>> please, folks in the audience, we want a professional environment. think of the presidential key baits, where we want the viewers who may or may not have a position, who are trying to gauge the credibility of the candidates, so that they can help make that decision. partisan cheering or booing or whatever interferes with that, it just does. so i know that you feel strongly about your candidate and that's 100% understandable and great. but please, let's have a professional debate environment for these folks. like i said, once it's all >> i want to make something clear, too. if you were asked a question first. rebuttal. do a you get the extra 30 seconds this time. okay. gentlemen, if it's your plan to address the islamic crisis and describe the circumstances in which you would upport boots on the ground in syria and iraq. we begin with gardener. policy is in the

situation it is today because of the failure of leadership in the house. the president has said his be on the ballot. president said he has no strategy when it comes to isil. he president said we'll lead from behind and that's mark's agrees with use he him 99% of the time. we must make sure we protect the afety and the security of the american families and that's why i supported efforts to take out terrorists. islamic lieves the tate is not -- we had people arrested at denver international irport for conspiring with the islamic state and chicago and up at the sn't show armed services hearing when it comes to emerging threats. absent.

>> same question. >> thank you. remind congressman that he's running against me and obama and not my harry reid. congressman, you should know isil is a serious and immediate threat. i serve on the armed service and chair the sub committee and the intelligence committee. we'll wipe them out. we're going to do it through a strategy that you supported. you voted for it a few weeks ago house of representatives and we'll be there but also oing to call on our air partners to stop playing both played for too long. let me talk with you a little bit about the committee. serve on that committee as i told you and i get briefings on on what's basis happening in the world. i made every single vote on the services committee but

what you're doing is situation.ng the you want to parse words and i want to protect america. politicizing, you're running a tv commercial on the islamic stat. fact is the president said that his policies are going to be on the ballot. that.esident said when you vote as many times as you have with the president, 99% of the time, you are tied, hook, sinker. words. to his he islamic state is not an eminent threat to the nation and he won't show up at the emerging threats hearings. >> congress's job approval is teens and the low gridlock in washington is ramped. member of the u.s. senate do you think is most responsible that environment?

>> i think, lynn, what's environment or the is the country's divided and very different points of view reflect that. i also think we're called upon to be leaders, to rise above and i know when you look at my record you see that i've done that in a whole host of ways and hey see that congressman gardener he's been 99% with the tt house. leadership his supreme court on everything women's reproductive health to supporting minimum wage climate change, 100% of comrades know he's in the wrong place. what we have to do is work of ther and i have a record dealing with senator mc cain and job opportunities and my record of working across he aisle is one i'm proud of and one i'll continue if the

people of colorado send me back for a second term. mr. gardener. >> harry reid has made the the most tes senate dysfunctional place on earth. harry ator will vote for reid once again to be the leader of the united states senate. there have been over 340 pieces of legislation that have passed representatives, many with bipartisan support. legislation and ledge hreugs to put people back to women who have been deprived to earn good paying jobs. harry reid is refusing to bring those bills up. the fact we have dysfunction is have a senator who changed the rule, broke the the rules.ange senator, you broke the rules of he united states senate to change the rules and stifle debate. you followed just like you followed the president of the 99% of the time.

let's look at the record here in colorado of accomplishment that we've all shared in. to lead the proud effort to ensure we've got flood recovery. wasn't -- we've led in the best above energy approach. there's a lot that we've done that we'll rado continue to do because we're rugged collaborators, we know futures are linked together and i'll take that spirit back to washington, d.c. ike i have taken that spirit back to washington, d.c. these last six years. >> speaking of the shut down, it came at the same time that colorado is trying to cope with flooding. mr. gardener, you claimed you never take a vote to shut down he government but you took at least three votes that led to down.ut

your comments about mr. gardener left the impression that the congressman was indifferent to flooding victims. hat's the real story here, mr. gardener? >> the flood was a tragic, ragic occurrence where people lost lives and thousands of homes were damaged and destroyed but i was proud of the work that together. we worked together to provide for the people of colorado. i worked on the legislation that about.e bragging we worked together to find solutions for people in need. the vice president of the was in greeley, colorado and he said even if down was a government shut flood relief would not be impacted. vice president about that. is, we worked together to get solutions for colorado. we heard a lot of talk about rugged who says we need

collaboration and we did that to much needed relief. and i'm sad that the senator okay and his political determination to tragedy that does not deserve to be used as a fodder. >> we rode on a hell couldn'ter unified and got after and headed back to washington, d.c. providing relief and support to the people of colorado. i don't know what happened on but when you got off you took a whole different approach. i don't know whether it was your but you votedhat, to shut down the government. 128 national the guards people who were put on hold and talked to the national were ready and come to colorado to provide the support they do so well in times disasters.

reckless and if you represent the state of colorado you stand with the state of colorado. don't turn your back in travail and national disaster. >> you don't politicize tragedy. around to the people of colorado after we orked together and try to political aign and opportunities. we worked together and stood to talk about the oad work we had been able to accomplish together and stood side by side with fema directors going about how we were together.

>> gentlemen, do you think has the oh bam ha authority to take action on the issue of illegal immigration. so, what should he do for the power? risk of hat is the having obama act. failed immigration system. >> i'm sorry. is intended to go mr. gardener. senator, please. take the question. >> i think your question was immigration reform. president have authority on taking action on illegal immigration? system.ave a broken the senate passed a bipartisan bill close to 70 votes and we house and nothing has happened. every business leader has called reform.gration many of the communities want to

see the right folk when yous it laws and nforcing our il the president in the action of action in the house of which consider all his options. up too many ing families. he called on congressman and he hasn't act. he hasn't moved to to the finish line. secure our borders in the context of this dangerous world we should have comprehensive immigration reform. families to keep together let's pass comprehensive immigration reform. of the most important steps he can take and congressman gardener is missing action. >> i strongly support immigration reform and testified a half ago about the need for immigration reform. because in this mess of failed leadership, from the

and senator.r look at the situation, we're in this situation because the failed to act in with the congress. the president himself says he legal authority to issue an expect i have order. that's what the president himself has said. he said he lacks authority. let's work together on immigration solutions. he wants to focus on criminals when it comes to immigration. several years r ago voted to make undocumented ndividuals felons in this country, i wonder if he's still they are n believing riminal felons and i like to know if he still feels that way. 2010 he chose carbon taxes

instead. >> congressman, when you talk about failed leadership you're an example. set up a broadly supported bill over to the house representatives and i'm calling on to you exert leadersh leadership. vote it would pass with over 250 votes. i've acted. you haven't. the president wants to act and e is considering all his options. but let's talk about today and moving the country forward. a land of immigrants. question e back to specific to the candidates and we begin with the senator. started out the year giving a vague answer about whether you the to campaign with president. now you've been mocked by saying person you want to see you.ing up the line is what do you think of the job barack obama has done? >> i tried to have a little fun right.aour

-- when i agree with the president of the united states i stand with him with george bush when he believed and promoted going afghanistan and taliban and bin lad den. is spying ent obama on americans and the senate i made my point of view very, very clear. to goresident bush wanted into iraq, i made it very clear i thought we should finish the afghanistan. supported residents comprehensive immigration reform that. orted >> mr. gardener, please explain the policy difference between federal life conception act

co-sponsoring and the ballot measures that you say support wrong to ofause they ban certain bans birth control. the federal act which you're statement that i support life. said that you have compass. mr. gardenerack to with a real question. >> monday was a historic for the gay rights movement. much has been made when it comes to gay rights. younger republicans have been advocating for equality in marriage. changethink it's time to your position?

