Feder Spars With Wolf Over Iraq, GOP, Traffic

Republican Rep. Frank R. Wolf and his Democratic challenger dominated a four-way debate in Virginia's 10th Congressional District last night, engaging in sharp exchanges over the war in Iraq, traffic and taxes.

Democrat Judy Feder, the best-funded and best-known challenger, set the tone by repeatedly criticizing Wolf for his support of President Bush and the war in Iraq. Wolf, who is 67 and lives in Vienna, is seeking his 14th term.

"The policies in Iraq are failed policies," said Feder, a health policy expert from McLean who is on leave from her job as dean of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. "The president and Mr. Wolf have stood behind them as they have failed."

Feder, 59, said she would push for a slow withdrawal from Iraq, demand the immediate removal of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and increase the size of the military to restore its depleted ranks and supplies. She also criticized Wolf for his role in establishing the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission seeking a consensus plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. She said Wolf should have taken a more decisive stand.

"Why was it that, as a member of Congress, you were unable to hold the hearings that it is Congress's job to hold?" Feder asked as she looked at Wolf. "Why is it that we're waiting for a study commission to decide that Donald Rumsfeld should not be doing his job anymore? . . . I thought that's what members of Congress were supposed to do."

Wolf defended the Iraq Study Group as a way to find a bipartisan solution to an issue that has divided the country.

Responding to Feder's complaint that Wolf has not done enough to ease road congestion in Northern Virginia, he listed at least a half-dozen transportation projects, including the planned Metro extension to Dulles International Airport, in which he has played a role securing funding.

The two other candidates, independent Neeraj Nigam of Sterling and Libertarian Wilbur Wood of Clarke County, generally refrained from criticizing Wolf during the 90-minute debate, which took place at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel in Herndon and was sponsored by the Fairfax area and Loudoun County branches of the League of Women Voters.

Nigam said he would seek to reduce taxes while protecting education and improving traffic. Wood said he would fight for greater accountability in government and less government involvement in people's lives.

For weeks, Feder has gone after the popular incumbent by emphasizing national issues, such as the Iraq war, and linking Wolf with the unpopular leadership of the Republican Party.

Wolf has a long record of service in the 10th District, which sprawls from McLean to Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. He responded forcefully to Feder's criticisms, providing examples of his accomplishments during 26 years in Congress, including road projects and human rights advocacy abroad.

Wolf spoke most sharply after Feder accused him of being part of a Republican majority in Congress that has demonstrated a lack of moral values, whether in response to Hurricane Katrina or the House page scandal.

Turning to Feder and listing his work to protect human rights abroad, to help the poor in the United States and to support an ethics bill in Congress, Wolf said: "I have the values that my mom and dad taught me. Nobody in my 26 years in Congress has ever questioned my values."

Wolf disagreed with Feder over federal funding of stem cell research. She supports it, but he supports funding only research on adult stem cells.

They also disagreed over the proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution to ban same-sex marriage; Wolf supports it, but Feder does not.

The two leading candidates said they agree that the nation must become less dependent on oil. They both oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. Feder said she would not renew the estate tax, for example, but both said they support renewing tax cuts for the middle class.

A recent poll puts Feder just 5 points behind Wolf. The poll's margin of error was 3 percentage points.

In the end, voters were left with a choice: Vote for Feder if the goal is regime change in Washington; choose Wolf if satisfied with his stewardship of the 10th District.