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NEW BERN — The differences displayed by U.S. Senate candidates at a forum Friday night were less about what they would do if elected and more about how they would do it.

For example, on the question of what to do in Iraq, state Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro said troops needed to be brought home from Iraq quickly in conjunction with "a diplomatic surge." She talked about carefully calibrating the withdrawal.

Chapel Hill investment adviser Jim Neal said that the need was more urgent and that the time for a diplomatic surge "had come and gone."
Instead, he said Congress should cut off funding for further combat in Iraq.

"It's the only lever that the Congress has," Neal said.

Hagan and Neal are the front-runners in the race by virtue of their campaign organizations, fundraising and relatively widespread name recognition compared with the three other Democrats in the race.

Lexington trucking company owner Duskin Lassiter, Moncure podiatrist Howard Staley and Lumberton lawyer Marcus Williams are also in the race to challenge the likely Republican nominee, incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Lassiter said troops should be pulled from Iraq and redeployed to Afghanistan after the country has been made stable.

"I would personally go to Iraq and negotiate with the tribal leaders to find peace," he said.

Staley said troops should be withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible but criticized Neal's idea of withholding money.

"I don't think the Congress should get involved in telling the military how to operate in a war zone," he said.

Williams said that civilian and military forces should be withdrawn as quickly as possible.

The forum was held by the League of Women Voters and Public Radio East. It provided little chance for interaction between the candidates, although Neal did use his closing statement to take a swipe at Hagan without naming her.

"None of the policies we discussed have a chance of getting done unless we change how business is done in Washington and, frankly, Raleigh," Neal said.

Hagan is a 10-year veteran of the General Assembly and occupies one of the most powerful committee posts in the state legislature.

For her part, Hagan focused on the central theme of needing to change how Congress is run. She used the phrase "Washington is broken" during several of her answers.

The other three candidates also had signature moments during the debate.

On a question regarding campaign finance, Williams expressed frustration with being relegated by the media to a second tier of candidates.

"Print media arbitrarily decide that if your wallet's big, you're a leading candidate," Williams said, suggesting there be "standards for the media to provide parity of coverage."

Lassiter used his time on a question regarding gas prices to pitch his plan to use algae to produce biodiesel.

On health care, Staley said it should be the country's goal to provide health care to every American.

"That's one of the main reasons I've entered this race," he said, adding that the next Congress likely will take up the issue. "I would like to be present for any debate on health care reform."

A question on immigration may have produced the most differences between the candidates.

Hagan said the federal government needed to ramp up its enforcement, both at the borders and ports of entry and in communities. She said the program allowing local sheriff s to enforce immigration laws — a program favored by Dole — should be replaced by more federal enforcement. And she said the needs of businesses in North Carolina that use seasonal workers need to be taken into account in whatever program is pursued.

Neal said the government needed to do a better job of tracking people who enter the country legally but overstay their visas. He advocated creating pathways to citizenship for those here illegally while getting tougher on businesses.

"We can start by enforcing our immigration laws with the corporations," he said. "We've got to punish corporations that are violating the law by hiring illegal aliens."

Lassiter called for stricter enforcement at the border and a program of deportation.

"We need to send the illegal aliens back. ... I believe it needs to be done," he said.

Staley sided more with Neal, saying that the government should "economically punish" employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Williams called for making sure that people who entered the country were punished but handled fairly.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mbinker@news-record.com