>> i have supported traditional believe but i also people must be treated with dignity and respect and that's why i'll abide by the decision courts. this is an important issue we divisive to use for political points but how we can respect and ty and make sure we focus on issues around the state as well. people f economy and have opportunities to create stronger families. do e are things we can together instead of trying to oliticize on issues that some may see as division. been so ampaign has focused on women's issues that been dubbed uterus. image of you as a bipartisan as been significantly diminished and the colorado senate -- have you gone

too far? reproductive rights are so millions.to on ongressman hasn't built limiting women's choices we wouldn't have that discussion today. other d this on a lot of issues. hereuched on a lot of them today. isis and immigration reform and economyto make sure the is working for everybody. if you look at the traffic in my over half of the ads topics.d those kinds of but congressman doesn't want to have this discussion his record is extreme. have to look any further than the first amendment which would ban all forms of abortions and most forms of couldn't exception. a series of other votes. -- against

contraception available and against relationship so it would be a hard time prosecuting court.ators in limitinglong record of reproductive rights. >> we'll move to yes or no questions. you cannd of each round expand on an answer or answers should you wish to take it. with mr. gardener. are u believe humans contributing to climate change? said it all along it's change. the climate is changing. i disagree how it's been in the --s >> congressman at the end of the you'll be given a minute to respond to any of the questions. able hink we ought to be to provide an answer. this is a serious debate and i don't think nd

we should short change issues answer. -or-no >> that was 60 seconds. >> these yes or no questions are meant to be answered yes or no they should come from a you would hold. senator.ve to the are u believe that humans contributing to climate change >> yes do you support the death penalty? >> yes. >> no. the ballot upport measure to legalize pot in colorado? >> no. gardener? >> no >>. do you support federal action to clear rules for legal marijuana businesses to gainack section to banging? > yes >> yes >> should the taxpayers bill of or altered?anged

>> no. talking about taber? >> so that's a no answer for you? should not be changed. >> mr. gardener. no? do you support the construction of the keystone pipeline? the science is complete, yes. gardener got his way. science is completed, yes. >> we'll go back to you you and seconds -- well, how about 30 second to respond. >> these are very important ssues and they're very important issues that many cannot be described as yes or no important why it's when it comes to our environment we talk about how the climate is changing but i disagree that man

s causing it and i refuse to destroy our economy in order to ideas.radical but i also find it curious that supports taber when he increase at the state level. as hat's radical congressman's continuing denial hat climate change is occurring. have prescientists in our stat and we're seeing the effects ask we're skwaeutd to leave the we try and the world and prepared for this moment. approachhe best energy is we can meet this challenge. e'll enhance our sraoeurpb skpfplt great geopolitical flexibility because we're too supplies from l world. the

>> gentleman, this month's job expectations d bringing the national down to 5.9%.ate another study showed that the household income in 5.2% from ropped by 2007 to 2013. what needs to happen at the to regain momentum families.ower income we'll start with the senator. pheurpbght to raise the mum wage. the last president to sign a minimum wage increase george w. bush. we do so every decade. act ould pass the fairness and how about making college more affordable. with a numberrces of senators so students and could refinance student

loans and provide incentives for jobs here and ep not ship them overseas. why do i bring this up? because congressman gardener has a different point of view on all those issues. we need to expand or job and make pportunities for that those of us going new employment have new job younger as well as the americans who need the skill sets that are unique to the 21st century. if we don't respond we run the risk to the middle class. it is beyond time that we get government out of the way and work.erica unleash the nature.neurial mark's policies voting with the president 99% of the time have set this country back. result of his failed

whocies we have coloradoans are learning $4,000 less over he last several years and the participation rate is lowest in 36 years. that's what is happening. expand the earned income credit that lifted millions putting in ty and place and moving forward on the keystone pipeline that would minimum wage han 20ortunity and giving people and 30 hour work. we need more colorado in less washington in colorado. unfortunately our economy is it is the verse and feeling the burden. >> we've been through lot of our enges and we've shown

mettle and i don't care what been through and you don't talk down colorado because this wonderful state in the nation with the most people.ul i will tell you one of the things that won't help is gut medicare. >> i'll protect and medicare. the u.s. national debt is trillion.ng $18 can we get a handle on our debt deficit e the annual without raising taxes? what significant spending cuts would you support to balance the budget. gardener? >> he can start addressing the obamacare.epealing e must put in place a ballot budget agreement. we also have to pass legislation i introduced on a

ipartisan measure that would due applicable programs. e are spending money that future generations simply cannot handle. it will break our economy. national security advisors to the president have said it's one our e gravest threats country faces. let's look at what the senator's record has meant. elected to congress, our national debt was $5 trillion. after voting consistently with washington,house in d.c. agains coloradoans that debt is over $17 trillion and we and futureforward it better. ons deserve let's put the insurance companies.

he voted to turn medicare into a program. that would be another bad day for our seniors. been a leader on budgetary matters in the senate and previous to that in the house. coloradoans are fiscal hawks return on o see the dollars. let's lower corporate tax rates strip out some of the subsidies and incentives that intended but don't offer growth. so the first democrat to do and the exemptions are for medicare.urity and e should make sure we keep the medicare in place. just yesterday at the denver chamber voted to cut

$800 billion. i believe we should protect and nets ve our social safety including medicare and social security. he has no plan. i believe that we can tkpwroe the our economy and pass balance budget amendment and repeal and replace obamacare and this debt that poses a significant threat to this country. another enentitlement question. which of the enentitlement would you look at first form or make cuts. let me just clarify yesterday. we had a robust debate at the and point i was making is that congressman gardener $800 million and trebgtd into tax cuts. republican study

group budget. redirect thene was medicare to extend and life.nsy clear. to make that i support the simpson bull's plan t lays out a road map, if will, chuck, to ways if and hich we can continue insroefting in the future. we ought have to the best broadband and highways in the sure our children have access to affordable education and dot research and doing at the 're national renewable energy laboratory. blueprint to get at the broader questions. question. >> i think you just heard senator admit if you're on medicare advantage in colorado having them cut. he just admitted he voted in the

healthcare bill to cut medicare billion.e by $700 we must protect and pre serve or nets. i support efforts we not only and what happens could be insolvency. the government must stop borrowing. we must protect medicare by preserving it for future generations. what the senator has done is havethousands in colorado their benefits cut. congressman, that takes real gumption to stand up here and accuse me of cutting medicare when you actually voted to send money into tax cuts.

and this is to meet costs. we have extended the life of medicare for some six years. saycannot go around and your votes do not matter. >> colorado has been home to the colorado movie theater shootings, which called for stricter gun laws. >> we watched columbine, and we ora,hed what happened in aur and what has happened in the country. it is unacceptable the kind of

violence that has occurred, and i think we should do everything we can to prevent those kinds of tragedies from occurring. and that is why i have worked to make sure we have found mental health solutions, to find something he for it slips through the crack, to a dress the needs of those whose voices are being unheard because of the terrible tragedies that could occur if we do not reach out to those voices first. i am a staunch defender and believer in the second amendment. in colorado, we had for the first time two recalls of state legislators. the senator supports gun control is even more restrictive than the measures that led to the recalls of two state senators. >> congressman, a -- i strongly support the amendment. my mother taught me how to handle a gun. she was a member of the nra. i could apologize to her

every day for having me as a we ought to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and felons and miners. it is a commonsense approach. you, and i amh excited that we are agreeing on something. we ought to do more in the world of mental health, and we should also do more research into run violence, because these mass shootings are beyond tragic. i will never forget the six and seven-year-olds at sandy hook that were mode down 1.5 years ago, two years ago. we can't forget what happened and there are some common things we can do. the colorado universal background check law, there are over 70 individuals who shouldn't have firearms. it is progress, and we are protecting people at the same time. >> mr. gardner?

