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Taxes, Terrorism and the Role of Government

Republican Candidates Seeking to Unseat Himes Debate in Westport

Less government, lower taxes and free enterprise were key initiatives endorsed Wednesday night by four Republicans seeking the state's Fourth District seat in Congress.

During a two-hour program in Westport Town Hall's auditorium organized by the Westport Republican Town Committee, the four engaged in spirited debates, responding to questions about the federal budget and taxes, terrorism and national security, regulatory reform, and how literally the Constitution should be interpreted.

The participants were state Sen. Dan Debicella, 35, in his second term representing Stratford, Shelton, Monroe and Seymour; Rick Torres, 50, the chairman of Bridgeport's Republican Town Committee and owner of the Harborview Bakery and Café in Bridgeport; Robert Merkle, 41, founder and owner of Management Recruiters in Westport; and Tom Herrmann, 54, the first selectman of Easton.

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While seeking approval of the district's Republican electorate, the ultimate goal is for one of them to unseat U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat in his first term in Washington.

Underscoring the intensity of the challenge, Merkle said, "If we don't send a warrior up against Jim Himes we're going to lose."

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Merkle also said he's seen a "horrific" loss of the American peoples' liberties over the last few years.

Debicella said the American dream is threatened by a government that gets into every sector of our lives.

Torres, who identified life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the government's purpose for existing, also said that, having lived in Cuba and the United States, he was the only candidate who "knows Socialism."

Pointing to his extensive business experience, Herrmann said the future success of the country and its economy is support of private enterprise.

Debicella identified himself as the true fiscal conservative the Republicans need for their candidate, while Torres said he has a history of reaching people with good arguments.

People are "hugely afraid" of the growth of government, Torres said, and not just at the federal level, but state and local government, as well.

Merkle claimed the support of "tea party" voters, and said their "overarching" issue was being tired of politics as usual.

The questions were presented to the candidates by John Krubski, an unaffiliated voter.

As moderator, Krubski took the liberty — as he termed it — of varying how the program was run, sometimes allowing two minutes to answer a question instead of one and changing the sequence in which the candidates were asked to reply.

Responding to a question about the federal budget, Merkle said he would support an "across-the-board" cut between 3 percent to 5 percent.

"It's taken us 150 years to create this monster," Merkle said. "It's going to take us awhile longer to stop it."

On national security, Debicella said a condition for entering the United States should be, "If you are at all suspicious, you cannot come to America."

Torres said, "The fact is, folks, terrorists are among us."

Torres said the cause of terrorism against the United States is Islam's failure to come to grips with our system of practicing tolerance.

Merkle described the country's borders as "porous," and said Al-Qaeda is infiltrating the country from the south.

Debicella said he favored Arizona's approach to illegal immigrants, allowing police officers to capture and deport them.

Debicella said a practical approach to stemming illegal immigration into the country would be cracking down on opportunities for employment.

Arizona, Merkle said, is "desperate and crying for help" dealing with illegal immigrants, and said the country needs a fence between its southern border and Mexico.

Torres said the states bordering Mexico are confronting drug-related violence "of the worst kind," and said, "We must stop it now and support our southern neighbors."

On taxes and stimulating the economy, Debicella called for cutting the payroll tax from 6 percent to 3 percent for both employees and employers, while Herrmann said corporate taxes should be cut from 40 percent to 25 percent.

Merkle said that as the U.S. tax rate on corporations is growing, taxes in the rest of the world are dropping.

"We need to incentivize companies to return to America," Merkle said.

In reading the Constitution, Debicella said, "It is what it says it is – no more, no less."

The purpose of the federal government, Torres said, is to defend our inalienable rights. He said the Constitution is, "clear and concise, which has allowed people to redefine it."

Torres also said the country's budget began to soar after implementation of the income tax.

"We opened the spigot," he said, "and the spigot was the IRS."

Merkle identified himself as a "strict constructionist" in reading the Constitution, and said the document had only enough framework "to keep us from killing each other."

He said growth in government represents "fraud, abuse and waste."

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