Topics ranged from national security and foreign policy to gun violence and artificial intelligence as the candidates described his or her opponent as more extreme
LINCOLN — U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., and his Democratic challenger, State Sen. Carol Blood, spent much of a debate Sunday categorizing the other as more extreme and out of touch with voters.
Flood, who is seeking his second full term in Congress in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, said he was elected to “turn the page” on an “extreme liberal agenda in Washington” in 2022, which he said Blood would follow. Blood said Flood has contributed to “hyperpartisanship” and inaction while in Congress and that she wouldn’t follow the Democratic Party.
“My opponent has endorsed Kamala Harris, and she would be a rubber stamp for the Democrats if she goes to Washington, and that’s bad for Nebraska,” Flood said.
Said Blood: “You can keep talking about Kamala Harris, I don’t know her personally and I didn’t think she was standing here debating Congressman Flood.”
The two candidates addressed more than a dozen questions in an hourlong debate sponsored by Nebraska Public Media at its Lincoln studio in partnership with the Nebraska Examiner, Lincoln Journal Star, Omaha World-Herald and KRVN Rural Radio Network. No live audience was present.
Aaron Sanderford, the Nebraska Examiner’s political reporter, moderated the debate. A panel of three local journalists served as hosts: Kassidy Arena (Nebraska Public Media), Chris Dunker (Lincoln Journal Star) and Dave Schroeder (KRVN).
Foreign policy
One of the biggest topics where the candidates disagreed involved foreign policy, including their views on the Israel-Hamas war, including a possible ceasefire, and national security threats.
Blood said people must remember the innocent bystanders who have been caught in the Middle East conflict and who must be protected. She said anything the United States does should support those people and move toward peace.
Flood said he supports Israel and described the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack from Hamas as “their 9/11.” He said Israel has a right to retaliate and to “eradicate Hamas,” stating the war extends to relations with Iran.
“War is horrible. War is not fair. War is an abomination,” Flood said. “But there is no choice when a terrorist organization full of rancid animals like Hamas did what they did on October 7. They must be rooted out.”
Blood said she agrees that what happened last October was horrible but said Congress rarely talks about “the innocents” killed by Hamas and the Israeli military.
“We have to protect the people who have nothing to do with this conflict that just happened to be living there and trying to survive and provide for their families,” Blood said.
National security and immigration
Blood said she sees Russia at the top of a “very long list” of national security concerns that extends to agroterrorism and protecting Nebraska’s farmers, crops and water. She said the U.S. shouldn’t try to appease Russia, which she said was former President Donald Trump’s policy.
“We’re not there to be good friends,” Blood said of Russia.
Flood said the largest threat is China for directly seeking to usurp the United States’ “superpower” status by 2050 and challenging its economic power.
“China is a juggernaut, and they want to end America,” Flood said.
Flood complimented Blood for many years of championing support for Offutt Air Force Base but disagreed about pushing “woke” or the “Green New Deal” about environmental policies in “every nook and cranny” of military policy. He said that distracts from North Korea, China and Russia.
Blood said Flood is ignoring the effects of climate change and the need to give the military every tool necessary to take care of families and ensure equipment remains up to date.
Blood said Congress also needs to be serious about funding judges and the “boots on the ground” at the U.S. border with Mexico. She said asylum seekers shouldn’t face yearlong waits to have their day in court.
Flood said he supports Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” executive order that had asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their applications were pending rather than waiting in the U.S. for whatever president made certain promises to them.
Gun violence and federal legislation
On a question about gun violence, including in the aftermath of a shooting at an Omaha high school just last week, Flood and Blood each agreed that mental health needs to remain a focus. And both said the Second Amendment right to bear arms needs to be preserved.
Blood, who has served eight years in the Legislature and eight years on the Bellevue City Council, said “thoughts and prayers” aren’t enough and that action must follow any talk about mental health. She suggested that safe weapons storage and having stronger, national laws would be next steps.
“Our children are more precious than gun rights,” Blood said. “… Children being murdered on a daily basis has become the norm, and until we take action at congressional level and not a patchwork of laws across the United States, we will never solve this problem.”
Flood defended his mental health record by pointing to his almost 10 years in the Legislature, including six years as speaker. He said he has partnered with local sheriffs and schools to increase grant funding for security and sees mental health as a continuum of care.
“I’m not interested in infringing on any Nebraskan’s Second Amendment rights, and I think we have to keep that in mind because that is a right afforded to the citizens that came through the Bill of Rights, and it is a core value of mine,” Flood said.
Other topics of note
Abortion: Flood said the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade on abortion policy was an “answer” to what states had wanted for 50 years: to set individual policies. He praised Nebraska for adopting his 2011 legislation that established the first 20-week ban in the country. Flood said he supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life or health of the mother.
Blood said there is no such thing as “abortion at or after birth,” as Flood said she supports, and said abortion is a health care issue. She said she trusts people to make the right decision with their doctors. Blood said abortion-related laws nationwide are “making doctors criminals” and leading to fewer OB-GYNs and clinics.
Artificial intelligence: Flood said he sees benefits and possible concern with AI, pointing to the software potentially helping new customers who don’t have a history of credit determine their creditworthiness. However, he said he is concerned AI could utilize certain biases and advance discrimination in violation of federal law.
Blood said she has regularly warned people that AI or robots were coming throughout her time in office but said policymakers need to be educated before writing policy. She noted the more AI is used, the more knowledge it has and the more dangerous it could become.
Flood suggested creators of AI models should make their work accessible for public scrutiny. He said regulation could be needed so as not to upset a balance in market trades or security. Blood said regulation needs to get ahead of and set proper guidelines before issues arise. She said those laws can’t step into government overreach, however.
Student loan debt: Blood said the focus should be on “predatory lending” on 18 year olds who took out loans without realizing the consequences. Flood said that’s another way of evading accountability to support Democrats and Biden.
Blood questioned why there was a double standard for small businesses being offered “forgivable loans” during the pandemic, including Flood and his media organization in Norfolk. Flood said that plumbers, carpenters and nurses shouldn’t subsidize the loans of doctors, lawyers and accountants and that Biden should respect the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on the issue.
Agricultural policy and exports: Both candidates said Congress needs to be serious about the farm bill, which is supposed to be renewed every five years. Flood blamed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, for being a roadblock in the bill’s advancement in the Senate, while Blood said the U.S. House needs to be serious about its legislative authority.
Flood said President Joe Biden needs to step up to foreign countries, such as Mexico, while the U.S. finds other markets to increase exports. Blood said the country should continue to work with associations to find other outlets in other countries for farmers to export their goods.
Looking ahead to November
Blood told reporters after the debate her campaign for Congress is the last elected position she plans on running for but said she would run for reelection if she wins. She said she hasn’t fed at the “trough of the lobby,” isn’t beholden to party labels and argued “hyperpartisanship is killing this country.”
Flood said after the debate that Congress is different from the officially nonpartisan Legislature because members of Congress organize around party labels. He said that if Blood sits at the “back of the bus,” she won’t have influence over what really matters.
Flood said during the debate that if voters take one thing away, it’s that the “nation’s future is on the line” come November. He said if Nebraskans are better off now under Biden than in 2020 under Trump, he invites them to vote for Blood. Otherwise, he wants to “earn” those votes.
“The stakes have never been higher and the choice on your ballot has never been starker,” Flood said.
Blood said Flood helped to illustrate the “hyperpartisanship” she’s seeking to defeat. She said Congress and the nation must move past a “nanny government” to respect the rights and freedoms of Nebraskans.
“We’ve got to stop putting people in that put politics over people, ” Blood said.
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