>> it was the comment when he said he supported the gun-control measure even more restrictive than the ones that passed in colorado that he voted for because he felt it was worth giving it a shot. he's described the second amendment rights not as a constitutional right as a tradition. our constitution has a right in it. you have a c grade. you are not a supporter of the second amendment. udall has beenr. repeatedly hammered. called kiloas been extreme. address the attacks against you -- kilo extreme. address the attacks against you.

he continues to throw out the number 99%. and he is trying to distract people from his extreme record, and he has supported the mm it. and let me remind all of you of what it would do. it would ban all forms of and women of colorado have reproductive rights, and we ought to trust them to make >>isions, not politicians

the president said his policies are, indeed, on the ballot. only a person who has disagreed with the president 1% of the time, or for somebody who believes it is not extreme to propose a takeover of our health care system. it is not extreme to support better economic opportunity, that it is not extreme to support energy across this country to create jobs and opportunity. i believe we can do better in this country. i believe we can do better if we put colorado first instead of washington. first. after 16 years in washington senator udall has decided just run away from his own record because he can't defend obamacare. he can't defend his economic policies. what i support for people across this country is opportunity come -- opportunity, to make sure that we get government out of the way to make sure we are , reducing the tax burden on

families, making college affordable with what i have introduced. >> mr. udall. >> he is running away from the record. minimum wage, his votes to gut social security and turn medicare into a voucher program. his vote to deny a program that would track sexual predators. the congressman's record is extreme, and if you really look at it further this time, it would move us backwards, and we want to move colorado forward. we come to the point of the debate where we ask questions. and we start with mr. udall. your first question? >> congressman, you have, as i just said, sent mixed messages to the people of colorado when it comes to women's reproductive

rights. a law like the life at conception law would ban abortion and it would ban most common forms of contraception. i'm just curious what would happen if that would become the law the land. because you clearly believe that this is something we ought to implement given your long record and initiative. >> that bill is a statement i support life. i believe we had to expand access for women's health including the opportunity to allow contraception to be sold over-the-counter without a prescription, the opportunity to make sure we change obamacare to allow it to be reimbursed by insurance. that's what i believe. >> congressman let me follow up. , were you to be in the senate, conception act, would you sponsor it? this is an important question. this is a question the coloradans deserve an answer on

and you have given a whole series of mixed answers with a series of interviews over the last number of weeks it and, frankly, it is very unclear where you stand. you and i have enormous differences almost every policy matter and i respect that, but you owe coloradans a clear set of positions on these important issues that matter to coloradans, millions of coloradans who think this is very important and it speaks more loudly and more broadly about your respect for women, whether you keep your word, and what you really believe. >> well, thank you, and, again the bill in the house is a , statement i support life. i have not seen the bill in the senate, believe it or not. not everybody in the house reads bills in the senate that have just been introduced and have not been in committee so i look , forward to working with everyone across this country to address the concerns that you've rightfully stated. we need to work together on. >> mr. gardner, it shifts to your turn. your first question. >> senator udall, the islamic state is a growing threat to the

region and to our country. recently it has become the news, in the news, that you have not only missed every public airing -- hearing of the emerging threats subcommittee but your attendance at the senate armed services committee has only been 64% as the islamic state can use -- continues to present an imminent threat to our nation. where were you? and what was more important than our national security? >> congressman as i said earlier , i chair the strategic forces subcommittee which is crucial to colorado's military community. i sit on the armed services committee. i am briefed on an ongoing basis, also as a member of the intelligence committee on what's happening not only in the middle east but around the world. as i said earlier i've made all all of the votes on the armed services committee, and i take that as an important responsibility. but what you're doing here is

again trying to distract people from your record and you're forgetting that we're in this together. that isil isn't going to target us based on a political party or the region of country which we live. they will target us because we are americans. and i would ask you to stop politicizing this very, very series threat. politics ought to end at water's edge. i would remind everybody here, too, that a year ago when i was calling for airstrikes in syria, congressman gardner said what's happening in city isn't a threat for national security. i don't think you were paying attention back then so let's stop parsing words and let's start protecting america. >> your second question. >> senator udall, you have recently launched a television ad were you talk about your support for equal pay. i support equal

hey, and yet in your office you , pay women 86 cents for every 1 dollar that you pay a man. why don't you live by example in your office? >> congressman, you know that this is a strategy that you see writ large around the country, republican operatives everywhere have made his case to i'm reminded of what mark twain famously said about statistics many years ago. let me make it clear. i pay the women on my team the same for equal work. what you're doing is the is distracting coloradans from your record which is not pro-women. you voted against the paycheck fairness act as i mentioned earlier. you voted against raising the minimum wage. you do not think we ought to have broader access to pell grants. we have had as you know a robust conversation about respecting women's reproductive rights. it's clear that what you want to do it again is distract the voters in colorado from your record which is extreme, which is not in the mainstream. you have changed position in the number of ways, and, frankly, at best you promote the status quo

which in today's world a last you to innovate and be creative will take us backward. , my focus is on moving us forward. >> by example. >> as i said we'd pay the women on my team the same for equal work. >> 86 cents for every 1 dollar you pay a man. >> ok, thank you, gentlemen. we are coming to the closing arguments portion of our debate, and, again, thank you all for coming to the debate, and mr. gardner chose to go first. >> i talk a lot about my hometown. yuma, colorado, u.s.a. a little chunk of concrete that says jas and some 1910. that was my great, great grandfather's hardware store the became a business that is still in business and that will be 100

years old tomorrow. every evening when my wife and i get the chance to take the kids for a walk by that little chunk of concrete we wonder if our children will have the same opportunities that their great, great, great grandfather did. to move the family, to create a better way of life, to build opportunity. deeply don't change the way things work in washington, if we don't change this country and start putting colorado first, creating opportunity for the next generation, the answer will be no, they won't have the same opportunity. but i will never shy away from the greatness of our country and i believe that we have the ability to change washington, d.c., that color can be the vanguard of the movement to make sure we're turning this country around, create jobs and opportunities and fulfilling our moral obligation. that is to make sure that we pass on a stronger nation to our children and grandchildren at a better starting point than the one we inherited. >> mr. udall. >> the greatest honor of my life has been to represent the state of colorado in the united states senate. we have accomplished a lot in the last years, and we have been challenged with the floods and up fires, and we have stood

to be collaborators, and i am proud of that. our country is coming back, but there is more work to be done. you can pass the minimum wage and respect women's role in the workplace and unsure that college is affordable. elections are competitions about visions and policies, and there is a clear set of choices in this election. the congressman talks about representing a new generation and the republicans, but look at the new generation. the new generation believes in marriage equality, marriage reform, believes in reproductive rights, believe in climate change. the new generation does not stand with the congressman. he does not believe in those things. i should say all generations should stand with me. i ask for your vote on november 4, because working together, we can keep this wonderful state of colorado moving forward. thank you.

[applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] you can see the debates in our video library, follow us on twitter and c-span and visit us on facebook.com/c-span. one of his campaign debates is where democrat tom harkin retiring after 30 years in the senate. candidate is a state senator. here is a few minutes of their most recent debate. >> super pac support, as mentioned prior to the debate, a few commercials here and there for and against the future, and claims made against supporters of candidates for and against. cedar rapids, waterloo, iowa .ity, and dubuque

any response? >> thank you very much, and welcome, congressman. senator, it is great for you to be here tonight. much has been said about the advertising, so we will look at giving you a chance to refute -- the super pac adds, particularly. this is millions of dollars coming from outside of iowa, and we know that you have no control over them at all, but they are with fear and scare tactics, and i would change this because of the gun control you just talked about. was insinuating that you and michael bloomberg are buddies now and then you are going to take away my second amendment rights, and i don't like it, so what is the answer. >> the answer is i have never met michael bloomberg. [laughter] no idea what these ads

are based upon other than a fear that i am going to bring balanced common sense to try to come up with reasonable solutions to reducing gun violence, like i have, working with a republican from pennsylvania named tim murphy. we have held lots of meetings this year on our connection between our failure to address mental illness in this country, and through those bipartisan hearings, we learned that the largest mental health treatment facility in the united states is the los angeles county jail. more,w that we have to do and yet when the senator was asked about this question on , she was asked about her ad that she ran in the primary, where she was shooting a pistol into the camera, and saying, let me take a at obamacare, and that came out around the tragedy at santa barbara, and she called it an

unfortunate accident, and i do not think it was an accident for the victims and their families. tragedy,s a horrible and i have stated that already. you have stated you will work for mental health reform. we have done this in the state of iowa, working towards a better system and easier access were the most vulnerable in our population to receive care. many placesk into now and discover where they can go for treatment, and whether you're in a rural area or living in a populated area, we want to make sure there is easy access for those that suffer from mental illness and do receive the care that they need, but i will always be a strong supporter of the second amendment. our motto, our state motto, and our rights we will maintain. another campaign debate is from michigan, where republican

