Libertarian candidates who lean right on economics and left on social issues don't fit the mold of conservatism, Republican 1st District U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford said Tuesday in a debate with his third-party opponent.
During the debate, which was filmed at the Arkansas Educational Television Network in Conway, Libertarian candidate Mark West, a preacher and business payroll manager, said he is conservative because he supports limiting all aspects of the federal government.
There is no Democrat running for the 1st District seat, which includes the Arkansas Delta and parts of the Ozark Mountains as far west as Searcy County.
"I'm questioning the logic for how you can espouse both of those [beliefs] and expect to garner the type of support that is necessary," Crawford told reporters after the debate, "If you're a conservative, you're a conservative; it seems like you're trying to have it both ways."
In his news conference after the debate, West accused both major parties of trying to convince voters that third-party candidates are not viable. He pointed to continued support of Donald Trump among Republicans such as Crawford, which West said is an abandonment of principles in favor of keeping power.
During the first 15 minutes of the hourlong debate, both candidates were asked to respond to statements made by presidential candidates, including recordings of Trump released last week in which the Republican nominee bragged about being able to grope women because of his celebrity status.
Crawford called the statements disgusting, but said he would still support the nominee and vote for Trump in order to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Asked after the debate about Trump's statements, Crawford said the actions Trump describes would amount to criminal sexual assault.
"Did he do that? The evidence doesn't suggest that," Crawford told reporters, adding that it would be a "game changer" if it was proven that Trump assaulted women, but Crawford declined to say whether he would withdraw his support in that event.
West said he would vote for Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson, calling the former New Mexico governor "a man of character, a man of honor." He also defended Johnson's foreign policy strategy when asked about the candidate's fumbled responses to televised questions about the crisis in Aleppo, Syria, and about other world leaders.
"I know what Aleppo is," West said. "The problem is they're fleeing from our foreign policy. We have an interventionist policy that has to stop." While he respects foreign leaders for their "power of the sword," West said most countries have done too much limiting of civil liberties.
Crawford characterized those statements as ignorant of foreign policy and as downplaying the military's role in responding to foreign threats. He later accused his opponent of "reading talking points off the Libertarian website" when West criticized farm subsidies.
Other Libertarian candidates for Arkansas' congressional districts have differed in their support of Johnson. In separate AETN debates recorded Monday, 3rd Congressional District Libertarian candidate Steve Isaacson said he would vote for Trump, and the 4th District's Kerry Hicks said he would vote for Johnson after having not supported him in the party's primary.
During the debate, Crawford and West agreed in part on some issues, including repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacting tort reform and opening up trade with Cuba, which they said would help rice farmers in the Delta sell their products.
Both candidates expressed their ideas for reducing the government spending, with Crawford suggesting a hiring freeze and West saying he would eliminate duplicative agencies such as the Department of Education and end costly military interventions.
While Crawford criticized West for being "socially liberal," the candidates were not asked in the debate about gay marriage or abortion rights. West said in an interview after the debate that he thinks the government should not be involved in issuing marriage licenses and said he opposes abortion.
Metro on 10/12/2016