http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2835&u_sid=10311083Published Wednesday | April 16, 2008
Dem hopefuls argue over who can beat Terry
BY TIM ELFRINK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
In their first debate Tuesday, the two Democrats battling to challenge Rep. Lee Terry for his Omaha-based seat in Congress began drawing distinctions between their often harmonious platforms.
As Jim Esch and Richard Carter argued their credentials as the best chance to take down Terry, a five-term incumbent in the 2nd Congressional District, they also presented distinct ideas on issues including illegal immigration, health care and America's foreign oil dependence.
Esch, 32, pointed to his experience working with the local business community and to the grass-roots network that brought him within 10 percentage points of Terry in the 2006 election.
Carter, 30, said his service in the Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan and his expertise as an economics teacher make him the candidate best equipped to deal with America's foreign and domestic challenges.
The two mostly sounded similar notes on a wide range of issues at Tuesday's debate, which drew about 150 to the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
But the candidates sparred over illegal immigration, which Esch proposed to solve with national identification cards and heavy fines on businesses and business owners who employ illegal immigrants.
FULL story at link.