Debate: Hutchison blames Democrats, Cantwell blasts Trump tariffs

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., right, shakes hands with her Republican challenger, Susan Hutchison, left, Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, following a debate at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) less Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., right, shakes hands with her Republican challenger, Susan Hutchison, left, Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, following a debate at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. ... more Photo: Ted S. Warren/AP Photo: Ted S. Warren/AP Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Debate: Hutchison blames Democrats, Cantwell blasts Trump tariffs 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

PARKLAND -- Republican challenger Susan Hutchison had to work to get Sen. Maria Cantwell into the ring, but Cantwell proved in a Monday debate she is an incumbent on her game with detailed knowledge of her state.

She faced Hutchison, a partisan of President Donald Trump who set out to blame Democrats in Congress for just about every problem facing America with the possible exception of wheat rust.

When asked about the loss of civility in America, Hutchison declared: "If you disagree with the Democrats on anything, their mob will come after you."

She later blamed a billionaire philanthropist who donates to the Democrats for confrontations over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. "I know a lot of these people are paid by George Soros, who has contributed to my opponent Maria Cantwell," Hutchison said.

Cantwell delivered a one-sentence argument against electing Hutchison, saying: "The last thing we need in Washington, D.C., is a rubber stamp of the Trump agenda."

The two squared off over topics ranging from Trump's tariff-dominated trade policy to raising the age at which persons can purchase semi-automatic assault rifles.

The Trump tariff war with China is hurting Washington's exports, starting with cherries and now moving into apples, Cantwell argued. The President has "got to stop using tariffs as first line of action," she added, and instead use them as a last resort.

"The farmers are willing to experience a little short-term pain for long-term gain," Hutchison argued.

On health care, Cantwell noted that 39 Republican attorneys general have brought legal action to strike down provisions in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) that prohibit insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

RELATED: Connelly: Sen. Maria Cantwell is no 'suspender snapper'

"We cannot allow the Republicans to strike down coverage of pre-existing conditions," Cantwell said, reflecting what has become a theme for Democrats in the 2018 mid-term elections.

Hutchison, from a military family, talked about her family's experience with government health care under the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. She described the Dept. of Veterans Affairs as a form of "socialized medicine." She argued that Obamacare was adopted with that goal for the entire country.

"The Democrats knew (that) what they were working for is socialized medicine," Hutchison argued.

A sidelight of the debate was the mention of Texas' GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. Hutchison confronted Cruz and called him a "traitor" after Cruz's 2016 GOP Convention speech in which he declined to endorse Trump and told people to vote their conscience.

She was speaking for the party and would get along with him fine today, Hutchsion argued. She had earlier blamed Democrats for an incident in which Cruz and his wife were harassed by demonstrators at a restaurant.

The "bromance" between Trump and North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Il was another topic on the table. Hutchison was asked about a recent rally statement in which Trump said he was "in love" with Kim.

"I can't explain a lot of things out of 'The Art of the Deal'," Hutchison said, referring to a bestselling book written for Trump under his name. But she praised the President for reaching out to the North Korean dictator.

Cantwell said the best course of action is to "hold North Korea accountable with sanctions that are enforced."

The incumbent cited her work across the aisle with Republican senators, on topics ranging from forest fire prevention to enhanced water storage in the Yakima River Basin, to bipartisan immigration bills that have passed the Senate but stalled in the Republican-controlled House.

Hutchison was a cornucopia of Republican sound bites, saying of the Kavanaugh hearings: "They (Democrats) besmirched a man with an impeccable record of jurisprudence . . . I blame squarely the Democrats who used this for political gain."

"I believe Dr. Ford," Cantwell said by way of retort.

RELATED: Connelly: Cantwell makes it official, will oppose confirming Kavanaugh

Cantwell and Hutchison came down on opposite sides of the country's gun debate.

The Senator said she favors banning bump stocks, universal background checks for gun buyers, raising to 21 the minimum age to buy an assault rifle, and voiced strong support for extreme risk protection orders, which temporarily suspend a person's access to firearms if a judge determines that person poses a risk to self, family and friends.

"The right to bear arms is not just about militia, but it doesn't mean that the U.S. Senate can't do something to better protect students in schools," Cantwell said.

Hutchison disagreed. She charged that proposed restrictions on firearms are "intended to punish" law abiding gun owners, "which is 99 percent."

Such measures as required safe storage of firearms "hurt women," Hutchison added, those women who want and need the protection of sleeping with a loaded firearm at bedside. "For every attempt to curtail the rights of gun owners, we are putting people at risk," Hutchison said.

The debate at Pacific Lutheran University was hosted by the Washington State Debate Coalition. The two candidates will square off in Spokane later this month.

When the debate was over, underdog Hutchison headed for the press room. She said the Kavanaugh hearings have reversed political trends in the country, predicting: "There will be no blue wave in November."

A relaxed Cantwell sent surrogates, and chose to spend her time greeting and answering questions from PLU students, and posing for photos.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks refuted Hutchison's claim that Cantwell isn't around much, but joked: "There's an unending number of Maria Cantwell fundraisers, some of which I have to attend."