Ledger-Dispatch

By Helen Bonner=20

Calaveras Enterprise publisher Ralph = Alldredge is=20 flanked by Dr. Bill Durston, left, and Congressman Dan Lungren = (R-Gold=20 River), right, during Wednesday night's debate in Angels = Camp.

Photo by: Helen = Bonner
A=20 highly charged crowd of more than l50 people funneled into the theater = at Bret=20 Harte High School in Angels Camp Wednesday night to witness the debate = between=20 well known 3rd District incumbent Congressman Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) = and his=20 Democratic rival, Dr. Bill Durston.

They were introduced by = Calaveras=20 Enterprise publisher Ralph Alldredge, who allowed no informal discussion = but=20 immediately set the terms: Voters had submitted questions via e-mail or = fax;=20 there would be no "demonstrations" from the audience; and the candidates = were to=20 stick to the issues. Within minutes, however, Durston was accusing = Lungren of=20 deliberately distorting his position on the war, and Lungren was = suggesting=20 Durston didn't have the experience required to work with a difficult=20 Congress.

Durston said he was running for Congress "because in = 2006 and=20 2008, many people, including Diane (his wife) and me, were concerned = about the=20 direction the country was taking and about the job that my opponent, = Lungren,=20 was doing. The people are losing their trust in their government. Trust = is the=20 overriding issue."

Durston based his case mostly on his military = and=20 medical service. Born in Santa Clara Valley, he married his high school=20 sweetheart, Diane, served in combat in Vietnam, held a residency in = medicine for=20 26 years in Sacramento, served as president of Physicians for Social=20 Responsibility and served overseas with Doctors Without = Borders.

A=20 confident Lungren highlighted his experience. "I first went to Congress = because=20 I believed we needed to have smaller government, lower taxes, an = emphasis on=20 national defense and a sense of purpose," he said. "Ronald Reagan joined = us and=20 together we continued the fight against communism and lowered taxes = across the=20 board. After 10 years, I moved to California and was elected attorney = general so=20 that people can live lives without fear of bad guys out on the street. = Homicide=20 rates dropped by 50 percent when I was attorney general in California. I = returned to public service after 9/11 for the same reasons, still with = the same=20 principles as Ronald Reagan. An economy that comes from the people is = better=20 than economy by government."

Durston countered that crime rates = dropped=20 nationally during those years because the country was in a time of peace = and=20 prosperity under then-President Bill Clinton. Official crime rates for=20 California show not a 50 percent drop, but 30 percent, similar to the=20 nation's.

There was some trading of accusations during the night. = Durston=20 put the Lungren camp on the defensive early, saying Lungren was refusing = to=20 debate and was beholden to pharmaceutical interests on the issue of = affordable=20 health care. Lungren said Durston was indifferent to the troops. "He = would tie=20 up any funding for troops in the war unless it was tied to their = withdrawal,"=20 Lungren charged.

When Durston attacked Lungren's yes vote on the=20 financial "bailout," Lungren implied that Durston would do nothing in a=20 financial crisis and had no proven ability to work with a difficult = Congress.=20 "As a doctor, I'm used to dealing with emergencies," Durston countered.=20 "Sometimes you need to do something less dramatic while you gather new=20 information. The bailout is socializing the losses and letting the = capitalists=20 keep the profits."

The most frequently asked questions, according = to=20 Alldredge, was on the economy and global financial crisis, subjects on = which the=20 candidates differed sharply. "No one person is to blame. It's a failure = of the=20 system," Lungren said. "We moved from a value-based to a = transaction-based=20 economy."

Durston said deregulation policies in 2004 "allowed big = business to run uncontrolled," and led to the burst of the housing = bubble and=20 subprime mortgage frenzy. But a bigger issue, Durston argued, is that = "no=20 country has ever been able to devote massive amounts of money to war = without=20 eventually failing. We have been doing this for years in Iraq and = Afghanistan.=20 We spend as much on military as the next 10 countries combined. We can't = keep=20 doing that without crippling the economy."

The candidates' = positions on=20 other issues were equally divergent. Both men disagreed on No Child Left = Behind,=20 with Durston calling it "bad for kids, degrading to teachers, and = demands more=20 of schools without providing funding."

Lungren argued, "If you = don't set=20 standards, they won't get met."

Both differed on the subject of = global=20 warming, with Lungren saying people should be skeptical and Durston = saying there=20 was "overwhelming scientific evidence" that points to climate change = being=20 caused by methane and greenhouse gases. The night went on like that, = with the=20 candidates far apart on immigration, the war on drugs and other issues. = The one=20 issue where the candidates found some common ground was on the role of = Congress,=20 with both men saying Congress needed to provide more oversight over the=20 executive branch.

Near the end of the debate, the candidates were = given=20 the chance to ask each other one question. Durston went first. "In the=20 Sacramento News & Review, you said you voted with Dick Cheney 100 = percent of=20 the time. Cheney is fundraising for you. Isn't that a conflict of = interest?=20 Cheney is fundraising for you so you support his policies."

"I = worked in=20 Congress with Cheney and with Ronald Reagan," Lungren began. "We thought = the=20 government was heading in the wrong direction and if we didn't control = spending,=20 we would be in the situation we are in now. Cheney and I were against = spending=20 bills."

Lungren then addressed Durston. "I was endorsed by the = Sacramento=20 Bee because I can get legislation passed. How would you have gained = support in=20 Congress to pass a bill when it was so difficult to get agreement? How = do you=20 propose to work with 400 congressmen, each of which will disagree with=20 you?"

"I can't guarantee I can single-handedly do that, but I can = tell=20 the truth as I know it," Durston responded. "We should not support = corporate=20 greed. I support the people. I would increase taxes on the wealthiest = and on=20 corporations. I would stop the war profiteering going on in our=20 country."

The taped debate will be available on the Calaveras=20 Enterprise's Web site at www.calaverasenterprise.com.

Helen Bonner
Ledger Dispatch Contributor=20