Hodes, Horn take swipes in debate

Hodes, Horn take swipes in debate

By MEG HECKMAN
Monitor staff

Earlier this month, polls showed that up to one third of voters had yet to pick a favorite candidate in New Hampshire's 2nd District. Last night, U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes and his challenger, Jennifer Horn, worked hard to help those voters make up their minds.

Despite frequent reminders from moderators to focus on issues, not attacks, Hodes and Horn took swipes at each other throughout the hour-long event, which was held at Franklin Pierce University's Manchester campus. Still, the pair covered a lot of ground, even discovering one area in which they agree.

But that truce was brief.

Hodes, a Democrat finishing his first term, and Horn, a Republican, drew sharp distinctions on the central front of the war on terror, on how the United States should reduce its dependence on foreign energy, and on the role government should play in repairing the economy.

Although he voted against the $700 billion bailout, Hodes said last night that additional, if limited, government interventions are needed to help the middle class. He called for increases in food stamps and programs that create jobs, and said homeowners should have more opportunities to renegotiate pricey mortgages.

"We're going to need to put some money into the economy to ensure we can get things moving again," he said. "I believe government does have an important role to play. Now is the time."

Horn would prefer that government stay out of private industry, although she said victims of predatory lending should receive some assistance. Small government and lower taxes, she said, are the keys to economic health.

"Government needs to be focused on leaving more of the money in people's pockets," she said.

Horn, a mother of five, is a former newspaper columnist and radio host who lives in Nashua. She's won several awards for her on-air work and wrote a book, called Hope Is a Walking Dream, about her cousin's long struggle with breast cancer. All the proceeds were donated to cancer research. Horn also has a lengthy resume of volunteer positions, including one that led to a humanitarian trip to Russia and nearby nations in 2005.

Hodes is a lawyer and musician living in Concord. For the last two years, he's represented New Hampshire's 2nd District in Congress, where other new lawmakers elected him president of their freshman class. He serves on two committees: Financial Services and Oversight and Government Reform.

Those committee assignments came up often last night, with Horn accusing Hodes of failing to properly regulate financial giants, while accepting campaign contributions from people in the banking industry.

"It is a case of inappropriate oversight," she said. "It's not a debate of more regulation versus less regulation. It's a case of appropriate oversight. . . . When I am in congress, I will not accept any money from any industry or business that comes before my committee."

Later, Hodes responded, "If I was in the pocket of the financial services industry, I wouldn't have voted against the bailout," he said. "Twice."

When energy policy came up, both candidates lauded efforts to develop renewable, green fuel sources, but they differed on other details. Horn favors nuclear power and wider opportunities for companies looking to drill for oil off American shores.

On questions of foreign policy, the two disagreed on the focal point of the war on terror. Horn described the enemy as ideologues who "want to destroy Americans because they are Americans." Iraq, she said, has become the front of the war, but she's confident that gradual troop withdrawals can soon begin.

Hodes disagreed.

"We've got to pay attention to Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. "It is time for a redeployment from Iraq."

But when it came to Iran, the two candidates found common ground. The nation, they said, cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, but neither was keen on military action. Hodes called for "muscular diplomacy." Horn concurred, saying that would be a useful strategy in many regions.

"We may agree very much on this," Horn said.