NEWTON - Republican challenger Jeff Beatty took numerous swings at John Kerry in a contentious debate here Monday night, and the Boston Democrat defended his record, firing back a few salvos of his own.

[img_assist|nid=1571|title=U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston)|desc=Politicker Photo|link=none|align=right|width=114|height=182]The most heated moment of the night came during the foreign policy discussion. Beatty, a former Army Delta Force officer and CIA officer, sharply criticized Kerry for his 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq and accused him of casting his vote for political reasons.

"I would not have gone into Iraq. I saw the information. I realized it was insufficient. Same information Sen. Kerry could have read if he had wanted to read in the National Intelligence Estimate. We never should have gone into Iraq," Beatty said. "You knew when you voted for that war that we didn't have what we needed to go to war. And you didn't care because it was all about getting elected president. You've got blood on your hands for 500 Massachusetts families who have had a loved one wounded or killed, over 80 killed. And you voted for that war because your advisors told you vote for it, it will help you get elected president."

Asked to respond, Kerry was blunt.

"It's insulting. And it's frankly disgusting, to be truthful with you," the senator said. "I would never do that as a combat veteran. The fact is, I did better than read the NIE. I went over and met with the intelligence officers. I met with [former CIA head] George Tenet, I went to the National Security Council. I talked at length with [former Secretary of State] Colin Powell. I did all the due diligence. And frankly it was Colin Powell's conversation with me that persuaded me that they were going to do the things the president promised -- exhaust the remedies, go to the U.N., do the inspections. And frankly, every promise was broken and I did exactly what I said I was going to do: I opposed it and I've led the opposition because they broke their promises."

Beatty also lambasted Kerry with allegations that he doesn't support U.S. troops as he should.

"The surge strategy has worked" in Iraq, Beatty said, "despite the fact that my opponent can't give the soldiers credit for the victory that they are achieving."

Kerry, himself a decorated Vietnam veteran, took umbrage with that claim as well.

"Let me first of all correct Jeff Beatty again. I have consistently, from day one, saluted and praised the job that our troops have done which is absolutely extraordinary," Kerry said. "I've travelled to Iraq five or six times, met with those troops. They are unbelievable. I go to welcoming home ceremonies and deployment ceremonies and I continually applaud the job our troops have done."

Beatty fired back with the story of a veteran that he said Kerry's office did not help. The veteran was found and taken care of by another disabled veteran.

"This is a veteran himself that is already 100 percent disabled, he called your office, no one returned his call," Beatty said. "I'd like to talk to him when you leave here, maybe you can explain to him why."

The two candidates tussled on several other issues, including the economy. Beatty was again critical of Kerry, in particular for his support of the federal government's recent Wall Street bailout. Beatty said the bill costs every Massachusetts family $7,000 and accused the senator again of casting votes for political reasons.

[img_assist|nid=1583|title=Republican Jeff Beatty at the debate Monday night|desc=Politicker Photo|link=none|align=left|width=181|height=180]"Specifically, that bailout was a bill that Sen. Kerry pushed because he simply wanted to put a band aid on the economic bailout and kick the can down the road past the election," Beatty said.

Beatty repeated his call for limiting executive pay, reforming regulatory agencies and increasing oversight over the financial industry.

He also repeated his criticism of Kerry for a "conflict of interest" for owning stock in AIG, a charge that Kerry was quick to parry by painting Beatty as misinformed on the issue.

"He needs to get his facts straight, that's an important part of being a senator," Kerry said. "We don't own stock in AIG. Briefly my wife had some stock through a company that owned the stock, and she had an interest in that company. She sold it and that company then sold the stock."

"As of this moment," Kerry went on, "and as of the time that we were doing any of this I had zero ownership of AIG stock."

Kerry defended his support of the bailout plan, noting that 75 U.S. senators voted for it and that the House of Representatives "overwhelmingly" supported it. Democrats, Kerry added, fought for and were successful in limiting executive compensation.

"Unfortunately, Jeff has his facts wrong on a number of different issues," Kerry said. "Not only do we have a limitation on executive pay but we got the taxpayers in the position of having a stake in the upside on the back end when the properties that are purchased for a low price, re-appreciate and come back in value and most people in the country and financial experts believe they will. So we protected the taxpayer."