governor rick snyder is running for election. .is democratic challenger there was a debate last night in detroit. sixthernor, in the circuit court of appeals, if they uphold the overturning of michigan's gay marriage ban, will you ask the attorney general to pursue the deal further, or will you let the matter last? >> i am going to wait for the opinion to come down. a hypothetical, but i will respect what happens in our court system, and i think that is where the issue will be decided. >> where do you stand? >> again, i am waiting for the courts.from the >> congressman? >> i think the voters have a right to understand where he is. you may not agree with me on the issue of marriage equality or discrimination based on who but discrimination will play no part in my office

as governor. statement leads you to believe he has no position. this governor through his own banned domestic partner benefits for gay and lesbian state employees. choices are tough on all the wrong people. they are hurting people and families. i support marriage equality. lead after the decision on march 21, she open her office to loving and committed same-sex couples. it is not only the right thing to do. but it is an economic issue in our state. people,iminate against talented people we need to help rebuild the city of detroit and our communities is wrong. i have talked to parents who have adult children that are professionals who live in other states, and they will not come here because we have backward policies. you have challenged the judges position, so you are a party to

opposing marriage equality in michigan, and i think that is wrong. i disagree. tonight,s on c-span and live at the top of the hour at 7:00 p.m. eastern in richmond, virginia, a debate between the first-term democratic senator mark warner and his opponent. eastern, a 8:00 p.m. kentucky republican senator mitch mcconnell against his democratic challenger. you can see that live here on c-span. right now, some campaign ads from the kentucky senate race. then, we will have a preview of tonight's debate. >> you are mitch. after 30 years, who is doing better? mitch has devoted himself six pay raises and over $200,000 in special perks and and $7 million. here at home, income is down 9%.

inechie has fallen to 44th jobs and has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs. -- we have fallen to 44th in jobs. >> i am mitch mcconnell, and i approve this ad. >> it is not about support for barack obama and his failed policies. >> i am not barack obama. a votebarack obama said for her is a vote for his policies. ballot thison the month, but make no mistake, these policies are on the ballot. every single one of them. >> kentucky needs mitch mcconnell. >> i approved this message. learn mitch mcconnell skipped hundreds of committee meetings. where was he? he did not vote on the farm bill or the v.a., and there was a lobbyist fundraiser.

but talking to the chinese president about china's great improvements. he has helped create written lot. 30 years is long enough. adshe media called her false and misleading, but she keeps attacking, now on attendance. she must not understand that as a senate leader, mitch does not just serve on the midis, he can't appoint committee members, making sure kentucky's voice is heard. it is a power she will not have, and for his attendance? 99%. and falseexperience and misleading attacks. >> i am mitch mcconnell, and i approve these ads. >> monday night, carried live on the c-span networks, and joining us on the phone is a reporter who covers politics. give us a sense of where this

race is three weeks out. >> well, i think it is safe to say that the race is very close. polling in recent months has been trending a little bit towards mcconnell. he is up some points in the recently, we had seen a poll that had a lead. all of these have a margin of error. on election day, it would not be a shock if someone were a couple of percentage points ahead. group,your editorial 2008 and 2012. first of all, why that question, and what kind of news did she make? >> well, the question was asked because mcconnell has spent the past year trying to tie her to barack obama and barack obama's policies. his favorability rating is somewhere around 28%.

he is very much dislike. people do not like his policies, and mcconnell has been trying to convince voters that grimes, if she is elected, will simply do the president's bidding, will vote for the agenda and policies that he once in place, which senator mcconnell argues are bad for kentucky. because this is about the third time she has been asked this question, and she was asked the question whether or not she would vote i amcconnell, and -- sorry, whether she would vote for obama, and she would not answer the question. she was a clinton delegate in 2008. she said i believe in the sanctity of the ballot box, but she was asked every wartime specifically whether she voted for president obama, and she would not say.

she has been getting hammered ever since then from the right, from the left, from the middle. a liberal website has hammered her and said that her response is pathetic. >> former president bill clinton has been in the state campaigning for allison grimes. hillary clinton will be there later in the month. what influence do they have with kentucky voters? >> that is an interesting question. i guess we will find out. president clinton was the last democrat to carry it in the election, both in 1992 in a statewide and federal election, 1992 and 1996. when hillary clinton ran for the presidential nomination in 2008, she utterly destroy barack obama so the clinton name is a strong name in kentucky.

we did some recent polling on president clinton's favorability, and it was about as high as any state here, 50%. >> he has always faced tough reelection battles. why? although ithas performs as a republican state, democratica strong voter registration. about 56% of voters in kentucky are democrats. he also has, being in the position he is in, he is a guy who knows washington, and they have effectively been able to use that to hurt his reputation. he does not come across as likable. the guy upwhen he is there that blocks every piece of that they try to

push through in washington, and overnk that has kind of the years worked on his reputation and harmed him. >> they have been together on a number of occasions, including over the summer, which we covered here on c-span, but the kentucky educational tv debate is the only time the two will be in the same studio, debating the issues. what are you looking for? to beis going interesting, especially after this episode with grimes before the editorial board, just to see how she handles this. whether she answers questions that are put to her. the same goes for mitch mcconnell. senator mcconnell appeared on , on a sportsently radio talk show, and he also appeared before an editorial board last week, and on both occasions, he was asked about global warming and whether or or he believes it existed

weatherman is because of it. his answer was, i am not a scientist, i do not know, so it is going to be interesting if he sticks with that line and it grimes attempts to hold his feet to the fire on that. >> live now from richmond, virginia, a date -- a debate edtween mark warner against gillespie. to the people's debate. in the race for one of virginia's u.s. senate seats, the candidates will answer questions about the ishares the voters of virginia -- about the issues the voters of virginia face. we will try to plowing new ground tonight. but introduce you to the candidates. joining us tonight democrat mark

warner and his challenger tonight republican ed glaspie -- ed gillespie. you can join a live conversation about the debate on twitter. here is a look at the guidelines. candidates will answer questions from our panel of four and me. both candidates will have 90 seconds to respond. the first candidate will have an additional 60 seconds to rebut. they will alternate taking the first risk -- the first response to each question. the candidates will have two minutes each for opening and closing statements. who goes first has been decided by a twin -- a coin toss. joining us tonight is the president of the league of women voters in arlington, political ve radio, fromc

cbs 6. it was determined by a coin toss that mr. gillespie will go first. he'll be the first to deliver his opening statement. he will get to answer the first question now. let us start with opening statements. >> it is great to be with everyone here tonight. i am running for the united states senate because i want future generations to have the same opportunities i've had. my grandfather was an immigrant janitor. my parents did not go to college. we are losing that kind of economic opportunities and upward mobility as a result of policies.warner president obama says these policies are on the ballot this year.

in voting with the president 97% of the time, mark warner is pretty much voted for every single one of them. these policies are making us less safe as a nation, less able to meet growing threats to our national security. they are squeezing too many virginians between lost jobs, lower take-home pay, reduced working hours, and higher prices for health care and energy, and food. in virginia, 65,000 more women have gone into poverty. 250,000 of us will have our health care plans canceled as a result of the senators vote for obama care. this election presents a big choice. we can continue down the path of the obama-warner policies or we can take a better direction.

it is a choice between higher taxes and lower take-home pay or tax relief and increased wages. the choice between more debt or a balanced budget. war regulations on energy that kill jobs and drive up prices or unleashing american energy to create jobs and hold down prices. thepproach would ease squeeze on hard-working virginians and make it easier for the unemployed to find work. i look forward to debating those issues this evening. >> thank you. it is good to see you again. i would like to thank our hosts. it has been the greatest honor of my life to serve virginia. first as governor and now is under. -- now as senator. in america, everybody ought to get a fair shot. we cannot guarantee success, but everyone ought to get a fair shot.

