is even leading given the fact of their economic situation. host: who are you going to vote for for governor? caller: i will vote for rick snyder. host: the republican. caller: yes. guest: independent voters are

motivated to vote anthey will really be the deciding factor in this race. independent voters are the fastest-growing electorate out there. they are motivated to vote. sort of diusted by both parties. they are preferring republican candidates. we broke this down by income. if you are and independent the new reported that you were making under $50,000, then it you were more likely to favor the democratic candidate. anywhere from $50,000 to over $100,000, you were more likely to favor republicans. dependent voters this cycle are leaning toward the republicans. host: three:tweets in --

do you know anying about that? guest: jerry mcnerney do well against his republican challenger. a competitive district in california. basically from the san francisco suburbs into the valley, a lot of farm country. a longtime republican opted not to run for his old seat. he actually ran in a nearby district and lost the primary. but mcnerney as a chance of coming back but it is a tough district, though. host: baron held's district. paul from indiana. caller: you guys still my thunder. i was going to ask you about that race. i see it just within the margin of error.

guest: i think it is certainly possible. for anyone to be writing their prediction that at -- in stone at this point, i think it is a little premature. what we can say is baron hill ran tough races before. todd young does not necessarily have the same experience. does baron hill have the campaign infrastructure to make sure he has the 2 percent margin on election day? that is basically the advantage he has over todd young. todd young has the advantage of some republican energy in indiana. it seems like dan coats is on par to take that seat back from democrats and he is leading in that senate race. you have an energetic republican governor, mitch daniels, all campaigning around the state for

state house and state senate republican candidate. advantages on either side but our polling shows baron hill up. host: agnes, sarasota, florida. caller: i lovc-span. i am a registered indepdent but i sent in my absence ballot for the democratic ticket because i do not approve of industry holding back on employment until president obama is shagged out of office. i also object to having tuesday voting. it should be on the weekend so more people are free to voice their opinion. guest: tuesday voting good it is the tradition. i don't know if they will change that one.

host: as a canadian -- reading that toronto elected a conservative, or "the financial times" calls him a right wing mayor, a la tea party. a surprise in toronto. guest: i can't speak specifically to that race. it just seems like the general mood of folks -- canada's economy has not been hit as hard as thenited states but folks are still anxious about the future and it looks like they are willing to go in a different direction. host: asheville, north carolina. jackie on the democrats' line. caller: i wanted it remembered if richard burr wins, he did it with the help of dccc. the day of marshal's has been

funeral they backed a less experienced candidate and forced her into a run off with him to spend money, run off against another democrat. once elaine won the runoff, the dccc refused to back her. so richard burr has them to thank if he wins. guest: they did pick the wrong horse in that primary. bk a former state lawmaker who was an iraq war that and had ca che. marshall has been in state politics for a long time. how they have -- how dcccas chosen to spend its money,

democratic consultants have sniped at them as well that they are protecting the some of their members and not necessarily all of them. they are n really playing offense in any of these states. elaine marshall can rise and fall on her own merit. host: according to "the new york times"his morning, ron kline's race in south florida looks expensive. how does he stand? that is a bit of a swing state -- or district. guest: he is up against alan west, and iraq war vet. he left the military after he was found to have fired a pistol to a who did it detainee to extract information so he was quite controversial the first time he ran. this is another great match. he was quite controversial and

he did not win, and quite considerably outspent. now what west has been able to do is become a real figure in the conservati movement. he has bn able to raise money through a lot of fund raising through direct mail. it will be a real slugfest. it has already had a bunch of -- a few mishaps. florida democratic party sent a mailer with west's social security number, his real social security number. then you have the democrats accusing them of being associated with -- him of being associated with an outlaw biker gang, which he denies. it real interesting race. host: kensington, maryland. tommy on the republican line. caller: sean, this may be an obscure phrase but looking at the republicans, you talk about the republicans making a move back into the northeast and

getting some representatives and senators, do you know anything about the rhode island first, the state legislature, a former national guard, helicopter pilot, i think he is running against the mayor of providence. i am wondering if you can tell me anything about that race. guest: this is patrick kennedy's old seat. the democrats are tually showing some concern. the president was up their fund- raising for the mayor of providence, raising money for the dccc as well. rhode island it has been one of these states that has been a democratic stronghold, party machine stronghold. patrick kennedy decided after his father passed away, he wanted to step out of politics. this will be one to watch. host: south dakota. aubrey, independent line.

caller: ag slid from north dakota. my family moved up hererom texas and i was trying to get information on the race between, or it and bird but i cannot find anything other than the race was close and that wanted to know if you could let me know what is going on. host: who are you supporting? you are calling on the independent line. caller: i really appreciate years, and health care and cap and trade. wary about climate change -- worried about climate change. host: what about the senate race? is it your governor, tom hogan, the republican and polls show him way up for the dorgan seat?

