KOTA Territory NewsU.S. House candidates meet face to face

U.S. House candidates meet face to face

By Matt Hunter

Outside their supporters rallied.  Inside the two candidates seeking South Dakota's at-large U.S. House seat tried to separate themselves on the issues.  One by focusing on his new approach, the other on her record.
 
"I don't think we can run the government like a business but if we have more business people in the federal government, it will run much more efficiently," Republican challenger Chris Lien said.
 
"I've worked not only to pass a Farm Bill but also the Energy Bill that's good for South Dakota," Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin said.  "I've worked on behalf of the state's veterans, worked with senators and of course all of the people at the state and local levels to save Ellsworth Air Force Base.
 
On the economy, Lien criticized Herseth-Sandlin for her position on the $700-billion bailout.
 
"You can say you were against it, but the question is what was your solution?" Lien said.
 
Herseth offered her opinion.

"We need to focus on aggressive oversight to ensure the $700-billion bailout plan does what it can and is structured and implemented in a way that is fair to tax payers and has some restrictions on the oversight of the Secretary of the Treasury."
 
"The frustrating part for me is that the last five years boiled down to seven days, taking $700-billion dollars and throwing it at the problem after a 90-minute debate with no options," Lien said.  "What I would have liked to have seen and if my team was there, we would've had different options."
 
One issue where they agree is boosting the local economy by ensuring more funding for the Sanford Lab at Homestake.  Yet they differ on national energy policy and the practice of voting for comprehensive plans versus single issues.
 
"I still believe we need to look at a single-issue basis and look at them all one at a time, put them all on the table and take it one step at a time," Lien said.
 
"If we didn't have a comprehensive energy policy that was debated, we would never have a renewable fuel standard here in South Dakota that's been benefiting our industry and the cellulosic ethanol industry here in Western South Dakota," Representative Herseth-Sandlin said.
 
Next Tuesday the voters will have the final say on who takes those ideas to Washington.

A Recent Mason Dixon Polling and Research poll puts Representative Herseth-Sandlin ahead of Lien by a wide margin, drawing 62 percent to Lien's 29.