Candidates tackle issues

Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2000 | 11:18 a.m.

Next debates

John Ensign and Ed Bernstein debate again at 7:30 tonight at the Desert Vista Community Center, 10360 Sun City Blvd. in Summerlin, and at 8 p.m. Sunday on KLVX Channel 10.

U.S. Senate candidates John Ensign and Ed Bernstein showed partisan colors throughout a televised debate Tuesday but focused their sharpest disagreements on education and abortion.

In the 90-minute debate on KVBC Channel 3, televised live from the Clark County Library, Democrat Bernstein spent much of his time attacking former Rep. Ensign's voting record. Ensign, a Republican who served in the House from 1995 through 1998, spent much of his time shaking his head and accusing Bernstein of misrepresentation.

One consistent theme was that Ensign preached taking decision-making away from Washington, D.C., while Bernstein encouraged partnership with the federal government.

Ensign, for instance, said Nevada's 0.10 blood alcohol threshold for driving under the influence should be lowered to 0.08, but the change should not be made a federal law. Bernstein disagreed, saying the 0.08 level should apply to all federal highways.

Ensign argued that more federal education dollars should be returned to the classroom and that control of schools be given to parents and teachers. He also supported tax-funded vouchers that would enable parents to send their children to private schools of their choice.

"We need to experiment with our schools to make them better, especially the failing schools," Ensign said. "We need competition in our schools, because I believe in public education very strongly and we need to make it better.

"Let's not be afraid of competition. Competition breeds excellence, and monopolies breed mediocrity."

Bernstein, favoring use of the federal budget surplus to invest in education, urged expansion of federally supported programs such as Head Start for preschoolers and Pell grants for college students. He said vouchers can work on a small scale but expressed reservations with the overall concept.

"The bigger issue is how the vouchers will take the money out of the public school system and put it into the private school system," Bernstein said, "thereby dividing people based upon who can afford to go to private school, because the voucher only provides you a small amount of the private school tuition.

"Anything that divides people in this country between haves and have-nots, I'm against. We need to put more money into the public schools."

The two candidates, who will face each other and four minor party contenders in the Nov. 7 general election, were equally divided on the controversial partial-birth abortion procedure. Congress has been unable to override President Clinton's veto of bills to outlaw the procedure.

Anti-abortion Ensign called such late-term abortions a "heinous act."

"The American Medical Association has said that we shouldn't allow partial-birth abortion, that there's no medical reason for partial-birth abortion," he said. "It is something that we absolutely should ban."

Pro-choice Bernstein, who has made abortion a key part of his campaign, said he opposes a ban on the procedure. He reminded viewers that two-thirds of Nevadans expressed support for a mother's right to choose, a reference to the Question 7 statewide referendum approved in 1990.

"I am squarely in favor of a woman's right to choose," Bernstein said. "I trust women, doctors and their clergy and their families to make these decisions. John wants the federal government to make these decisions for women."

Some of their disagreements were more subtle. Both candidates, for instance, support people's right to own weapons. But while Ensign opposes any additional federal gun laws, Bernstein advocates passage of safety lock legislation to prevent children from gaining access to firearms.

Both candidates said they oppose same-sex marriage, but would relax laws to make it easier for gay partners to collect certain benefits afforded heterosexual couples. Ensign, however, said he would support Question 2 on the statewide ballot, which would amend the Nevada Constitution to legalize marriage only between members of the opposite sex.

"I believe that the definition of a marriage should stay between a man and a woman," Ensign said. "It's a sacred definition, and I think we should keep it that way."

But Bernstein said he opposes Question 2 because same-sex marriage already is illegal in Nevada.

"Question 2 tends to divide people," Bernstein said. "I'm concerned that Question 2 brings out something that just doesn't feel right in this state. It's divisive to people."

Both candidates also favor expanded prescription drug coverage for seniors. But both blamed rising drug prices on different factors.

"One of the things that's driving up the cost of prescription drugs for everybody in this country is frivolous lawsuits," Ensign said. "All of us pay increased costs for our prescription drugs because we have too many frivolous lawsuits."

Bernstein, a personal injury attorney, blamed the rising prices on pharmaceutical companies.

"Pharmaceutical companies are the most profitable industry in the world," he said.