we have to make sure the people in washington can work together. that is what i did is your governor. with the 2-1 republican legislature, we turned a deficit into a surplus and virginia got named the best state for business. i brought the same bipartisan approach to the united states senate. i am so honored to have the endorsement of former republican senator john warner. and i have more former republican legislators endorsing me this race than when i ran the force -- the first time. in this event, i've wrestled with issues like ringing down our debt and deficit, making sure veterans get the care they deserve, bringing jobs back to virginia. issue, i always start with republican partner because that is how you get things done. my opponent has a very different

approach. he spent his whole career as a d.c. lobbyist. he sees every issue republican versus democrat. he called himself a partisan warrior. you, but iow about think the last thing washington needs is another partisan warrior in either political party. in these challenging times, a world needs a strong america. you have to have leaders in washington back to work together. thank you. >> we will go right to the questions. mr. gillespie will answer first. thank you for being here. last year, the supreme court gutted a key section of the voting rights act that had helped to protect people of color from discriminatory voting loss. legislation is pending in congress to updating -- to

update the voting rights act. the bill will be reintroduced in the next congress. if elected, will you cosponsor the legislation? >> i would look at the legislation. i believe the provision is preclearance. the fact is the voting rights act is critically important, must be enforced. this is one of the most sacred rights we have. we saw just recently in virginia that the civil rights and voting rights acts is being enforced and we have had our district lines overturned by the court. it is one example why the federal courts are so important. example why so many virginians are concerned about the recent reports that senator warner made a phone call talking about the potential of recommending the daughter of a state senator for the federal bench, a lifetime

appointment to the federal bench in relation to a political decision. staffvernor's chief of making a job offer in this regard. this is very serious in terms of the federal bench. we need to make sure the qualified people are put on the bench. i would never play politics with recommending judicial appointments. from what the news reports have said, this is what the conversation had to do it. >> let me first of all answer the question. i strongly would support the legislation. i think we need to expand voting rights.

-- let's dealsed with the issue that he just raised. i have been a friend of senator phil a bucket and his family for nearly 20 years. when i heard that philip was considering resigning on the senate, i reached out to his son to find out what was going on. during that conversation, we brainstormed about possible opportunities for his sister. his sister had been a substitute state judge and because of that tenure, she could not be confirmed. in that brainstorm, we talked about a lot of things. i did not offer her a job, nor would i offer any kind of position. the following day, i talked to

senator puckett. he decided he was going to resign. i've been friends with the family for a long time and i respect the senator's decision. >> there in mind that republicans face similar accusations. >> i am not talking about accusations. i am talking about news reports and questions. the center has answered a question that i don't think is being asked. i have not seen any suggestion that he was offering the job. i understand the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. i can tell you this -- the role of senator plays in the judicial nomination process is a critically important one. the recommendations that are made have a great weight in terms of what nominations are

made. i have not seen anyone suggest that there was a job offer. private sector jobs with the federal contractor. even that discussion raises questions. the notion of a lifetime employment to the federal -- appointment to a federal bench in relation to a political decision and to further the efforts of expanding obamacare in the commonwealth of virginia, i don't know those questions have been answered. question --econd assembly reformed the states as the wells -- sol's. a major criticism of the current

system for teachers and administrators is that it does not celebrate progress made by struggling students who start from behind. what changes would you may 2 no child left behind? -- would you make to no child left behind? >> i think the pendulum has swung way too far in terms of testing alone. i would argue that one of the things i have done is back when i was governor, we fixed virginia's budget and made the largest investment in public education in virginia history. to challenge is going to be reform education and how do we adequately fund it. he talks about easing the squeeze and his commitment to virginia, but he has already taken one of the most important ledges of this campaign. the grover norquist's ledge. pledge.

it is better to cut education, it is better to cut military, support for seniors than to close a single tax loophole. i have dealt with the debt and deficit. no serious person has said, you have to look at both sides of the balance sheet. republicanss -- members of the virginia delegation have said that taking the grover norquist's ledge -- norquist pledge is an impediment to tax reform. since my opponent has only taken a pledge to grover norquist, he will not be able to fund education. >> this is another debate or senator warner has made a wrong statement. i don't sign any ledges. i have not signed pledges. i have not signed the pledge in terms of repealing obamacare.

i have made a pledge to the people of virginia that i will not vote to raise taxes on the floor of the united states senate. senator warner has already voted to raise taxes. a lot of taxes hitting the middle class and small business owners. that is one of the reasons we have the lowest labor force participation rate in 36 years. half of all recent college graduates are unable to find full-time quality jobs. i do not believe in raising taxes. i don't sign pledges. i will make a pledge that i will fight efforts to raise our taxes further. as for his efforts to balance the budget, in the six years he has been there, our debt has gone up $7 trillion. we need education reforms. reforms. education

if you go to my website, you can see my economic growth agenda. the need to reform education in a way to make our public schools better. if you believe in a society based on equal opportunity, you have to have quality schools for every child. >> let's go back to the pledge he took. i have the letter from grove is -- grover norquist. we should not vote for anybody -- >> [inaudible] >> we will be happy to give you grover norquist, lamenting you on taking -- complement in you on taking the pledge. you on takingng the pledge. it is better to cut education, better to cut military, better to cut senior services rather than closing a single tax

loophole. you want to hire someone to go into fiscal debates with one .and tied behind their backs no serious group who has looked has said,cal issues you have to look at both sides of the balance sheet. there is a clear choice between the two candidates on this issue. >> we will go to our third question. the president of aarp virginia. >> social security turns 80 next year. it is the foundation upon which older americans rely for their retirement. social security provides 50% or more a family income for almost half a volt older americans -- half of all older americans. how would you protect social security for today's seniors? >> we have to start -- we must protect social security for today's seniors and then we have

to save it for future generations. my son and daughter are here with me this evening. it will not be there for them. if you are 47 or younger, you are looking at having -- getting 70 since on the dollar protected benefits because of the insolvency that is looming. we need to save social security and medicare for future generations so it is there for them. senator warner voted to raid medicare of over 700 billion dollars. siphon it off into obamacare. we need to take a serious look at what we need to do to reform these programs so they may be saved for future generations and that entails a number of things. i think things are looking at the measure of inflation, .ooking at retirement ages

we need to look at other options in terms of reforms so that our children and their children will have the same benefits of a secure social safety net that my parents have had and not i will --e -- and not i will have and that i will have. i agree that social security is one of the most important programs are federal government has ever put in place. the challenges the math does not working more. when i was a kid, ever 16 people working for every one person in retirement. we have to make some changes. i have laid out some specific changes i think ought to be considered. change cpi. those folks under 35, if they

would be willing to wait an extra year to get social security. i loveolks like ed and done well maybe you willing to -- who have done well may be willing to raise the cap. we ought to increase the benefits because they are outliving their savings. my opponent has a different approach. he was a major cheerleader for the bush-cheney plan to privatize social security. think have -- think of that have become legislation in the midst of a financial crisis. it would've been devastation. you would've thought he would no longer be an advocate for privatizing social security. just last year, he wrote an editorial saying it was good for the country and good for the american -- the republican party. we have to strengthen social security and make sure it is

still there. >> senator has worked for elected officials and i am running on my proposals and my platform for the united states senate. i have my own ideas and my own policies. one of the rep -- reference as i made to the measure of inflation and is change cpi. i appreciate his recognition that that is an option we ought to look at. i think -- let me look at social security and medicare as a whole. i just met with home health care providers in virginia beach. they are having their services slashed to pay for more obamacare. that means a lot more of the medicare population who are more poorand elderly and more than the broader population as a

whole. they will find themselves not having access to home health care, which, i know was so important to my mother when she was alive. >> the next question will be addressed to mr. warner. reports thatf news did break over the weekend, is it appropriate for elected officials to help find jobs for other lawmakers or their family members in exchange for their support or political favors? restate the circumstances you referred to. i good friend with philip puckett and his family for 20 years. when i reached out to his son, before i talk to philip, to explore possible actions going forward, i did not offer any one any job, nor would i.