cole argues supporting? caller: younow, i think dorgan did a really good for north dakota. when i talk to people, i think he is involved but the public and listening to people. i know there is the tea party movement appear, but that -- i don't agree with any of that. host: why did you move to north dakota from texas, just in time for winter? guest: -- caller: for the oiand gas. host: thank you for calling in. guest: that race is interesting because you see congressmen pomeroy running an ad featuring george w. bush, and he is a democrat.

he followed it up with this straight camera tv ad where he says he is not nancy pelosi or barack obama. he has tried to put differences betweenimself and the national party and that would really be the only way he could win. host: for a while heas way down. guest: it looked as if he was going to make a run for the senate but then the governor john hogan stepped up and he is a juggernaut. since then his poll numbers have seesawed and now that looks like he has a bit of an edge. host: we have aboutight minutes left in starting shortly is a conessional oversight panel on tarp, chaired by the senator from delaware. lakeland, florida. dennis, a democrat.

caller: good morning. i really enjoy c-span and i listen to itvery morning. i have two questions. the first question is, what are your thoughts on the florida governor's race. i second question is about cellphone polling. i know your polls probably don't take into account that probably half of t people or around that have the cellphone. host: florida governor, and if you are not a polling expert i will not make the answer the second one. guest: i will take the first question first. the florida governor's race was one that the democts thought that this would be an easy pick up after rick scott won the nomination, upsetting the attorney general. rick scott came out of business backgrounds so he fits the kind of -- work snyder, a businessman, making a first run at politics persona. on the other hand, sco has

medicare fraud case in his background whe he took the fifth a number of times while he was testimon alex sink looked like she had a comfortable lead, that she could ride it out and give democrats' vantage in the redistricting, which is what they were most concerned about going into the post census. but one of the debates -- not last night but the night before, alex sink was caught receiving a two-sentence text message sent up by a staff member through the makeup artist during the break, and that was a bit of an embarrassment for her and observers down their caution that, buthe other hand, she is up in the polls but it is democratic turn out really going to be there on election day? the second question about cellphone, that is a challenge

for pulling. -- polling. a lot of folks cannot have a land line but we are increasingly able to contact people who have cellphone. host: before we leave florida, alan grayson's seed. guest: he raised a lot of headlines this cycle for runni an ad against his opponent where he dubbed him caliban -- taliban dan, one of the more memorable ads. however, it looks like he is in the real trouble. a lightning rod for conservatives. webster has been able to raise a lot of money. so it looks like alan grace and's days in congress may be numbered. host: fort worth, texas.

caller: chet edwards in district 17 continues to get reelected because he brings home the pork and he is supposedly a big supporter of the military but he is nothing more than eight nancy pelosi lieutenant. whenever there is a big vote and she needs it, he is there. but if he can get cover and they don't need his vote, then he votes conservative position. we figure he has been writing the military too long. he thinks he is in the calgary. so he is going down. guest: chet edwards is in a tough position. the caller may be right. his days in congress may certainly be numbered. as for his support but the veterans -- it is interesting it

has not helped him overcome -- not has been an issue people have cared about. they are more focused on the economy. it looks like he may be suffering over the wider ang with the democratic brand in general. host: elizabeth, macon, georgia. a democrat. caller: i want to know what are the chances with jim marshall and austin stop and my second question is, did you say you were a canadian citizen and you are running polls for american policy? host: sean miller is a reporter for "the hill" and the newspaper contract it with a polling firm and if you go to their website you consider pulling methodology. sean miller as a reporter has been covering the campaign.

he is not the pollster and it is fair to say you have no connection to the poll, you just see the results. guest: i look at the numbers and try to go from there. as for congressman marshall in georgia, down 13 points. host: he is running anti-pelosi as and saying he voted against health care. still down 13 points. guest: and austin scott may have run into personal stuff -- his divorce case looks like it will be more of an issue after the erection. so that type of personal baggage does not look like it will come up. host: does he have the mother in law situation? guest: i don't know the exact details. but it does not look like it will play out politically. with only a week ago, anyone looking at a 13-point deficit under 45%, it is time to pack

up. host: winston, oregon. jeff, independent line. caller: thank you for c-span, where we get the pulse of the american citizen. i hate to call it a third party, but i would like to see states men and patriots up in d.c. instead of all of the -- both parties, i don't have any use for. they fight like cats and dogs but we are in build middle of a world depression. they need to correct that. i would like -- you know, the tea party talking about a caucus, which they can revolt against the majority and minority with and turn this cotry around. i think this country is dying from a thousand cuts. guest: i think the caller is expressing a really common view

