HAMPTON
U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake and her challenger, Glenn Nye, faced off Tuesday night in their third and final debate, a polite and at times tepid exchange in front of about 50 people in an elementary school gymnasium.
The event lacked the drama of last month's debate, in which Drake leveled charges against Nye over a tax deduction on a house he owns, an accusation that turned out to be false.
The two candidates took questions from the audience on the economy, taxes, Social Security and health care.
Nye, a 34-year-old Democrat making his first run for public office, is looking to oust Drake, 58, a two-term Republican representing the 2nd District, which spans Virginia Beach, parts of Norfolk, Hampton and the Eastern Shore.
The night's most forceful exchange came after Nye accused Drake of supporting an increase in the sales tax to 23 percent, a reference to a bill Drake co-sponsored last year calling for the replacement of the income tax, payroll tax and estate tax with a sales tax.
Drake said she does support flat-tax proposals and chided Nye for not mentioning that under her proposal, the 23 percent sales tax would replace other taxes. "We've kept a broken tax system in place," Drake said. "I'm proud to stand for reform of the tax code."
Nye said it doesn't make sense to raise taxes on "everything you buy every day."
He went after Drake on Social Security, saying the congresswoman is in favor of privatizing the system. Drake responded that she favors appointing a commission to come up with a plan to save it.
Both said they didn't favor the financial bailout bill. Drake voted against both bills.
On health care, Nye said he favors "universal coverage" of a "basic level" that allows people affordable options outside of work. Drake told the audience she'd "never put a bureaucrat between you and your doctor. This has got to be a private-sector, free- market solution."
Both said they would be bipartisan legislators, with Nye evoking former governor and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner as a model. "We can't keep sending back to Washington people who are going to have partisan fights," he said.
Drake stressed her part in a bipartisan bill on energy and said she's not afraid to go against her party, citing votes cast against the administration of President Bush.
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
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WHERE IS WWII VETERAN JOHN WARNER
Thelma Drake needs to explain why Republican John Warner is not campaigning for any Virginia Republicans who made international headlines with their rhetoric.
John Warner, Hagel and Webb sponsored the recent GI Bill that Drake and McCain were against. I'll sincerely miss John Warner who I greatly respect, but I'm voting all Virginia Republicans out of office.
Most people don't understand The Fair Tax Act HR 25
Please read and inform yourselves:
Why democrats should love the fair tax -
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=democrat_home
Glenn Nye is about to lose my vote
Like the Fair Tax or don't, but don't intentionally misrepresent it. Glenn Nye's intentional lying about the Fair tax is about to cost him my vote. I'm not sure I support it or not. If Nye doesn't support it, that's fine. But to misrepresent it is wrong. He intentionally presents it as nothing more than a double digit sales tax on top of the income tax. It's not. It's a replacement for our current broken system of taxation. I'd have more respect for him if he articulated a valid argument in opposition rather than just lying about it. There are valid reasons not to like it. There are valid reasons not to like our current system too. Just be honest Glenn.
Oh for crying out loud. The Flat Tax thing AGAIN????
No one takes Thelma's flat tax proposal seriously b/c it overwhelmingly affects the poor who pay a much greater percentage of their income on the purchase of necessities like food and clothing. We have a progressive tax code for a reason. A regressive tax code like a flat tax is simply unfair and, in my opinion, unconscionable. Hell, even the majority of Republicans agree with me.
Drake Can't Defend Record to Angry Citizen
Drake Can't Defend Record to Angry Citizen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSaINF_zFz4
The financial services meltdown & resulting crisis can be traced back to every member of Congress--Democrat and Republican--as well as this Administration. When Americans were stampeded into the "Ownership Society" we were assured there would be sufficient oversight and regulation, legitimate functions of government.
Thelma Drake failed in her fiduciary duty of oversight and regulation, not to remove all risk from the system, but to prevent abuse and ensure an even playing field and transparency for investors. It's too late to stop the Golden Parachutes from launching on Wall Street. We cannot punish all the Wall Street enablers on Capitol Hill at one time. But we can go to the polls and dump the member of the House of Representatives standing in this election for Virginia's 2nd District for her failed policies, gross incompetence, and neglect of duty.
As George Bush's most reliable rubberstamp in Congress, Thelma Drake voted the failed Bush Agenda 96% of the time. She supported the Bush financial policies 100% of the time.
If you are a member of the Ownership Society:
Thelma will get my vote.
Because Thelma voted "NO!" to the $850B Wall Street/banker Bailout bill she will have my vote this year. Thelma understands the need to oppose the growing use of eminent domain for the purposes of so-called "economic development". While she supports a "flat tax" - I think she would be wiser to support the Fair Tax instead. In any case, her Democratic Party challenger can claim to oppose the Bail Out Bill all he wants - but he didn't have to vote, now did he? Thelma did - and this time she got it right. The DNC/Obama agenda will hurt our region's economy. Thelma has proven to me that she will work to help good paying jobs remain in our region. This is not to imply that I don't like Glenn Nye - only that I believe Thelma's views on government, defense, eminent domain, Supreme Court judges, and taxes are better for us then what the DNC has planned. I predict that Rookie Nye will be a doormat for the DNC should he make it to D.C. Nothing personal, just the way it is in D.C.
Bias
The Pilot has NEVER written one bad word about Obama/Biden/Warner/Nye. They continue one sided positive coverage for Dem National Candidates and Always cover the Republicans with negative articles. Once, just ONCE, I'd like to see a balanced view. There's a reason the Pilot is for sale with a dwindling readership. One sided coverage will result in one sided readership.
don tabor
With your understanding of taxes, Nye would be ahead by not paying attention to your briefings.
Liar
We should not lightly accuse a politician of lying. A lie is a statement the person making it knows is untrue but uses it anyway to deceive.
Glenn Nye is a liar.
His characterization of the FairTax as a 23% increase, instead of a replacement for current taxes is a lie. He knows better.
I know he knows better because at the Tidewater Community College political week, where he and I were participants, I discussed the FairTax with him, and though he did not fully understand the proposal(I offered him a full briefing,) he did understand that it was a replacement and not an increase. He willing chose to demagogue the issue knowing his accusation was untrue, so, whether you like the FairTax or not, Glenn Nye is a liar.
Glenn Nye is flat out wrong 1 of 2
Glenn Nye either doesn't understand The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 1025) or is a liar. I suspect both.
People, this is the fundamental change we need regardless of who is president. The politicians continuously sell us out and hide there deceit in the tax code. The creation of the Federal Reserve banking system and the income tax made constitutional only by the 16th amendment has given the politicians a license to steal. The FairtTax Act has 72 sponsors in the House and 4 in the senate and all most 100 that support it. 20 Million dollars in research went into the development of this system and you owe it to your self and your children to educate your self on this bill. All the research is available at www.fairtax.org
Curious
Why is it the Pilot went to great lengths to point out the error of Drake's attack on Nye's property taxes but did not apply the same corrective coverage in Nye's attack on Drake's flat tax position? Nye clearly doesn't understand it, but the Pilot lets stand his erroneous assertion that it will raise taxes "on everything you buy every day." A properly structured flat tax would hardly raise the price of anything; it replaces the taxes already built in to everything we buy every day. Remember, goods are taxed multiple times before we ever by them. The flat tax system replaces those charges and allows for a truly equitable system of taxation. You're taxed to the degree you consume. Simple as that. How Nye and the Pilot can't grasp it is what confuses me.