that is a fact. where do we go from here? virginia has been a bit tarnished over recent scandals. it is my hope that the governor and the general assembly will come together with stricter ethics laws. we also need to make sure we restore trust in our political process. that starts with people willing to work together. people willing to not see every problem for the lens of republican versus democrat. did as governor and that is what i did assets are and that is what i will -- and that is what i will continue to do. >> maybe it was just a coincidence that this call to an old friend came in the same timeframe as the call from the governor's chief of staff to

offer a job to the state senators daughter. coincidence. maybe the woman -- i do not know her -- maybe she is qualified to be considered to a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. maybe -- nobody is suggesting -- i realize the senate does not have the ability to nominate the executive -- to nominate. having worked coincidence. maybe the in the white house, senators have a great deal of influence on who was put forward. we know the impact that these appointments have in our country. we have talked about it earlier here today. i will not play politics with recommendations to the bench. i will be very careful about the syrian port in role -- about

this very important role. believe the questions out there happen answered. certainly not here tonight. the people of virginia deserve some answers. >> i agree with ed that we need to have appropriate process. that is what we do. lengthy process where candidates are reviewed by the bar. to get thecandidates highest recommendations are interviewed. recently, we recommended to candidates for a judgeship for the western district of virginia. two very qualified candidates. the question goes to how do we make sure in virginia that we

have stronger ethics laws, which i strongly support? trusto goes to the basic that people have in our elected officials. so tired of the partisan gridlock. so tired of political attacks and innuendo. that is not the way i have operated. >> we will now go to the next question. >> you've both said you are troubled by the enormous sums of outside money flowing into political campaigns. what policies might be both constitutional and effective in remedying the problem? >> one of the things we are dealing with is a bill that went to the congress that was intended to fix the problem of money in politics and that was

the bipartisan campaign finance reform act. at the time, i argued against it. i was afraid it would result to money going to outside groups who are less accountable in the political process. i filed an amicus brief in the court against the law because i said it would have these negative unintended consequences. now we are living with them today. takeor warner suggested we a vow not to have any outside money spent in this campaign after his super pac spent $1.4 million already in attack ads on me. think it would be better for us to have laws where the parties in the campaign committees were more accountable for their election messaging

that outside groups. this is the result of a bill that was enacted not that long ago. we are seeing the unintended consequences of that today. i would like to see campaigns and parties that have greater transparency and more accountability in the process. >> i strongly support campaign finance reform. i think the supreme court got it wrong on citizens united. i do not think we ought to have all kinds of unlimited undisclosed money flowing into our system. i do not think that is what the founders have in mind. make sure it comes back to a debate between the two of us. in addition to campaign-finance us saw when a lot of challenge around super pac's, he

saw an opportunity. i'm not surprised he is not willing to say citizens united got it wrong. we need independent redistricting reform as well. too often, our legislators choose their constituents rather than the other way around. if we want to end the partisan gridlock and get back to where there is more centrist candidates, campaign finance reform and redistricting reform should be on the agenda. efforts on thet conservative side of the spectrum to counter what the liberal side had been doing for some time. taking advantage of the bipartisan campaign finance reform act. one of the things i am sure senator warner would not support his ending the practice of having compulsory union dues taken from hard-working virginians or americans anywhere and put toward political action

committees and political ads and attacks they do not agree with. one of the reasons i am sure the afl-cio, the big labor unions support senator warner, but mell business groups are for is because senator warner is willing to say, i will make sure any campaign-finance reform bill will exempt labor unions and their compulsory union dues. >> the next question will be addressed to mr. warner. >> you both have said you support all of the above approach to energy development. what should the centerpiece be? what energy resources would you seek to most aggressively develop? >> i think one of the great success stories of the last

decade has been the explosive growth of american energy. who would have thought that we would soon be a net energy exporter and that we're able now to bring back a number of manufacturing jobs because our energy costs have driven down. as much as my opponent wants to claim otherwise, i support all of the above energy policies. including coal, including natural gas, including renewables. including nuclear. all of the above. what we need to do is to make sure that we unleash the complete potential of american energy. now, i do believe, and one of the areas where my opponent and i differ, i think we also have to deal with climate change. i've invited ed before, i still want him to come down to norfolk and see how the navy is spending millions of dollars on raising the peers -- piers because of the costs driven by rising sea levels. as a matter of fact, the secretary of defense came

without with a new study today on additional costses from climate change. so we've got to get this balance right. i support that all-of-the-above approach, including coal. but we've got to find ways to use coal cleaner as part that have approach. regardless of what we do in america, china and india are going to go ahead and build 800 additional coal plants. so i do support all of the above. i think it's important for american manufacturing and jobs. >> believe me, i haven't put 53,000 miles on the road over the past nine months. i've been to norfolk, i understand the concerns there in this area. and i've put those miles on the road. i don't charter planes, i drive everywhere in the commonwealth. and i understand those concerns. i also understand the need for to us create high-payinging jobs in the hampton roads region by lifting the ban on drilling off of our deep sea coast, which has been in place since senator warner took office. when there was a bipartisan amendment on the floor of the united states senate to do just that. former democratic senator jim web stood up for virginia -- webb stood up for georgia and

he voted for that bipartisan amendment. senator warner sided with harry reid against it. when there was a bipartisan amendment to move forward with the keystone x.l. pipeline, senator webb voted for it. senator warner voted to block it. when there was a chance to stand up and have bipartisan support and say that the e.p.a. does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, senator webb voted for it and senator -- in that bipartisan amendment -- senator warner voted against it. this is a classic area where what mark warner says in virginia is very different from what he does in washington, d.c. and i will stand up for our coal miners and four the people who pay electric bills and put gas in their car. a price of a gallon of gas has doubled since mark warner took office, promising us that he would vote to bring down energy prices. and now, you know, when you put down $20, it used to get 10 1/2 gallons of gas, when he took office. today it's about 5 1/2 gallons of gas. that's why virginianses are feeling squeezed as well.

>> again, my opponent didn't give you the facts. i strongly support and have legislation for six years to allow drilling off the coast of virginia. but he forgot to include was only if virginia gets a share of the proceeds. i think virginia should get a share of the royalties the same way louisiana does. the legislation he talked about would have cut virginia out. i support the x.l. -- keystone x.l. pipeline. as a matter of fact, even got protested against it in harrisburg. my opponent does have two areas around energy that he's got quite a record on. one is he lobbied against increasing fuel efficiency standards. talk about costing virginia consumers more money out of their pocket. because he didn't want to have the auto industry raise their fuel efficiency standards. and we've heard him talk about easing the squeeze. well, we ought to have him address easing the squeeze for the -- when he was the largest lobbyist for enron, where 20,000 folks, energy company, manipulated the markets, lost their jobs, lost their

pensionses, 700 -- $700,000 he and his firm made. i'm not sure that's called easing the squeeze. >> i should be allowed to answer that question given that he raised it. >> you can have 10 seconds. >> when my bipartisan firm had enron as a client, 13 years ago, they've been on the cover of fortune magazine as the best place to work in america and were considered one of the best companies in america. that's why, i'm sure it was an nvester in enron at that time. >> you lost money -- i lost money. you made money. >> look at the facts. we discontinued the contracts two months before when it turned out they were fraudulent. >> people lost their jobs. >> hang on. this is a very personal attack and it deserves for the voters of virginia to know the facts. and that is this. the fact is that just like he as an investor in the same company that was a client of my

firm 13 years ago, i had no idea the fraudulent practices of this company. no one did at the time. this is why good people don't run for office. i don't know what happened to mark warner when he went to washington. this is classic washington attack politics. >> mr. gillespie, i'm sorry to cut you off. but there's a question to you. the next question. >> another classic issue. for 50 years, medicare's provided people 65 and over and most disabilities with access to health care. what is your view of the effectiveness of medicare and how would you put medicare on stronger financial ground to protect seniors and future retirees from rising health costs? >> medicare is a critical part of our social safety net and, again, it will not be there for future generations and we need to save it for future generations. and get it on a more sound financial footing. it is on its way to insolvency. and we can fix that.