among folks in this campaign season. they just don't view years in congress or incumbency as any sort of endring trait. they think it is the opposite. if you have been in congress, you are part of the probl and you contributed to the national debt. if you have helped put this country in the current economic situation. so, the majority of our poll respondents in our final week said, no, they don't you experience in congress as an asset and i think that is why we are seeing a lot of businessmen, candidates with private sector backgrounds making bids in areas such as the northeast and new england, southern virginia. we are seeing a lot of folks who are not coming out of the farm leagues of politics. they are really just coming straight into it from a private sector background that i think they are being supported by folks who, they want to take a

newirection to congress. host: gulfport, mississippi. go ahead, penny. caller: how are you doing today? i am calling because my congressman taylor, i am telling you, i just love this guy and i would like to hear more said about him because this guy has been true blue as far as conservative. he has always supported the veterans. host: he just announced recently that he voted for john mccain, didn't he? did he have any opposition down there? caller: i love the tea party, but this guy that he is running against, he has been atate congressman. host: we have to leave it there. we are out of time. sean miller, does he have any worries? guest: he does. normally taylor is a guy who wins with considerable margins.

he was caught and but flatfooted in terms of fundraising. he is trying to turn it around. as the caller said, he is very likable and charismatic guy. well liked in the district. he will have to work for this one. i do not think he is in as precarious position as the freshmen, but it definitely has a ra. host: travis -- how far is he down? guest: about 12 points, and that is a district repuicans have typically help. childers was successful in special election two years ago when the republicans were quite divided. they ended up shooting themselves in the foot. and when he won the full term in november he has theower of incumbency and now he is running hard against nancy pelosi and the national party but he is

really up against it. host: sean >> in just a minute we will be live with the rhode island gov. debate. then we will hear from the candidates in a few house races. >> with just days until election day, follow the candidates and races on c-span. go online to see archive debates that the c-span video library. visit our politics page for campaign ads and other resources. this weekend, see the jon stewert rally. we will have debates and

interviews and open our phone lines for your comments about the campaign. follow c-span's election coverage right through election day. >> the candidates running to be rhode island's next governor tonight seven men face of. only one will become the next governor. it is up to you to decide here. thank you for joining us.

when her 90 years of expertise, and they gathered off all the candidates. so glad you could join as. i live like to thank the seven candidates who are here. the debate will last one hour until 8:00. it'll stream live on abc6.com. we will follow up with a post debate analysis from endicott to 8:30. let's begin by introducing the seven candidates. first to have ronald algieri, john robitaille, frank caprio, ken block and chafee. the order has been determined by a drawing.

>> my name is ronald algieri. i want to be our next governor. ideas are the cornerstone of our democracy. i have many ideas concerning taxation, education, social issues, energy, and government. our state government is too large. there is so mr. plication of bureaucracy between the government. this is passed on to all of us through some combination of income sales and property taxes. i know this cannot be changed overnight. it'll take the dedication of our government and allocating some of our resources to problems that have been neglected. i want to make a difference in our world. please come and go to my web site to read on my details. i thank you for your consideration on tuesday.

>> mr. robitaille. good evening. i would be honored to be our next governor. i graduated from providence college. i was an officer. i spent 10-years in labor relations where i said the arbitration cases and grievances. i came back to rhode island and started a business. ryland is in tough financial stress. as your governor, we need to cut spending, lower taxes, and create jobs. career politicians created this mess the we are in. they cannot fix it. together we can. >> mr. giroux. >> i want to be your next governor. i have a family owned business that spanned 50 years.

i understand labor. i want to be the people's governor. there are small business economic development. folks can have the opportunity to refund their loans and the banks will not modify burda all homeowners and small business owners need access to cash. i will create a private work administration and bring back the wta. i want to create a citizens war bond program in which they give a tax freeze for participating i will implement a statewide job steady where we listened to the state workers. we will get the vendor start taking away the major purchases. >> mr. lusi.

>> i like to thank channel 6 for having the integrity to include all the candidates. this is a historic election in my opinion. the country faces some immense challenges. they are showing up in every single state. in the first day, it is money and politics. i'm going to put the challenge to every undecided voter. this is a jumble. i challenge all the voters to take the money out of politics by not voting for politicians put a more than $100,000 in this race. there is no necessity for having money and politics today. i can have a youtube video out as effective as a television ad that cost $10,000. as get the money out of politics. this is the future. let's vote for someone that is a true independent.

