More from the Rohrabacher-Brandt Debate

46th Congressional Democratic Candidate Jim Brandt (right) talks with a voter after the debate.


Question #4 : Homeland Security and the LA/Long Beach Port

Rohrabacher- According to Dana, “What we do overseas has a tremendous impact on the security of the ports.” He said that we need to keep terrorists outside the US, and that “my office has been proactive” by being supportive of the Iraq War. He said that his office is trying to make sure money is spent wisely, and that they're trying not to miss things regarding port security. However, he went back to the point that we need to “make sure that no one that hates our way of life.. Radical Islam hates our way of life… They will hurt us.”

Brandt- Jim stressed that “we need to focus here… Let’s put the money forward to protect attacks here.” He proposed fully funding security efforts at the LA/Long Beach Port, including first responders, the Coast Guard, and actual cargo inspections. Jim also discussed how both he and Dana agreed on a container fee for foreign cargo ships, but he mocked how Dana hasn't even tried to win support in his own party for this.

Question #5: Iraq

Brandt- Now according to Jim, “We’ve had terror since the beginning of time… We could have declared war on al-Qaeda, and we would have finished the job in Afghanistan.” However, Bush diverted our attention from the real threat in Afghanistan to go into Iraq, supposedly to rid the nation of dangerous weapons of mass destruction... However, none of those weapons were ever found! Also to make things worse, Jim added, Iraq has descended into civil war.Now Jim added his own solution to the Iraq quagmire: Start redeployment as soon as it’s safe, send soem of the troops to Kuwait and others toAfghanistan to finish the job over there. and develop a plan for oil revenue distribution among the various factions in Iraq.

Rohrabacher- Dana said tonight that “I understand why people would honestly disagree”, and added that “it might not have been the right decision at that time”. However, he also added that “we have to be careful as to how we leave” because it will "embolden our enemies if withdrawal is seen as weak." Dana the added, “Radical Islam has declared war on us... We must have an alliance with moderate Muslims, and if we leave them now, they will never trust us again.” Free elections and a constitution were “major steps forward”, and we need to remember that “there’s evil in this world… that’s not all history.”

Oh, and I have to add this! One of the questions from the audience after the main program was regarding global warming... And Dana Rohrabacher once again denied human involvement in global warming… But he then added that “I am very concerned about pollution… I want my kids to have clean air, and clean water, and clean soil… We don’t need money for studies [on climate change].”