Candidates Attack Each Other in First U.S. Senate Debate
By: Chris Veech
Updated: October 15, 2012
U.S. Senate candidates in Indiana face off tonight in their first debate. Republican Richard Mourdock, Democrat Joe Donnelly, and Libertarian Andrew Horning faced each other at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center. Jobs and health care were hot issues. No surprise, Mourdock and Donnelly used the debate to attack each other.
"I believe, congresman Donnelly, that when you ran for office the first time," said Mourdock, "I believe you're an honest person. But it was at that time you said you were a fiscal conservative. And yet since then, you've voted to raise the depth limit seven times without ever calling for real fiscal accountability."
"You're the one who said bipartisanship is Democrats doing what Republicans want them to do," said Donnelly. "You're the one who said that you want to reflect your opinion on other people. You're also the one who said the problem with Washington is too much bipartisanship. I couldn't disagree more.
"These men are honorable, good men," said Horning, "but they cannot fix the system. They are actually chosen to operate within the system. And as cogs of this machine, they cannot fix the machine."
The second debate will take place next Tuesday in New Albany.