>> mr. caprio. >> good evening. i want to be your next governor. i want to thank all of you for tuning in. your of linemen on this podium. we have to make a big decision. and the most qualified person to lead this state. i have met with so many rhode islanders. i found one thing we all have in common. my grandfather came here and did not speak english and had no money or education. yet the ability to get it every money and reduce morning and were car. it was a neighborhood milkman. that did not matter to him. this state afforded him the ability for his kids to get a good education when i get to the state house, i will fight every day for you. i know that you are wondering

how you might pay the mortgage last week -- next week. things are tough out there. we are going to turn this state around. >> mr. block. >> i and to small businesses. i have a first grader and a third grader. i have a wife and has the understanding and tolerance of a saint. i have not been happy with the job that our elected officials have been doing. i am running because i feel like the two-party system design give us a good choice. we all want what is in the middle. we won the job is. we want prosperity. we want a quality education we do not get that. state governments come to me to get help. i want to help our state governments do better. i believe we can fix the

problems we have. when disney quality individuals running you are not wrapped up in politics. we can work together. we can cooperate together. we can make a difference. >> you have one minute. >> thank you. thank you league of women voters. i would like to think channel 6 for hosting us here. through the course of this campaign, i've been talking about the challenges that face us in this state. we have high unemployment. we have a budget deficit that might exceed $300 million. how will we turn it around? yet the focus on the abc's. today we cut a ribbon on the train station that will connect to the airport and the people mover. it is a huge economic

development that will occur around this options that countries will have. we have to solve our budget deficit. the key is jobs for rhode islanders. a necklace explain the format. we will begin with discussions. some of these questions were submitted by the be worse. they will have 45 seconds to respond. the rest will have seven wild cards. these will give the candidates another 30 seconds to talk on an issue. we will keep track of them here. i would like to introduce the debate panel.

>> and said this is undignified. on the other end of the spectrum, they thought it is time someone told what the president. where do you fit in that spectrum? >> i fit in the middle. i understand his frustration with a member of his own party. he is denying him an endorsement. he is not favoring him or senator chafee.

i feel it was an inappropriate comment. i think a harvard graduate should be able to speak more eloquently on an issue where he could take in the president to task in a better way. >> would any market is like to use a wild card to add? mr. caprio. >> i knew we'd get this question. let's go at it. i have this level of respect for president obama. he has a tough job. this was not about addressing the president and his official role. this is about politics and back room washington politics at its worst. as looking for the courtesy of the white house let me know what they were going to do about the endorsement. with that, you have 30 seconds.

>> i feel like i'm playing blackjack. this is about what is going on in your living room right now and about sending someone of that will fight for you. what i meant was that i want to go to that state house. it they are not looking out for the best interest of rhode island, i am blind to tell them shoved it and we will change this state. i look forward to your support. >> anyone else care to use a wild card? >> i think the fact that we are even talking about this is ridiculous. i think the real issue lyles deeper. -- lies deeper. president obama is a guide that

is spending $1.40 trillion more than we are bringing in. when you tell someone to shove it, his money as well? we have to bond issues as loven has a lot of federal money coming in. i say we do not take that. i think no thank you would have worked just as well. >> he should have known that we work together in the senate. we were friends. for i was co-chair been traveled around the country. it is a difficult position. he should have recognized that the bill president obama did not make any endorsements. he is standing up for the road islands can grow. certainly you'd have a bad relationship with the president of the united states. that will not be good for rhode island. >> for president obama to come

into this state and not understand the pain and suffering that people across our state are going through, i found that unacceptable. i was not going to let that pass. anybody on the other side of the table, we will continue to fight for what is right in rhode island. for senator chafee to say he was working for president obama, that is good. when you have a democrat working hard, i think you need a much better reason and what he gave to not endorse. >> if our viewers could see that. mr. caprio use another wildcard predict.

>> if only these candidates will spend more time on the substantive issues. the whole idea of an endorsement, the headline to scream they have no idea how to fix the problems we have. they do not. we need to get this together and move on. let's get some substantive answers. where are the jobs? >> i was disappointed this week when i heard the governor talking about have the managers are wining. i was disappointing to hear mr. caprio say that. sometimes the need to say what is on your mind. i wish more political leaders would reach out. they have certainly struggle to stay up. i was hoping to hear the message.

i appreciate this. >> anyone else? >> your question for mr. robitaille. >> nearly half of the public didn't are eligible for lunches. what is the main thing we need to change to deal effective with the increasing poverty in our public schools? >> the greater cause of poverty in our country -- 97% of the families living in subsidized housing in this state are single mothers with multiple children. where are the fathers? we need to find them and hold them responsible for the decision they made to bring children into this world. we need to enforce the laws that we have. it is not the government's responsibility. >> mr. giroux. folkse met all sorts of

that can barely wait for a paycheck. day labor is an important issue. we need to address that and make it easier to hire an employee without red tape. we grew up hungry. no one can go to work hungry. we need to understand these issues. >> in an excellent use a wild card? >> the question said that happen rhode island students are eligible for free lunches. i do not think have a pro island student -- what happened to our economy. we are cutting our revenue. we are spending money.

