CD3 debate: Israel, abortion and immigration take center stage

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said the United States shouldn’t tell Israel how to defend itself following the attacks on it by Hamas last Oct. 7. His Democratic challenger, Caitlin Draper, called for the United States to lead in creating a cease fire. Libertarian Bobby Wilson said the solutions would have to come from the region itself.

The three discussed that and other issues in a debate sponsored by Arkansas PBS on Tuesday (Oct. 8) that will be broadcast Oct. 9 and is available now on Arkansas PBS’ YouTube channel.

Womack said the initial attacks on Israel were imaginable and that the United States should not tell it how to respond.

“I think that Israel needs to be able to have the opportunity to defend itself and to prosecute whatever actions it deems necessary to hold Hamas accountable and to demand the release of the hostages, whether they are dead or alive,” he said.

Draper disagreed, saying if Israel won’t agree to a cease fire, an arms embargo should be considered. She criticized both Israeli and Hamas leaders.

“What we’re seeing is an extremist government and extremist terrorist organization leaving all of these people in the middle behind,” she said.

Wilson said the United States is still dealing with the aftereffects of its support for the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected government in 1953. He said American interests in the region should be focused on maintaining the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz.

“Global trade is important,” he said. “That affects every American, and outside of that, we need to let the people there figure it out.”

Womack and Wilson largely agreed that abortion policy should be left up to the states, as it is under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“The Dobbs decision, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, essentially put the issue where the issue belongs, and that’s at the feet of the American people, and the states of the United States of America,” Womack said.

Draper disagreed, saying reproductive rights must be protected. She said she and her husband have been trying to have a child through in vitro fertilization, and she had a miscarriage in April.

“I think that pushing it to the states is not the answer when the states cannot be trusted to protect our lives,” she said. “I want the government out of my bedroom, I want the government out of my exam room, and I want those decisions to be between me, my husband and my faith leader, period.”

Asked what should be done about provisions in the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act that are expiring at the end of 2025, Womack said he would support having a debate about what should and should not be kept. He said lawmakers should determine the full cost of extending the various provisions and whether economic growth would be sufficient to make up the difference. Wilson said he would cut all spending or at least prevent cost of living adjustments. Draper said she wouldn’t cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

To address illegal immigration, Womack said Congress should pass the Republicans’ House Resolution 2, which would add border agents, construct the border wall and create a “remain in Mexico” policy. He said the United States must first “stop the bleeding” before it can enact interior enforcement and visa changes. Wilson said the government should stop funding non-governmental organizations that create incentives for people to cross. It also should end the drug war, which he said destabilizes countries that are south of the border. Draper criticized former President Trump for helping to stop a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year.

Asked about the state of American elections, Wilson said more transparency is needed and said the federal government shouldn’t be involved. Draper said Secretary of State John Thurston had silenced 100,000 women when he disqualified the citizen-led abortion amendment on a technicality. She said election denying hurts democracy. Womack expressed confidence in American elections, or at least those in Arkansas.

“Just because you don’t get the outcome that you’re looking for doesn’t necessarily mean that there was some election irregularity,” he said. “Look, when you’re dealing with millions of people who are going to vote, there are going to be some things that fall through the cracks, but in terms of, will the sum total of them sway an election one way or the other, at least in Arkansas, I’m not concerned about that.”

The candidates largely expressed agreement about making banking available for medical marijuana companies. Draper said some of her social work clients use medical marijuana and said her husband is undergoing cancer treatments. Wilson said the federal government is controlling its citizens through banking. He said marijuana is a plant with many different uses. Womack said he is not a fan of the marijuana trade, but the voters have supported making the drug legal, and it’s not safe for marijuana businesses to carry large sums of cash.