HOT SPRINGS — Mike Ross and Beth Anne Rankin sparred Tuesday over the role of the federal government at the Arkansas Economic Developers annual conference, the first candidate forum for the two 4th Congressional District rivals.
Ross, a Democrat who has represented the district since 2001, defended the federal response to the nation’s economic crisis, noting that the country has recently gained 600,000 private-sector jobs. He also defended federal aid to the bank and auto industries, saying they have paid back their loans with interest.
Rankin, the Republican challenger from Magnolia, said the federal government has become too intrusive in recent years.
“I don’t want the federal government to hold my hand, I want it to get out of the way,” she said.
Congressional earmarks - federal spending that is directed to a particular district at the request of its representative - was also a point of contrast between Ross and Rankin.
While earmarks are “messy ... secret ... dirty,” Rankin said she will take them unless a bipartisan agreement ends the process.
“I will not go to Washington, D.C., on a one-girl hunger strike,” she said.
Ross said changes have made earmarks more transparent, noting that he has to disclose them on his congressional website, certify that they won’t benefit him personally and are barred from being bestowed on the private sector.
He said his earmarks have helped the 29-county district that stretches from the western Ouachitas to the southeastern corner of Arkansas, and more will be needed, he said.
“You want to finish I-49? It will take congressional earmarks to do it,” said Ross, referring to the planned interstate highway that would traverse western Arkansas.
The flash point between the two was the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow unions to more easily organize workplaces.
Rankin said she opposed the legislation - currently in limbo in the Senate - but that Ross had supported it “at one time.”
Ross responded that Rankin was violating the ground rules of the forum. He said he opposed the measure and that he changed his mind on the workplace organizing legislation after hearing from constituents who opposed it.
Ross, who lives in Prescott, emphasized his record as a conservative “Blue Dog” Democrat who “has sounded the alarms” for many years about spiraling federal budget deficits.
“There are some who think that this debt has accumulated in the last year and a half. Most of us in this room know better,” Ross said.
Rankin and Ross agreed on the need for a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to balance its budget. They also agreed that the 2001 tax cuts championed by former President George W. Bush should be extended.
The two candidates have debates scheduled in El Dorado and on Arkansas public television in October. Green Party candidate Joshua Drake of Hot Springs is also in the race.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 08/25/2010