that is what he is advocating. >> your time is up. >> you have a wild card. >> i have a plan to bring jobs educated work kate force. i want to bring them back to the state by creating venture- capital funds. they are going out in attracting the businesses. >> today we cut the ribbon on the connector to the train station, the clauses amtrak to an airport in the country. jobs are going to go around. since the dawn of time, economic development has occurred around transportation. we have the highway, the trains,

and the airport all right there. finally connected them to the leadership. >> you had your hand up earlier. >> i do understand the problem. you want to raise taxes a you can pay for everything. we spent $3 billion on social welfare problems. we spent too much. we have very generous problems. when 60% of the children are eligible for a free lunch, that is wrong. we have to find out why and not throw more money at it but find out the root cause. >> mr. mr. block. but i've a plan to put it back into the business. there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of empty officers. it does not mean jobs are going to come.

what can we do proactively to bring jobs to the state? how can you bring them in? >> did you want to use one? you look at you had your hand up. but i find it absurd that this idea of borrowing money to create jobs is an economy. essentially, borrowing money for economy is not right. it to be in a healthy environment. anyone who is voting needs to reject the bond issue. first we do not have it. when you are in the whole, stop digging. i do not think we ought to spend it like this. >> anyone else on this topic? >> we have a private word spread it.

they have access to a revolving fund. homeowners have access to revolving funds. we have long-term unemployment in the state. those folks who have been out of work will continue to get a benefit. they need to participate in the works project program. we need to provide loans to homeowners and business owners. >> there are questions about political corruption. do you think that cronyism and political favors affect hiring practices in the public sector in rhode island? if so, what policies to you support for addressing these problems? >> every job i have had i had to go out and get it. i knock on doors to get my work, hoehling construction.

-- peddling construction. i would have a difficult time getting a job without knowing someone. that is how i feel. some are not connected to the core group of families. i absolutely want to create a job in steady to lower our money, to listen to the employees in the trenches brita they know where the waste is. most jobs are used to compare one wage provider with another. we need to listen to these workers. they need to feel free to speak out of turn. that way we will know where the waste is. >> i have applied for positions with the state. i've never gotten a call back.

got never gotten a "we've the job build." there must be some problem somewhere. i think we need an external auditing to see why homegrown talent is not being used. >> anyone else on this subject? >> your question? >> jobs in the economy have been a major focus . by 2008 teen comedies but three of the jobs due 2013, 2/50 jobs will require -- by 2013, 2/3 of the jobs in new england will require a degree. an educated work force is essential. what do you do to ensure the

education system gets more of our students ready for college? >> you expect people to do their jobs. wintus last three of the students coming in -- when 2/3 of our jobs cominstudents cominn need remediation, what does that say? we need to figure out what is going on. we are in over educated society. beyond literacy and math, we have relegated the physical realm. not everyone is a great student. not everyone to continue on.

we should have functions of government essentially. >> thank you. mr. robitaille. >> the state of our public schools is in need of radical transformation. i am really excited about the commissioners approach. i'm also excited about the race to the top funding. we need to insure that the skills of our children need our alliance with the curriculum they are being taught. we need to make sure that what we are teaching our kids is them an opportunity to go for the jobs that the need. i am not sure i agree with that study. i believe we have advanced manufacturing in rhode island. we also have tourism. we do not need to be stuck on one segment of the job growth. >> for those of you at home, mr.

robitaille two while cars which is why he had extra time to speak. -- wild cards which is why he had extra time to speak. >> i would initiate a contact with our teachers' unions. well we have our blue collar contracts. it is not appropriate to the mission. we need to assess our teachers and ensure we have good ones working in our classroom. there needs to be a peer review. >> we can use another wild card. >> i will come back. >> the question was about k-12. it is funded by property taxes. we have a backward in this state. he is going to have to cut state aid to cities and towns.

