Asheville – Republican State Sen. Chuck Edwards called for sounder economic policy and greater public safety and curbing illegal drug flow, while Democrat Jasmine Beach-Ferrara brought up abortion rights and gun restrictions as they debated last week.
Beach-Ferrara, a Buncombe County commissioner, and Sen. Edwards debated in the WLOS-TV studio on Monday, October 10th. This is their only scheduled debate ahead of the Nov. 9 election. Early voting is underway.
Holly Hedrick and Ty Russell of News 13 moderated. They asked 11 of their questions then six pre-submitted ones from the public. Answers were limited to two minutes, with a one-minute rebuttal “if warranted” then a half-minute counter-rebuttal.
The 11th U.S. House district is composed of the state’s 15 westernmost counties. In the GOP primary, Edwards defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, also from Hendersonville.
Spending, Inflation
The economy and curbing inflation were the subjects of the debate’s first question. Basic economics holds that higher government spending fuels inflation. By “reckless spending,” Biden has wrecked the strong economy he inherited from Pres. Donald Trump. Edwards pinpointed “overspending and limiting our oil resources” with pipeline and fracking drilling bans.
“WNC families are paying the price” as consumers, taxpayers, workers, and investors, he said. The Fed intervenes to lower inflation by hiking its baseline interest rate. That slows the economy and pricing. But it usually triggers a recession, spurs layoffs, makes borrowing costlier and crushes stock values.
Edwards said as a businessman he is versed in balancing a budget and how to “spend responsibly.” He vowed, “I will give you responsible fiscal spending. I will cut back on government spending. I will work to balance the budget. And I will work to unleash American energy.”
Beach-Ferrara hinted at resuming federal stimulus checks by suggesting “working families need immediate and ongoing relief.” She called for a hefty child tax credit and a “weekly (aid) check for diapers and other necessities.”
Edwards said she suggests lawmakers “do more of what’s not working. Spending will make inflation worse. The reason we have so much inflation is because there’s been too much government spending. It’s clearly not working. More of the same is not going to solve the problem.”
Asked how to restrain heating and other energy prices, Beach-Ferrara pointed to developing more “renewable and sustainable” energy. She blamed rising oil and natural gas prices on the Russian war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russian energy exports. She noted many current oil drilling permits granted are not used, though those in the oil industry claim many are for sites too expensive to develop.
Edwards ripped into the Biden Administration’s policy to “choke down the supply of American energy. Let’s stop being dependent on ruthless dictators like Vladamir Putin” and those in the Middle East for supplying oil that U.S. drillers could provide. “Energy is at the cornerstone of a strong economy… of families being able to afford putting gas” into their vehicles. “We were on our way to energy independence under Pres. Trump. We need to restore those policies.”
Border Security
Beach-Ferrara called the Biden Administration’s opening of the Mexican border a “humanitarian crisis.” She called for greater “pathways to citizenship,” VISA work permits, and amnesty for illegal aliens in the U.S. “So when people are fleeing for their lives, they can come here (Buncombe)” and “become part of the fabric of our nation.”
Edwards said, “She helped create a sanctuary right here in Buncombe County and said that our sheriff should not cooperate with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) when someone is brought to jail for a violent crime.” He said illegal immigrants are “trampling on our rights.” He said many are found to be in “gangs, drug traffickers, human traffickers, and terrorists.”
He said, “We shouldn’t be creating a sanctuary for them. We should insist on cooperating with ICE. We should welcome immigrants, but only when they come in legally.” Edwards called for refunding and extending the border wall and ensuring “agencies follow (immigration) laws that are on the books.”
He said estimates are that about 4.9 million people have entered the U.S. since last year and around 900,000 have “gotten away” untracked. He foresees many coming to Buncombe County since “they know they won’t be checked” by authorities there. Further, he said, “border agents told me (drug) cartels are earning $900 million to transport people not seeking asylum but who are looking to illegally enter the United States. They find one border agent trying to stop 200 people coming across the border.”
The influx of Mexicans was related to the issue of reducing violence. Edwards said, “We have seen enough fentanyl come across the border in one month to kill 479 million people. That’s 479 million lethal doses.” He said, “Ending violence begins at the southern border. And it ends right here on our watch locally. My opponent has worked to make the problem even worse.”
He said the Buncombe sheriff “said we have drug problem. There are dirty needles in the streets. We have a situation that they (Democrats) have created. We need additional law enforcement officers to stop that. My opponent said ‘no.’ She refused to fund the positions to stop that.”
Beach-Ferrara said she voted for higher deputy pay, and by now “we’re paying officers enough. Communities have the trust of those agencies that they will call them when they actually need help.” She called for greater “investing in mental health resources” and “affordable housing — so people have a place to call home. We need additional options when you call 911…”Paramedics now arrive,” such as for overdoses.
She said law officers should “investigate high-level” and “most severe crimes,” above other infractions.
Edwards said Beach-Ferrara’s views are “part of the problem.” She said Buncombe County should be a “sanctuary” for illegal immigration. She said we shouldn’t even ask a question if that person is eligible to be here ” and to collect benefits.” I will work to close the border and help make North Carolina a safer place to live.”
When governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas eased the influx of immigrants and bused a few to Democrat-led cities, Beach-Ferrara called it a publicity “stunt.” But Edwards calls it a “loud and clear statement—there is a crisis at the southern border—we absolutely have to close the border.” The busing partially offset the federally funded busing of many immigrants to Republican states. Critics see this as an attempt to unfairly tilt the political balance and gain more loyal Democrats through their reliance on federal aid.
Protest on Jan. 6
The candidates interpreted “January 6, 2021” differently. Beach-Ferrara said “our very heart of our democracy was under attack,” and White House insiders were apparently involved in planning protests. “Madison Cawthorn spoke at the rally immediately preceding the insurrection,” she said.
Unlike Cawthorn, Edwards consistently avoided the swirl of debate over alleged election fraud and the storming of the U.S. Capitol. He said of the 2020 election, “I’m looking into the windshield, not the rear-view mirror.”
He called Jan. 6 a “dark day. But it was not an insurrection. It was a “peaceful political protest” that got out of hand due to a “few rioters.” Conservative commentators point to reports that undercover FBI agents at the rallies encouraged protestors to storm the Capitol – as if to set the stage for arrests of right-wingers and political persecution of Republicans – rather than speaking out against violence or intervening to prevent it.
“I’m not for violent protest of any kind,” Edwards said. He called out hypocrisy. “Yet we’ve seen the Far Left with riots of Antifa and other organizations burning, looting, crashing cities — and not be held accountable at all.” He said “the Far Left continues to look into the rear view mirror at this (Jan. 6, 2021) incident — and try to make something out of it that just isn’t there.”
Clash on Abortion
Abortion is a torrid debate topic. Beach-Ferrara strongly supports a “woman’s right to choose.” She called abortion restrictions “barging” into private lives. She wants Roe v. Wade abortion rights restored nationally — this time in federal law as is proposed.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v. Wade did not ban abortion, but instead returned the issue to each state to decide, Edwards noted. “I trust the general assemblies across this nation to make that decision,” or public referendums when authorized.
The candidates painted each other as extremists on the issue. Beach-Ferrara said Edwards wants no exceptions to abortion. She warned if a state adopted that “if a ten-year-old girl is raped, her parents have to travel with her across state lines” to abort the unwanted pregnancy.
However, most states’ abortion limits allow exceptions for rape, incest, and genuine threat to the mother’s life. Edwards stated that he supports an exception when “the mother’s life is at risk.”
Edwards drew a line in the sand regarding what he might support for a N.C. abortion limit. It mirrors what many Republican-led states’ leaders support. That is banning abortion once a pregnancy reaches its third trimester in about week 28.
The reason is a humanitarian one regarding cruelty to the fetus. Medical indications are that a fetus can feel pain once its nervous system is developed enough by the third trimester. The view is that the fetus would be tortured to death if aborted.
Edwards reasons that the “point by which the unborn child receives pain is the point at which the mother, under any circumstance, should have made the decision to abort a pregnancy.” He calls it the “hypocrisy of the Far Left to refuse to recognize science that there is (eventually) a living human being — perhaps with a heartbeat.”
Edwards said he fights for “lives of unborn children. Unlike an opponent who believes abortion should take place any place, anytime, even taxpayer-funded. No limitations whatsoever. Even right up to” birth and with partial-birth abortions. Edwards said “there should be some (abortion) limitations. She said there should be no limitations.”
He supports training programs to help single mothers “go back to school and find ways to provide for the child.” He noted Beach-Ferrara talks about deciding about one’s body about abortion, but not when it comes to required vaccines.
Closing Comments
The candidates debated such other issues as restrictions and rights on both abortion and gun ownership, health care, preserving Medicare benefits, teacher pay, and standardized school curriculum.
Beach-Ferrara said the U.S. should “prioritize affordable housing” and provide “universal pre-K. Opportunity comes when we invest in working families.” She called for a national Internet provider’s “broadband plan” and to better “develop our advanced manufacturing sector.”
She said yes w\hen asked whether the nation should “codify (into law) same-sex marriage” rights. That issue is “personal to me and my wife, Meghann (Burke). I fought for that freedom in my own life.”
She is a minister. She referred in her closing comments to open immigration when she said she was “creating an empty chair for those who would join us.” She called for “love and hope, empathy and faith.”
Beach-Ferrara wants to “create (more) sanctuary cities,” Edwards said in contrasting their views and records in his closing remarks. “She admits she wants to spend more and more. She wants more Biden economics.” He calls it a “Biden-Beach-Ferrara ticket” full of “bad policies…placed on the backs of families.”
Edwards said he is a proven “law and order candidate. I have voted for safety and security here and to outlaw sanctuary cities.” He said as a state senator he also “helped create a fiscally responsible (state) government” and advanced a pre-COVID “economic boom.” He said that through lower tax rates, he helped “send money back to the taxpayers.”