Kaine and Stewart clash over Trump, Kavanagh, immigration, and much more

Corey Stewart (left) and Sen. Tim Kaine face off in a debate. [WAMU]

When Corey Stewart, the Republican challenging Sen. Tim Kaine in the Nov.  6 election, blasted Kaine for “voting against everything Trump proposed” at a Sept. 26 debate, that line got some applause.

“If the president proposes things that are bad, sure I’ll stand up against them,” Kaine said. But he also said it’s untrue that he votes no on everything coming out of the White House, citing bills to expand career and technical education, attack the opioid crisis, and assist military families.

Stewart and Kaine clashed repeatedly at the debate, at Capital One headquarters in Tysons, over whether they could work across the aisle.

“I will stir things up. I got things done,” Stewart said. “Yes, I can be controversial.”

In fact, Stewart, the chair of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, drew national attention for his hard line against immigrants.

When Stewart ran in the Republican primary for governor, Kaine noted none of his colleagues on the Prince William Board endorsed him and instead supported Ed Gillespie, who had never run for office before.

Kaine supports legislation to rename the Russell Senate Office Building for recently deceased Republican Sen. John McCain, whom he called a war hero who deserves to be honored.

Stewart said he opposed that idea, stating, “Leave the name on the building. Protect our history.” The building is named for Sen. Richard Russell, a George Democrat and arch segregationist.

A strong advocate for retaining Confederate statues, Stewart said those who want to take them down “demonize Virginians proud of their history.”

“How will you convince minorities you will represent them, when you want immigrants deported and Confederate statues to stay?” Kaine responded.

“You are sending a message,” Kaine told Stewart, “when you bash immigrants, when you questioned Obama’s birth record, when you campaigned for Roy Moore after he was outed as a sexual predator of young girls, and when you pal around with white supremacists.” In response, Stewart, accused Kaine of supporting discrimination against Asian Americans in higher education.

Regarding immigration, Kaine called for comprehensive reform, more border security, and a path to citizenship. He said Stewart’s practice of “demonizing immigrants” made it more difficult for Prince William County to attract businesses.

Stewart accused Kaine of not understanding the difference between “immigrants and illegal aliens” and cited a couple of high-profile “murders committed by illegal aliens.”

“Crimes should be prosecuted, but immigration is about opportunity,” Kaine said, pointing to the many successful companies founded by immigrants.

Stewart said he opposed extending DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which would provide some rights to people brought to the U.S. as children.

“What a smear against Dreamers,” Kaine shot back. “Your theme is angry and divisive.”

In response to a question about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanagh, Stewart denigrated accuser Christine Blasey Ford and said the complaints from women about past incidents of sexual harassment “are dragging America through this horrible spectacle.”

Kaine accused Stewart of minimized the seriousness of those allegations and demeaning the women accusers. “If allegation of serious sexual assault gets swept under the rug, it will make it harder for other victims to come forward,” he said.

Several times during the debate, Stewart brought up “268 allegations of sexual harassment” against members of Congress and “$17.2 million in hush money” to cover them up, insinuating with no evidence that there were complaints against Kaine.  “We need to know who among you is on this list,” Stewart said.

Kaine reminded the audience that he had pushed the Senate Ethics Committee to make its report public.

Kaine supports the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and expressed the hope that Virginia becomes the state to put it over the top.

Stewart said the ERA isn’t needed and said, erroneously, that if it is ratified, women’s athletic programs would have to admit men.

Stewart lauded Trump’s tax cuts, while Kaine said the Trump tax plan provided “deep, permanent tax cuts for corporations and tiny, expiring tax cuts for people. We could have done so much better.”

Kaine said he’s running on an upbeat theme, “a Virginia that works for all,” and said, “Virginians are positive, welcoming, and inclusive people.”

In contrast, he accused Stewart of focusing on attacking immigrants, “bizarre conspiracy theories,” and palling around with white supremacists.

Noting that Stewart’s theme is “take Virginia back,” he said, “Virginians don’t want to go back.”