we are seeing where sports are being cut. you cannot have it both ways. i am the only one that has talked about revenue that can come in. >> would you like to use a wild card? >> yes. most of my opponents are blaming teachers and the system. perhaps we need to look at students in families as well. maybe it is just not enough. we are the fifth highest in the nation in terms of funding. yet we are for it in terms of what we get out of it. -- 40 in terms of what we get out of it. perhaps we need to go back in time when hteachers have

authority and we respected it. >> she is been there for 18 years. she tells us the struggles they have and how we need to listen to the teachers who are in the classroom and execute a plan that works. i also support the commissioner and the work she is doing and winning the race. i will be a strong supporter of her and holding teachers accountable. >> anyone else? >> i would like to see consolidation in the school system. i support a five county reason regionalization plan. we have to realize the model contract inconvenience ago to out of state funds are with the school's board oa i think there is tremendous amount of savings to be had. in the consolidations, i am not

talking about firing people. i am talking about utilizing it. -- utilizing the consolidation to provide the best of what we have learned in a charter school programs. i think the consolidations will reveal and allow us to find the solutions and give the time to the kid. one can handle several schools. it can be spread to support the teachers'. >> mr. algieri. >> i fail to mention -- as a pharmacy technician, what i do is i have to get continuing education. teachers are not required to get continuing education. this to help them drastically. it will be mandated by the state

to do that. >> your question for mr. caprio. >> let's talk more about jobs. and let people are angry, feeling the setting $5 million was only given to occurred because he is a famous baseball star. mr. caprio, does that still need to be modified or rescinded? >> 38 studios is a bad deal for rhode island the way it is structured. that deal has not closed yet. that is a little secret that does not have much attention. on november 3, i will go through that agreement. we will find a way to put that deal on hold. if it will survive, it will be a much different deal. it will have upside for the taxpayers. right now there is only downside. this is the type of leadership i will bring.

and bring in a point plan. the points need to be incorporated. we need to give credit to the existing small-business is. these companies will turn the economy around. this is the kind accredit i will provide. >> anyone else? >> it is pretty preposterous. we are given 100 million. we are borrowing to loan it out. it makes no sense. we do not have the luxury of abc doling out millions of dollars. against thehey were exis stimulus package.

this is not the solution to our problem. >> the one question that was not passed, are the games going to be worth it? is the product line to sell? we talked about a dream teams. the reality is is a market of young people. will these games make money? i do not think that is the question that is asked. >> anyone else on 38 studios? >> the deal, even with the new board of directors, is an inside deal. i would like to personally donate and old video game

pacman -- it will make more money faster. it is fantasy based. a need to go away. >> and the only can it be fair to look at the curt schilling dill and came up with a better alternative. isn't that what we are looking for? we should not have struck the deal. the state has to be consistent. much more important that we do not make the mistake again and that we do better. my program is all of that. the combined it on my website. >> anyone else? >> do you favor changing the state constitution said the governor and lieutenant governor run as a team? who to pick as your lieutenant

governor? of the idea.rteive it is not make any sense what we have right now. the lieutenant governor is likely to be pulling his or her in a different direction . the governor of state is difficult. two qualified candidates, you get twice as much were down. for me, i would be an advocate for it. i will push it as hard as i could. and for succumbing to the woman i thought would be best for me had medical problems and had to -- and forcefully, -- unfortunately, the woman i thought would be best for me have medical problems and had to drop out. >> i believe the governor and lieutenant governor should be bringing new business to the state.

i would support robert. he is a facility manager. bob was out there meeting folks and young professionals in the city. he offered an open hand 50 minutes ago. i consider him a very charming ambassador of the state. >> anyone else? >> your question for chafee. >> this about the burden of prison on our budget. do you think there are too many people in prison? what policies would you support for reducing the population? >> it is a huge cost to the taxpayers. one thing i learned from mayor is that anytime you have 24-hour a day, three ended 65 days a year service, that is expensive -- 365 days a year service, that is expensive.

it is very expensive. i think some of those lesser crimes, we might have to look at these costs. it is a difficult issue. there are heavy costs. they call them victimless crimes. low-level marijuana use. this is costing the taxpayers so much money. >> here is the last question in the issue around. this is the only route in which you can use your wild cards. >> sinister chafee begins the discussion on legalization on to the things i believe should be legalized but the.

it will provide as revenue up immediately. it takes time to develop. the best thing we can do is to use -- is to get revenue right away. the way we can cover it up for dinner million dollar deficit. i do not know how much money will be made. i know it is better off in clogging our jails in keeping people in prison and not giving them any chance of redemption. they can choose their destiny these people, the souls, that have turned to these professions. >> thank you. mr. chafee. >> i clarify myself. the key would be to make sure that they are given support, care, and going to some other

way of dealing with the crime. there is counseling and support to keep the a out theci of the. -- keeping a aci out to. of the -- keeping them out of the aci. there is a lot in this area. we do fundamentally need to decrease the population i've been an avocation for the legalization of marijuana. we will take a victimless crime out of the jails and courts. >> the reason why prisons are overflowing is because we have a bad economy in rhode island. people have nowhere to turn to make ends meet. they are turning to crime. i put out a detailed jobs plan.

