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Fur flies in 5th CD debate

Fawcett, Lamborn trade blows in testy two-hour exchange

Dick Foster, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 31, 2006 at midnight

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COLORADO SPRINGS - Democrat Jay Fawcett took the gloves off in a third and possibly final debate Monday, calling his Republican opponent, Doug Lamborn, a "liar" in their race for retiring GOP Rep. Joel Hefley's 5th Congressional District seat.

"My opponent hides behind his fear, hate and false piety," Fawcett said in closing remarks after a two-hour radio debate with Lamborn.

"He's a liar, and he has no plan for what to do in Washington. Some of you have found my comments harsh, but the time for lying in political campaigns is over.

"Starting now, I won't tolerate Doug's business-as-usual approach, and neither should you."

Lamborn replied: "Wow. I'm not going to go down the road of smearing my opponent.

"I'm sorry that he has been doing that with distortions and exaggerations."

But Fawcett said Lamborn had been using the same kind of "sleazy" campaign tactics against him as Lamborn used against his closest Republican primary opponents, Jeff Crank and Lionel Rivera.

A mailer from the Lamborn campaign repeated an accusation Lamborn has made throughout the campaign, that Fawcett took money from a Web site, Daily Kos, whose author, Markos Moulitsas, "mocked" the deaths of four American contractors killed in Fallujah two years ago and wrote that he felt no sympathy for the murdered contractors.

"I've said clearly and distinctly that I did not agree with Markos' comments about his disrespect for any deaths on a battle space, be they American or not, because I've been there," said Fawcett, who received a Bronze Star for his service in the 1991 Gulf War.

"And by the way," he told Lamborn, "try to make it clear that those were Markos' comments and not mine.

"You've done a pretty good job confusing that."

Fawcett's accusations are not new to the Lamborn campaign.

Hefley initiated the "sleazy" label against Lamborn during the Republican primary.

Hefley said ads supporting Lamborn had falsely accused Lamborn's two closest rivals of favoring tax increases and of being friendly to homosexuals.

Hefley's rebuke of Lamborn has thrown the normally safe Republican seat into contention for the first time in years.

Republicans outnumber Democrats by 100,000 in the district, and it has long been considered safe territory for any GOP nominee.

The party never has had to spend any serious resources to defend the territory.

But this year's race is considered a close enough proposition that the National Republican Congressional Committee last week bought $141,160 worth of issue ads to oppose Fawcett.

During Monday's debate, Lamborn - as has President Bush - departed from his previous position of "stay the course" on Iraq, calling for more pressure on the Iraqis to organize their government and army to make it possible for American troops to depart.

But he stuck to other positions, opposing tax increases, abortion, gay marriage and amnesty for illegal immigrants, and supporting increased border security, energy exploration and gun rights.

Fawcett repeated his positions, supporting more resources for veterans, a new approach to stabilize Iraq and the Middle East, keeping abortion legal but rare, and facing the government's runaway fiscal problems.