Beatty, who was eager to jump in and often interrupted Kerry, characterized Kerry as an "accomplished insider" and called the bailout a "Washington deal" laden with pork.

Kerry was quick to respond to that charge as well, saying that Beatty was using "the language we hear from Karl Rove Republicans that just kind of want to tear everything and everybody down."

Some of that "pork," Kerry said, went to providing tax credits for consumers to buy electric vehicles, help job creation and help families get their children to school.

Beatty, however, wasn't buying Kerry's reasoning and again charged political motives, an allegation with which Kerry immediately took issue.

"The bottom line is this," Beatty charged again, "you kicked the can down the road just to get through the election just so you can go out and campaign with Barack Obama to be Secretary of State."

Kerry responded, "The fact is that nothing was kicked down the road."

On tax cuts, the two candidates again butted heads with Kerry charging that Beatty supports Republican presidential nominee John McCain's plan to give a tax cut to those earning over $250,000.

"The middle class has been getting screwed because the Republicans and Jeff Beatty and John McCain support a tax cut for people earning more than $250,000," Kerry said.

Beatty said he did support that tax cut but also supports Democratic nominee Barack Obama's middle class tax cut.

"Everybody needs a tax cut right now," Beatty said, "the economy is hurting."

At that point, Kerry interjected that it is not possible to give a tax cut to everybody and Beatty objected to the interruption.

"Come on senator," he said, "it was my turn to talk."

Beatty and Kerry then traded blows on Cape Wind. Kerry said he supported wind power but would not state for certain whether he backs the project. Instead, he said that since Cape Wind would be the first sighting of a wind farm, the process should play out.

"I want," Kerry said, "the environmental impact studied."

The moderator of this first Kerry-Beatty debate, Jim Braude, said Beatty opposes Cape Wind, which Beatty didn't disagree with, and the Republican said he supports additional drilling to deal with the energy crisis.

Beatty and Kerry were also asked about Question 1, the ballot measure that would abolish the state income tax. Beatty supports the measure because he said it would provide families with much needed extra money.
"Every family needs an economic stimulus," the Republican said. "I see this as stimulus; I see this as a needed stimulus for every family."
Kerry strongly disagreed with Beatty's position.

"My prayer is that Jeff Beatty's position will be soundly rejected about this state," Kerry said. "To do what Jeff Beatty just suggested we ought to do with be calamitous, disastrous for the commonwealth of Massachusetts."

Kerry also said that eliminating the income tax would leave to an increase in the property tax and pointed to New Hampshire as an example of a state with no income tax but with rising property tax rates.

On healthcare, Beatty and Kerry were asked whether they support an individual mandated healthcare for the entire country.

"Yes I do," Kerry said. "But I would put it on the back end...I would first start by bringing everybody to the table."

Beatty also said the he wasn't sure the Massachusetts program would suit all states.

"The Massachusetts experiment is a good experiment," he said. "The Hawaii experiment tanked. Before you go and mandate something at the national level you better go make sure it's going to work. It's too early."

Beatty did say that he thought it was important for the country to offer a way for all individuals to have access to health insurance, which prompted Kerry to ask "Do you have a plan?" repeatedly.

"I want it to be universal," Beatty responded. "I want it to be transportable."

"That's not a plan," Kerry eventually said. "Those are principles, those are ideas. It's not a plan. How do you get there. I've laid out very specifically how you create a re-insurance fund that lowers the premiums, 50 percent tax credit for small businesses, how you, in fact let people buy into Medicare early. How you provide the same healthcare for that senators in Congress give themselves to everybody in America. It's a plan."

The Republican presidential ticket was another topic raised by Braude. Beatty has said he supports John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin, and Braude asked Beatty if he believed Palin is qualified to be president should something happen to McCain.

"I think Sarah Palin has got excellent executive experience," Beatty said. "I think Sarah Palin has got good judgment. I think that Sarah Palin has shown that she is someone who her constituents are quite happy with, in fact, twice as happy as our own governor here in Massachusetts."

The hour-long debate, on NECN's NewsNight, was the first of two debates between Kerry and Beatty.

Also on PolitickerMA.com Tuesday:

Post debate spin: Beatty hits Kerry again for war and bailout votes

Post debate spin: Kerry says Beatty displayed negativity