i was one of only six candidates that have their jobs highlighted in the u.s. times recently. they have endorsed me based on the ideas i deal with. i ask you to look at my business plan at my web site and see how it will stimulate our local economy. >> in five years, they are down about $1.5 billion. that is not a very good record. when you talk about spending machines, you should talk about money. this date is bankrupt. this city of providence should be putting in information to declare their bankruptcy. this whole city is bankrupt. the rest is nonsensical talk. >> i have to respond to that.

i have been cited nastily for the returns we put into the state pension fund. the state pension fund is outperforming. the problem with the pension fund is that it is paying out a quarter of a billion more year than it pays in. that is why my reform system will sustain that system. mr. chafee has one that will bankrupt the system. >> the rate of return on the pension is estimated to be a point%. to five at --8.25%. that is a pipe dream. no one knows how bad it is. the candidates are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to have the unions in their pocket. >> that is it.

we will change things up in the canada it will ask questions. this time, the candidates will only have 30 seconds to answer. no wild cards will be used. but go to our panelists. >> minister algieri, in the 1990's, our economic development was pretty good. what was the economic development corporation during their that it has not done in this previous administration? >> part of it is probably the general economy overall. you had the birth of the internet. you had the birth of technology that took off. the economy on a whole is better. probably taxes were a little bit cheaper. my property taxes were a lot less. there were a lot less than they

are now. >> i was not making enough money to pay the state tax. i cannot testify to that one. >> do you favor a full-blown casino? >> i am concerned the rhode island is number one of four lottery sales. the neckties the south dakota -- the next highest s.d.. s --outh dakota. it is a tax of people who can least afford it. >> are you offended by all of the anonymous money that is being spent on political ads? >> i spent $3,000 on my campaign.

the percentage of that is the bumper stickers outside. though free to check them out. it to be nice to have a more fair election process. my messaging of bringing back a wpa goes so well with the older generations who remembers the sidewalk. my message is for protecting folks in the home. it is so important. >> your questions lusi. mr. >> the state in massachusetts credit bank of local aid raise the sales tax 1.25%. their economy is doing much better than ours. they have a better educated workforce. they lead the country in job creation. what is wrong with load island? >> i think the sales tax is a

good idea. let your realistic. if we are going to pay collectively, have a large population does not pay anything. when the institute a sales tax, it brings them on board. i'm not against the sales tax. i'm against when it is being used to go into the coffers of contract that unsustainable and bankrupting the state. it cannot have a sales tax and sustain the union contract. >> how do we solve the gay marriage controversy in the state? should the general assembly decided? should the court system decided? >> i would sign it into law. >> do you favor the 10-point plan that has been introduced by citizens?

>> absolutely. we need systemic reform their out our government. -- throughout our government. out the press canada for governor to sign on. my name was on there. i would do it again in a heartbeat. >> thank you. your question? >> this question is about health care. what is the most decision you have to make about healthcare? >> i believe working with the new exchange that has to be formed. there is a great deal of flexibility to the state and forming an exchange for the central part of this new health care law. we are working to make sure it is the best in the country. >> now the clock has wound down. we are almost up their time wise. we want to get candidates one

last time to address you. they will have one minute plus whatever time they did not use with their wild cards. >> i want to think the league of women voters for the king has standings to put this together. i want to praise my fellow candidates. ken understand how technology can save millions. frank is experience in our legislature and and help us reduce waste and make our pension sound. he is unique perspective to utilize washington's power to our advantage. todd singleminded effort is to ensure that homeowners are not overrun by banks recklessness and greed. joe has healthy skepticism of power. john has a knowledge of the branch.

it'll be of great experience. me, a jack of many traits, and many believed the best qualities of these men can be combined into a team that working together will not is bring a state out of recession but the shining example to the rest of the nation as to what can happen when the people but their differences aside and work together. if you share my decision, both for me on december 2. my name is robert algieri. mr. robitaille. >> when i am governor, at a clear list of priorities. the purses create jobs and ensure the wicking a rhode islanders back to work. the only way we can create jobs is to become competitive so business owners will want to bring the businesses here and expands the jobs we need. the only way we will do that is to cut spending.

we spend too much money in rhode we spend $10 billion on government for the size of rhode island. rhode island is not have a revenue problem. we need to cut spending. we need to fix our social welfare program. we have started a social welfare problem but traps people in the code dependency with a government. when young women turned down raises at work for fear of losing their child care subsidies, something is wrong with that. we need to empower people and not enslave them. we need to take a book that these programs and ensure we are giving them iincentives for pathway.

