Guinta Claims Shea-Porter Misinterprets Benghazi Attack [VIDEO]

U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) accused Democratic rival Carol Shea-Porter in their televised debate Tuesday night of making light of the Benghazi attack in which Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed.

Shea-Porter, a former congresswoman representing New Hampshire's 1st District, said she was offended by his accusation.

"Please," she responded, "let's not make this a personal thing. This is a terrible tragedy."

Their stinging exchange followed a question on the deadly attack in Libya and unrest in the Middle East.

Shea-Porter, first to answer the question, said:

"I think that we need to recognize that most people in that region are really working hard for democracy. Libya is an example of people who have tried very hard, and they have apologized. It's an outrage that it happened. We need to beef up the security, but we can't have a knee-jerk reaction either. We need to recognize that for democracy to flourish it's going to be a bumpy road there."

Guinta responded:

"I wouldn't call the death of four Americans a bumpy road, nor would I call the death of an ambassador, who represents the president of the United States, a quote unquote bumpy road. I think that does a disservice to our Americans, to our president and to what we are trying to accomplish around the world. The reality is there was failure in security. It's one that should never have happened."

To which, Shea-Porter replied:

"I have to say I'm so offended and I thought that you would be able to do this in a bipartisan manner. I said democracy, not the disaster that befell our ambassador. I said democracy is ... and there are bumps in the road. But this has nothing to do with the ambassador."

Guinta said President Obama mishandled the situation, a line of criticism Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney renewed this week.

That was the overarching tone of the debate, which was aired live on WBIN-TV, as the two offered different takes on job creation, health care, energy and the federal stimulus package.

Guinta, who recently criticized Shea-Porter for high gas prices, has tried to cast his opponent as a rubber stamp for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Shea-Porter portrayed Guinta as a Tea Party Republican out of step with Granite Staters.

Shea-Porter also criticized Guinta for supporting the Paul Ryan budget and for the way he funded his campaign in 2010. She served up an old argument: Congress is broken, and new leadership is urgently needed.

"There's a reason they are being called the most unproductive Congress ever," she said.

She also accused Guinta of fudging his facts.

"It's simply not true what my opponent has just said," she said, referring to an exchange on the economy. She noted the jobless rate dropped to 7.8 percent.

Guinta knocked Shea-Porter for backing the federal stimulus spending, which he said did nothing to help the economy get back on track. Shea-Porter responded that Guinta was notably at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the access road and bridge to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, which received some of that federal stimulus money. He said he was there not to support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but to support his friend, Executive Councilor Raymond J. Wieczorek, a fellow former Manchester mayor for whom the access road was named.

The candidates split, as they have all election cycle, on the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." Guinta said he would continue to work to repeal the act. Shea-Porter defended the federal health care reform.

Health care costs over the past year have had a slower rate of growth, and it is attributed to the Affordable Care Act, according to Shea-Porter.

The 1st District campaign is turning into real race. In the latest Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center for WMUR, shows Shea-Porter in the lead:

• Shea-Porter, 46 percent
• Guinta, 35 percent
• Undecided, 18 percent

The Guinta-Shea Porter race is one of two congressional grudge matches, or rematches, underway in New Hampshire. Guinta defeated Shea-Porter in 2010. In the 2nd District, voters see familiar faces in Republican incumbent Charlie Bass and Democrat Ann McLane Kuster.

Bass and Kuster debate on WBIN-TV on Wednesday, Oct. 10.