CD1: Candidates spar over abortion, farm bill, Israel and immigration

At times it got contentious Tuesday (Oct. 8) between U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro and his two challengers, Rodney Govens, D-Cabot and Steve Parsons, a Libertarian from Lakeview, during a candidate debate hosted by Arkansas PBS.

When the topic of abortion rights was broached, Crawford said he has never voted for or supported a federal ban. Parsons challenged Crawford telling the seven-term congressman that he co-sponsored anti-abortion bills even if they were never voted upon.

“I’m calling you a hypocrite,” Parsons said, during the debate held in the PBS studio in Conway.

Crawford interrupted Parsons as he spoke and said he was mischaracterizing his record.

“If you want to talk to me, then I’ll talk to you,” Crawford fired back.

Govens said Crawford was having a “hard time remembering his votes” and it was a “no brainer” that women should have the right to choose. He noted that there have been attempts to limit invitro fertilization and that both of his kids were conceived using IVF. Crawford countered that he “is very familiar with his votes” and that he is pro-life and abortion is now a state-by-state issue. Parsons agreed that it should be decided by the states and not the federal government.

Govens repeatedly jabbed at Crawford, telling the congressman he rarely spends time in his district and rarely visits the rural counties in the Delta. Helena, West Helena and Elaine have had water crises recently, and residents in those communities told him they hadn’t seen Crawford.

“’Where’s Rick?’ is a common theme in the Delta,’” Govens said.

During Crawford’s response he noted that Governs has only lived in the district for seven years and the people in the district have repeatedly sent him back to Washington D.C. as their representative.

“My presence in the Delta has been felt and known,” he said.

When asked about Israel’s response to the Hamas terror attacks that started a year ago, Parsons said the country has the right to respond, but the response has gone too far. Govens agreed with Parsons, saying that what the country was doing to the Palestinians is “overkill” and a partnership needs to be established with the United Nations to thwart the killing.

Crawford disagreed with his challengers and said Israel has a right to defend itself. When comparing the death toll from the Hamas terror attacks to the attacks on 9/11, and basing it on population, the Hamas attacks had a greater impact on Israel than the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., he added.

If elected, Parsons said he would work to eliminate farm subsidies. He noted that only 2% of farmers live below the national median income average, and one way to help farmers would be to end the trade wars with China and Cuba.

Federal farm subsidy policies are often geared towards large farm corporations and need to be refocused, Govens said. Partnerships with independent farmers need to be established or strengthened, he said. He said it’s ironic that in the Delta, where so many crops are grown, that so much food insecurity exists.

A new Farm Bill has been passed by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee but it has failed to gain traction, Crawford said. The former Farm Bill passed in 2018 and has been in place after a series of continuing resolutions have been passed. A new Farm Bill is typically passed every five years.

Parsons said the federal government has no constitutional authority to provide monetary aid or police actions in other countries and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should be eliminated. He said the agency allows people to rebuild homes and businesses in places that are more prone to natural disasters.

Crawford said the federal response to the recent disaster caused by Hurricane Helene has been “poor” and FEMA running out of funds is because resources spent on illegal immigrants. This allegation has been proven false. FEMA administrators say they have funds for Helene response, and records show no FEMA funding has been redirected toward immigration support.

Govens said FEMA is needed and its funding should be expanded to help those in harm’s way. Govens said he recently visited the southern border and met with patrol agents, migrants and other stakeholders. Border patrol agents need drones and other forms of technology to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the country, he said.

Streamlining the immigration process is one step that could be taken and another would be to sign a deal with Mexico to take back those criminally convicted, Parsons said. Ending tariff wars with other countries would make their economies stronger and people would be less likely to want to move, he added.

Crawford said he thinks there are several things that could be done to improve the border problem. A wall along the border, as proposed by former President Donald Trump, would help. A “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires some asylum seekers to remain in Mexico until their cases are adjudicated, should return, along with title 42, a regulation that allows migrants to be turned away at the border during a public health crisis, Crawford said.