we can take a look at each one of these programs and make sure if they have the educational opportunities and the training they allities that h can have. we also have to fix this employee pension program that has been allowed to turn into a ticking time bomb. we have what is estimated to be a 6 ft. $1 million liability. we have to honor the promises to our employees. we have to change the program. i will work with members of the general assembly to stop this program where it is coming to fulfill the promises we have made to public employees but go with a plan that is fair to them and affordable to all taxpayers. i am going to in the first 90 days sit down with each department director and have been submit to me three budget scenarios, a 15% reduction, a

10%, and pfizer. 5 --%. -- 5%. if i do not believe the tax dollars are being spent wisely, i am not going to approve the funding of those programs are departments. you will need a governor who is tough. i am that man. i love to have your boat. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. i applaud you for cleaning out the good aspects of all the candidates. we need a team. i want to disagree with you. i'm not single-minded. i agree we need to cut spending. we do not have a revenue problem in the state. i want everyone to know that in my job, that is on the job

training for the long-term unemployed in the state. .t traded property tax freeze these are all ways to discover the waste in our state. that walkaway with tens of millions of dollars in contracts. we need to hire people to oversee them. we do not need construction workers wasting their time on the side of the road. the contract need to reflect this. every town and foreclosure that is happening, about to happen, accountability, budget, and consolidation. >> thank you. mr. lusi.

>> i like to think the league of women voters. this has been a high honor for me i think of the candidates to be able to participate like this. the process has been not exactly democratic. i do not want to use all my time. it does boil down to money. i'm running this campaign on $50. we and millionaires spending millions of dollars. stay independent. boat with me. >> thank you for listening tonight. this was an important debate. if you have seen the choices. the choice is simple next tuesday. if you want someone is going to raise taxes, chafee. is your man if you want someone that double talks like mr. robitaille, he will raise the

car and property taxes. now he says he will cut property tax. we need someone that has been in that state and understand how it works. they are going to go through the budget line by line and make the necessary changes. you make the tough choices. you balance your budget. if you hire me, the most common phrase will be "you are hired." >> of rhode islanders are in a political pawn. we are so used to voting for the lesser of two evils. we are not voting for the best the best. we need to adjust our thoughts. we need to expect more.

we need to vote for the best. we have to adjust our expectations. our political process is broken. it is difficult to express how you'll fix problems as broken as our educational system in 30 seconds. this is an about bumper stickers, and lack of focus. this is nothing to indicate the character or ideas for the leader was going to best address the problems that we have. we have to knock it off. we have to expect more. i have done to the hardest things an individual can do in this state. i started a political party entered out to be the toughest state in the country to do so. i can open a high-tech business. i resisted the urge to move across the border to

massachusetts and say the fortune in tax. that is the root cause of our problems. we have to correct our economy. we cannot do on we are not tax competitive. we need to expect more from our leaders. as voters, i really urge you to listen carefully to what has transpired all the way through on this election, to try and understand has a real idea. you cannot talk about the business and say that is a plan. you cannot do it. bumper stickers are not policy. please come to got my website. >> mr. chafee. >> thank you for your service.

i do believe one of the problems is in too much fighting. the government has been fighting with the legislator. as mayor, i have four different council president. i worked well with all of them. i had to get it through the city council. as voting in the war in iraq. i was able to work well with my party even though i was voting

against them. for every dollar that goes out and rhode island, $220 comes back. out is goodell working with my party even though on many -- i was good with working with my party even though on many occasions i would not sign with them. rhode island gained 500 jobs because of my ability to work well with everybody. i respectfully ask for your vote. >> thank you to of the candidates for joining us. we do appreciate it. who would like to take our partner for making our wonderful debate here on abc six. this wraps up tonight's debate. where does the time go?

the thank you so much for joining us. remember to go out and vote november 2. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> here is a little more on the road island governors race with a couple of campaign ads that are airing in the state. >> i know what it was. lincoln chafee knew what it was. that is why i oppose this war. chafee of lincoln can stand up. >> he has a willingness to stand up even when it is not in his own political interests and tell the truth. >> i will never forget this.

they worked in my office. they have a state of peace. i did not run for office to have taxpayers pay for my car, my insurance, and my guess. i pushed those items back that the person. people are working hard enough to pay their own bills. we are not one to rely on the taxpayers to foot that bill for me. >> my opponents are doing what career politicians do, running negative ads. the truth is, these are tough economic times. they are treating record unemployment. now they will say anything to get elected. we need a bold new direction. we will lower property taxes. we will work to create jobs. career politicians made this mess. they cannot fix it. they cannot fix it.