while making clear to anyone who is on medicare or near retirement that any changes wouldn't affect them at all. although they are being affected right now and again there are over -- about 200,000 medicare advantage beneficiaries in the commonwealth of virginia who are very much at risk because of senator warner's cuts to medicare, to pay for obamacare. over $715 billion siphoned out of this important program, again, not to reform it and save it for future generations, but to fund the obamacare program that he still supports and that i would replace with patient-centered reforms. we know, as i mentioned also, those who rely on home health care, many elderly americans on medicare want to be treated in their home, not be put in a hospital. by the way, that's also more cost-effective for the program. and it's more affordable. and we need to restore those cuts. a 14% cut by centers for

medicare and medicaid services, as a result of senator warner's support for the affordable care act, obamacare, i would replace those cuts if i was elected to the united states senate. >> a charge he just made which has been recycled a half dozen times, has been called by independent political analysts totally false. the challenge is, we have to strengthen medicare. what i've laid out are specific plans where we can strengthen medicare. to make sure it's still there. for example, combining part a and part b and trying to cut down on some of the bureaucracy. i've been a big supporter and have worked hard to make sure medicare advantage programs, particularly here in virginia, are protected. i've looked as well at trying to say, let's get rid of some of this phony budgeting with so the called s.g.r. doc fix. i think we ought to replace it and repeal that and make sure we have true accounting. the challenge, though, is if you're going to deal with medicare and entitlements, you

can't deal with those and then have the positions that he's taken. privatizing social security. and taking the norquist pledge which says you can't find any tax break at all that can be closed that might allow you to go ahead and shore up medicare, that might allow you to invest in senior services, that might allow to you invest in n.i.h., the military or education. it's a question of whose side you're on, ed. i think when we look at your policies, i'm looking forward to november 4 when i think virginians will say, do you want somebody who has a proven record of working together or someone who has taken, i believe, extreme positions, whether it's norquist pledge or private advertising social security, which will not -- privatizing social security, which will not save medicare. > we've already rebutted this. the senator is factually inaccurate. i didn't sign any pledges. look, i'm pledging to everyone

here in the studio tonight and watching on television, i will fight against more tax increases. senator warner's already raised taxes on the middle class, on small businesses that are hurting us by $1 trillion already. we don't need to raise taxes anymore. we've got to cut wasteful washington spending. and i will work to do that as well. the other thing? terms of whose side you're on. i will be on the side of virginians 100% of the time. you have been on the side of president obama 97% of the time since taking office. i will not be a blank check for the president. i will be a check and balance on the president and i will work in a bipartisan manner to pass economic policies that will create jobs, raise take-home pay, lift people out of poverty, hold down health care costs and reduce energy prices, none of which you've done in your six years in the united states senate, despite saying that that's what you were going to do. >> the next question will be ddressed to you, mr. warner. >> gentlemen.

thomas eric duncan, the first ebola patient to be diagnosed here in the united states, sat in virginia's busiest airport, dell us, for hours before flying to texas where he later died from the virus. it's unknown how many people he came in contact with there. now one of the nurses who treated duncan has become infected and investigators don't know why. has the federal government failed to adequately respond to the ebola crisis and should virginians be concerned? >> i think like every american, i'm concerned about ebola and the challenges it presents. and i think the administration should have acted quicker. a couple weeks back, i wrote the administration and said, we need to dramatically increase the screening at our gateway airports. which they've finally started to do, including dulles now. i think they should have done it earlier. i believe we need to make sure that we have better coordination between all of our federal agencies. so in effect, i believe it ought to be one person in

charge. and i think we need to make sure that we train our public health officials so that they are able to spot early on the signs of ebola. at the end of the day i believe we need to rely on our health care experts, i believe it may be time to consider, particularly with a nation like liberia, where ebola has spread so widely, doing what certain european nations have done in terms of restricting flights. but again, govern something about choices. -- governing is about choices. i think i heard in the last couple of days, the head of the n.i.h. said that, but for sequestration, we might have been able to find a vaccination against ebola. we've seen cuts to public health. we've got to not have one hand tied behind our back by taking stupid pledges, if we're going to wrest well our nation's balance sheet and -- wrestle with our nation's balance sheet and finances to make sure that we can, yes, shrink government but invest in areas that are

essential. >> mr. gillespie. >> the time to consider stopping flights coming in from west africa, whether there's an ebola outbreak, has passed. it's time to impose a flight ban in that regard and that's what this administration should do. and while that flight ban is in place, yes, we need to have proper protocols, we just heard the story coming out of dallas of the nurse who has been affected. we need to make sure that our health professionals are properly trained in terms of how to approach this. we need to get more of the drugs into the production and stockpiled. the screening process, i have to say, i find not that reassuring from what i have seen. and the president, when he said not too long ago that the chances of ebola coming to america, you know, there's not much of a chance of that, he was wrong. this administration has been slow to act. and the senator voted for the sequestration he just decried here today. in fact, that sequestration cut

the centers for disease control by $345 million. it's been cut by $1 billion. one of the problems with the obama-warner policies is that under those policies, the federal government is doing too many things that are better left to state and local governments or the private sector and it is failing at too many things that it needs to be doing right. and we need to rearrange those priorities and replace sequestration and i would do that as our next senator. >> a lot of charges in this campaign. but i think my -- the last one really takes the cake. you all remember how we ended up in sequestration which i've called consistently stupidity on steroids. it was because the alternative was that our nation would default. so i assume that ed's position is we should have default wid would have created economic chaos. i remind ed, the majority of the virginia delegation voted

for the budget control act. john mccain, the speaker of the house, eric cantor, all said, we've got to take a responsible action. and how we ended up with sequestration is because we didn't roll up our sleeves and take on what i had advocated, the simpson-bowles plan, the gang of six plan. that would have dealt with entitlement reform and tax reform. why didn't we do that? because too many people had taken pledges where they wouldn't even look at tax reform, they wouldn't look at closing tax loopholes and we end up with this. on sequestration, i've in fact been celebrated -- ed got a little time on the last one. let me get a little time on this. the navy has given me their highest civilian ward for fighting this war on sequestration. >> it leads to my next question on this topic and we'll start with mr. gillespie. >> that's my question, actually. we learned an ugly word. sequestration recently. it was supposed to be impossible. but a budget deal could not be reached. that's the easy part of this question. the hard part is, what do you

do as a member of congress when there's braque, we all agree, we have to cut some of the fat, we have to streamline. virginia installations are still hurting from that sequestration, so how does a member of congress stand up and say there might be something in my district, an employer that needs to trim down? mr. gillespie. >> a couple of things. one, in terms of sequestration. mark's right. the delegation, most of them did vote for it. in the house they voted to replace it. and that replacement has to -- passed the house. it did not pass the senate and it never will as long as mark warner and harry reid are in the majority and harry reid is the majority leader, which is the first vote that he casts on the -- in january. second, you know, the sequestration in terms of the the , langley, fort lee, jobs, both those places, you

know, we have got to stop making thank national security a priority -- national security priorities based on random deep arbitrary defense cuts and start budgeting our defense budget based on our national security priorities. that's why i will seek a seat on the senate armed services committee if i'm fortunate enough to be the honor of being our next united states senator. i think it's imperative not just for our national security but here where we have always been proudly on the front lines of our fight for freedom and liberty and national security. and so, yes, i believe that if we were to budget according to our national security priorities, rather than set national security priorities based on our budget, that would have a very beneficial impact in virginia, but more importantly it would have a beneficial impact for our national security. >> mr. warner. >> i'm not sure we heard an answer from ed on how we make hard choices. because if you do everything through republican versus democratic lens, you don't make

hard choices. what he didn't tell is you i voted for both the republican plan in the senate and the democratic plan in the senate. and again, don't take my word in terms of sequestration. the navy gave me their highest civilian award for fighting against the sequestration cuts. we've made some progress. we've restored a lot of the funding for our ship repair contracts and the whole delegation hung together and i opposed the president on this, on making sure that george washington, one of our aircraft carriers, got refueled. important for hampton roads and national defense. the way we're going to get rid of sequestration, it comes rushing back next year, is recognizing that when we've got $17 trillion in debt and it goes up $3 billion a night, we can't keep punting. 1% increase in interest rates, that alone adds $120 billion a year off the top that could be spent on aircraft carriers or education or roads or n.i.h. and the challenge is going to be, everyone who's looked that

the issue, the one place again where i have dug in the deepest is on our nation's financials. i did it as governor -- finances. i did as governor and i'm doing it as senator. you cannot do this unless you look at tax reform and entitlement reform. if you keep coming back to defense spending and domestic spending alone, you end up with a nation that's not able to compete going forward and unfortunately that means you have to look at both sides of the balance sheet and when you take the norquist pledge, you can't do that. >> you're rebuttal. >> just because he keeps saying it doesn't make it true. >> happy to show you. >> look, you know, we have heard the senator talk about it time and time again tonight. for the last six years i have fought for increasing our military spending, even though it's been slashed by $1 trillion, balance our budget, even though we're $7 trillion more in debt than when he took office, fought for offshore drilling here off the deep sea coast of our commonwealth of virginia, still there. fought to get the keystone x.l. pipeline approved. six years, none of these things

