Toomey, Sestak spar on issues

Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Sestak tangled over government spending, the outsourcing of American jobs overseas, and the future of Social Security on Wednesday in an often testy debate in their race to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.

They accused each other of dishonesty and extremism during the hour-long debate at the National Constitution Center, broadcast live on 6ABC and on stations across the state.

The two men, ideological opposites, also attacked each other for votes they have cast in Congress. Toomey said Sestak invariably favored the expansion of government, while Sestak accused Toomey of being a toady to corporations.

Sestak pounced when Toomey sidestepped a question about whether former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who endorsed him Tuesday, was qualified to be president.

He said Toomey was trying to hide his similarity to candidates on "the extreme fringes of the tea party," naming Delaware's GOP Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell, who, he said, wants no separation between church and state.

Sestak was referring to a controversial statement by O'Donnell during her debate with Democrat Chris Coons on Tuesday. The O'Donnell camp said she was not disputing the interpretation of the First Amendment by courts but simply stating that the words separation of church and state do not appear in it.

Sestak also noted statements by Toomey in the past urging a corporate tax rate of zero, which Toomey said would spur economic growth.

"It says above us in this great hall 'We the People' not 'We the Corporations,' " Sestak said.

Toomey responded that it was Sestak who was extreme in voting for every single item in what he said was the "out of control" Washington agenda: bailouts of banks and auto companies, an ineffectual stimulus, and a government "takeover" of health care.

"For Joe to pretend he has any interest in getting spending under control is simply laughable," Toomey said.

The debate came after a pair of polls indicated that Sestak had closed the gap with Toomey, who has led their race from the beginning. Strategists in both parties also said the contest was tightening.

It was a rare opportunity for the candidates to address the electorate directly, though research has shown that debates rarely shake up campaigns unless a candidate makes a major gaffe.

Moderated by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and Jim Gardner of 6ABC, this discussion turned combative at times.

Sestak ripped Toomey for his support for allowing younger workers to invest a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes in the stock market. He said the scheme would leave senior citizens vulnerable to losses, would require borrowing trillions "from China" to set up, and would enrich Wall Street.

Toomey said that his plan would not give profits to brokers and would save the troubled retirement system.

"Joe's demagoguery knows no limits," Toomey said, adding that his opponent has no plan to ensure Social Security's long-term financial stability.

"Joe has no solutions to the big problems that we face. Instead it's mischaracterize, dishonest attacks, and if he gets close to a solution, it's always the same: Raise taxes," Toomey said.

As he has on the campaign trail, Toomey criticized Sestak for supporting bailouts but sidestepped a panelist's question about what would have happened to the economy without a rescue of banks and two automakers decimated by the recession.

Sestak responded that as a member of Congress he had the courage to do what was necessary to fix an economy that he said was wrecked by the policies of Toomey, who was a member of the House from the Lehigh Valley from 1999 to 2005, and former President George W. Bush.

"Sometimes, you have to take care of other people's messes and just clean them up," Sestak said.

On abortion, Sestak said, "Palin, Toomey, O'Donnell - they all would repeal Roe v. Wade."

Toomey said he would favor a ban on abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother, but would not impose a "litmus test" on judicial nominees if he were elected to the Senate.

He said Sestak was on the "fringe of House members who are very liberal and believe in taxpayer-funded abortion" - an apparent reference to Sestak's vote for the health-care overhaul even though it was not accompanied by a proposed amendment explicitly banning the use of taxpayer money for abortion.

"I voted against taxpayers funding it, and you know it," Sestak said.

"You're being dishonest, Joe, and I'm calling you out on that," Toomey said.

A Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll released Wednesday showed Sestak leading Toomey 44 percent to 41 percent, within the 5-percentage-point margin of error. Fifteen percent of likely voters said they remained undecided with less than two weeks remaining in the campaign.

A survey released Tuesday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling gave Sestak 46 percent to Toomey's 45 percent, well within the poll's 3.7-percentage-point margin of error.

In August, PPP had Toomey with a 45 percent to 36 percent lead on his Democratic rival, a second-term congressman from Delaware County and former Navy admiral. Toomey is a former three-term member of Congress, a former Wall Street trader, and former head of the Club for Growth, a free-market advocacy group.

At that point, Toomey and his conservative allies, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, had been airing commercials virtually unanswered by Sestak for months.

Around Labor Day, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Sestak's campaign hit the airwaves.

The two are campaigning to succeed Sen. Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democrat whom Sestak beat in the May primary.

On foreign affairs, Toomey attacked Sestak for having said that terror suspects should be tried in civilian courts. Last year, Sestak said 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed could be tried in Pennsylvania.

"This would be a circus and very dangerous," Toomey said.

An emotional Sestak said he walked the Pentagon after it was damaged in the 9/11 attacks and recalled coworkers who died. He said "our laws are strong enough" to try terror suspects in civilian courts.

"Men and women who had worked for me did not walk out," Sestak said. "I want them [terrorists] put to death for what they did."

The two will square off again Friday in Pittsburgh.