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Mfume, Cardin Stress Contrasts In TV Debate
Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Kweisi Mfume, left, and Benjamin L. Cardin, right, prepare for a televised debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
(By Chris Gardner -- Associated Press)
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"This president is wrong," Mfume said when asked about the war. "Like the president, I'm old enough to remember Vietnam. We left in shame."
Mfume, who is trailing Cardin in most polls, made more efforts to draw out differences between them in their positions on the war. Mfume called for an immediate withdrawal of troops, and Cardin recommended bringing 10,000 of the 138,000 troops stationed in Iraq home each month. Mfume criticized Cardin's vote on an extension of the USA Patriot Act. Most pointedly, Mfume raised questions about what he said was the special-interest financing of Cardin's campaign.
Cardin has accepted money from political action committees, and Mfume has said he would refuse those funds. According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission yesterday, Cardin has $1.6 million on hand, and Mfume has a little more than $300,000.
When Mfume took after Cardin over his decision to take money from special interests, Cardin responded by calling for strong campaign finance reform. But added that he had "stood up to the drug companies. I've stood up for the consumers of this country, and I'm proud of my record . . . Judge me on my record."
Cardin, in turn, tried to bring the debate back to his record, which he said distinguished him as a candidate. Though not present during the debate, several of the other Democrats seeking the nomination, as well as Green Party candidate Kevin B. Zeese, clustered outside the studio. It was their second day protesting their exclusion from the debate under rules devised by the League of Women Voters to narrow the field to only those who have consistently polled more than 15 percent.
They included Lichtman, Montgomery County businessman Josh Rales, who has invested more than $5 million of his own money in his bid and former Baltimore county executive Dennis Rasmussen.
The winner of the Democratic primary faces a tough general election challenge from a well-financed and well-known Republican, Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.
Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.