have happened. talks about being a problem solver. ask yourself, what problems have been solved? and the fact is, even on the priorities he talks about, they haven't happened. you get this sense with the senator when he expresses his frustration, washington, d.c., the senate, how it's so hard and everything, that he's a newspaper columnist or a commentator on msnbc, not someone who's been there for six years. at some point you have to take accountability for either getting something done or not and stop complaining about it. >> we are just about out of time for full questions so we have kind of a quick question. 30 seconds each. 8% approval rating for congress. people apparently not happy with what's happening there. do you foresee the next time one of you should be running for re-election a different approval rating, that is, can we all get along? let's start with you, mr. warner. >> if we don't improve, our country's going to be in a pretty bad shape. and again i go back to where i started. is it frustrating up there, yes

at times. but the only way it's going to get solved is if you're willing to be bipartisan. look at my record. not my opponent's partisan attacks. my record. every bill i work on, i start with a republican partner. i've laid out a specific plan on both entitlement reform and tax reform, taken aeros -- arrows from both the left and right. everything my opponent has done in his whole career is partisan. he formed a bipartisan lobbying firm. >> he takes arrows from both sides because he says one thing in virginia and does something completely different in washington, d.c. we can get things done. i will fight for bipartisan support for all of the e.g.-squared, five-point agenda for economic growth. andible that i could get that bipartisan support. i have a very simple test. for every vote i cast and every action i take as a united states senator for virginia which is this, will this bill ease the squeeze on hardworking virginians and make it easier

for the unemployed to find work? and if it won't, i will fight against it and i will fight for policies that do. and those will get bipartisan support and i will do that. >> thank you both for answering the questions. it is time now for your closing statements. we begin with mr. warner per the coin toss earlier. >> tonight we've heard once again a lot of attacks from my opponent. if you spend your life as a d.c. lobbyist and partisan political operative, that's what happens. the squeeze, the squeeze is what happened to the employees at enron. the squeeze is what happened when we had the policies he advocated for, which were two wars on a credit card, a tax that we couldn't pay for, entitlement programs that weren't paid for, and an economy that was driven into the ditch. do we need to do more to get our economy going? absolutely. but it's going to take people who are still optimistic about possibilities in america. i've been blessed to live the american dream. i've failed at my first two

businesses. but didn't stop me from picking up and trying again and being successful. i believe that the best days of our country are in front of us. but at the end of the day, it's going to require people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work together and get things done. that's what i did as governor, that's what i've been doing as senator. and that's what i'll continue to do if you hire me. i believe in america. that we've got to get back to the notion that when you see a problem, you roll up your sleeves and fix it and move on to the next problem. you might not get it 100% right at first but you don't keep kicking the can. the only way that's going to happen in america, and as somebody who has worked in the senate, i can tell, is if we're rble willing to occasionally put aside republican and democrat and put our country first. that's what i did as gorner -- governor. that's why i work on every bill in a bipartisan fashion in the united states senate. and when it comes, again, the finances, there's a major difference between us. i took a deficit, turned it

into a surplus. when ed was working with the administration, he supported so much, he took a surplus and turned it into a deficit. going forward, the only way our country can get back to that kind of prosperity that we all believe in is if we have people with a proven record of getting things done and working together. thanks so much. >> thank you, mr. warner. your closing statement, mr. gillespie. >> thank you for this chance to share my commonsense solutions to the problems we face as a nation. i believe they would get bipartisan support in the united states senate and that's why i've put forward my five-point plan for economic growth. so that if i'm honored to stand before you again as our senator, people can hold me accountable, for getting these things done. in the same way i'm asking virginians to hold mark warner accountable for saying he'd be an independent voice in a bipartisan vote on the floor of the senate, but siding with president obama 97% of the time and consistently voting against bipartisan amendments, as i pointed to time after time here

this evening. i also want to hold him accountable and voters should hold him accountable for saying that he would balance the udget. for saying he's be a pro-business senator, but voting for job killing policy after job killing policy. including nearly $1 trillion in tax increases. and of course for saying that he would never vote for a health care reform bill that would mean losing our insurance if we wanted to keep it and then working to pass the affordable care act, obamacare. he's not the senator he said he would be. not the senator so many virginians hoped he would be. that's why so many of his supporters are supporting me this election cycle. so many of his voters and over 75% of his -- 75 of his donors are supporting my campaign. the fraternity order of police which endorsed him last election is endorsing me he this year. most americans no longer believe we're a country where the next generation can do better than the generation that came before us. that does not have to be our

path. it must be our future. and it can be with the right policies. but we cannot afford six more years of the last six years. we need to change course and we cannot send senator warner back to washington and expect to see anything different occur as a result of that. we need a new and better direction and i have put forward policies that will ease the squeeze on hardworking virginians and will fight for them every day as our senator. host: will you give me that chance and i ask for your -- i hope you will give me that chance and i ask for your vote on november 4. >> thank you, mr. gillespie, thank you, mr. warner. we appreciate your vigorous participation in this debate tonight. i also want to thank the audience for taking part and a special thanks to our panel. thank you all for taking part in this. this program has been brought to you in part by aarp-virginia.

the league of women voters of virginia, wtvr-cbr-6. thanks again to the candidates for appearing together on this stage tonight. i'd like to thank you, the voterses of virginia, and our live audience, of course, for watching and don't forget election day is only 22 days away. on behalf of everyone who brought this debate to you, i'm bill fitzgerald. good night. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> in the kentucky senate race between incumbent republican mitch mcconnell and aliso in grimes, we've been planning to bring that to you live here on c-span at the top of the hour at 8:00 eastern. but we're having some problems in getting the signal from the debate. in the meantime, some tv ads from early in the race. >> grimes' refusal to say who she's voting for for president is now the nonanswer heard around the country. >> would you vote for president obama -- did you vote for president obama in 2008 and 2012? >> she refused to answer. >> dodging whether she voted for president obama. >> kentuckians expect her to cast a tough vote on anything? is she ever going to answer a tough question on anything? >> i'm mitch mcconnell and i approve this message. >> i think she disqualify herself. i really do. >> when i was in the senate, democrats and republicans worked together. mitch mcconnell, he doesn't

understand the problems. he just has been against everything. he's mr. no. alison will reach out. she won't vote to send jobs overseas. like mitch mcconnell has. alison can work with both sides. i believe in alison. she is the right person at the right time. >> i'm alison grimes and i'm honored to approve this message. >> the first and only debate scheduled between incumbent u.s. senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky and his democratic opponent, alison grimes is scheduled for tonight starting at 8:00 eastern. mr. mcconnell was the first elected to the senate in 1984, he currently serves the senate minority leader. his democratic challenger is kentucky's secretary of state. we're hoping to resolve some of our technical problems. in the men time, some more information. we did an earlier -- interview earlier today. >> the only debate scheduled in

the kentucky senate race monday night carried live on the c-span networks. join youing us on the phone is joe, he covers politics with the louisville courier journal. thanks very much for being with us. >> happy to be here. >> give us a sense of where this race is three weeks out. >> well, i think it's safe to say that the race is very close. polling in recent months has been trending a little bit toward mcconnell last month. he was up by four points in the blue grass poll which my up in does along with two television stations. and another newspaper here in kentucky. recently we released polling that showed that grimes had grabbed a two-point lead. but all of these polls are within the margin of error. and on election day it wouldn't be a shock if either one of them comes out a couple percentage points ahead. >> grimes sat before your editorial group, was asked about whether she had voted for barack obama in 2008 and 2012. first of all, why that question and what kind of news did she make?

>> well, the question was asked because mcconnell has spent the past year trying to tie her to his favorability ratings are around 29%. dislike to.uch a people do not like him personally or his politics. o'connell has been trying to convince voters that if grimes elected, she will simply do the president's bidding, the agenda and policies he wanted to plate which senator mcconnell says is bad for kentucky messiah grimes made a news because it is about the third time just been asked this question. she was asked if she would vote sorry, ifell -- i am she would vote for obama and she would not answer the question. she said, i was a hillary in