Tim Scott's Opponents Make Argument for New Representation

Rep. Tim Scott declined a debate Wednesday with his challengers on the Nov. 6 ballot, opting instead for a scheduled campaign event in Bluffton.

But his opponents, Democrat Bobbie Rose and Libertarian Keith Blandford, took the opportunity to speak with 40 voters at a League of Women Voters forum. The event was also streamed live online and will be available at the LWV website.

Rose criticized Scott for not attending the forum. "Right now, we have a Congressman, but we don't have a representative," she said. "Tim Scott did not show up for work today."

She called for universal Pre-K education, claiming leaving it up to states would be leaving some students without the important resource. Rose also stressed the importance of technical programs that can prepare students for high-paying jobs that don't require a college education.

Rose also called for bipartisanship in Washington, as opposed to a Congress she believes has been singularly focused on preventing a second term for the president.

"This congress doesn't want a solution at all," she said. "I can absolutely work across the aisle."

Blandford ran in 2010 and is again stressing the need for fiscal reform in Washington, predicting dire consequences.

"It's going to take a wheelbarrow of money to pay for a loaf of bread," he said.

Blandford challenged suggestions that the federal government should take a stronger role in education or expand programs like Medicare.

"The first question should be, 'Can we afford it?,'" he said, noting that increasing the debt on future generations shouldn't be an option.