CONWAY -- Two candidates vying to derail U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford's march toward a fifth term in Congress participated in a debate with him Monday morning, presenting what the incumbent said were "three very stark contrasts."
For Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro, that meant touting his institutional knowledge and conservative chops.
The congressman accused his Democratic challenger, Chintan Desai, of espousing "socialist" ideas without having a plan to pay for them. Crawford said Desai "has no idea what this job entails."
Desai, meanwhile, suggested that Crawford had become complacent in Congress. Desai defended his proposals by saying "sometimes it's better to have vision."
While the Democrat and Republican exchanged barbs, neither paid much attention to the third candidate on the stage: Libertarian Elvis Presley.
Presley, who had hair coiffed like the late King of rock 'n' roll -- though he shed the rhinestones in favor of business suit -- distilled many of his responses to a simple answer: Open more casinos.
Desai opened the debate by recounting his family history. His parents moved from India to California, where they worked low-wage jobs to help pay for his college education, he said. After graduating, Chintan joined Teach for America and ended up in Helena-West Helena, where he has lived since.
"There are too many Arkansans who have a similar dilemma to my parents," Desai said. "They feel like they have to leave Arkansas to have a better life."
Republican attempts to dismantle the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Desai said, would take health care away from "hundreds of thousands of Arkansans" who rely on the law's federal subsidies for Arkansas' expanded Medicaid program. A repeal of the law would also threaten closures of rural hospitals, he said.
Crawford countered that Desai's plan was "Medicare for everyone."
Speaking to reporters after the debate, Desai clarified that he supported "eventually" moving toward a nationalized health care system similar to the Canadian system.
"It'll never happen," Crawford said. "We can't pay for it."
Desai responded, "I didn't hear any talk about who is going to pay and how we are going to pay for a $1.5 trillion tax cut," referring to the tax package passed by the Republican-majority Congress in 2017.
Desai also accused Crawford of having lost touch with voters in the district by not holding town hall-style debates and ignoring constituents at his offices. One office in Dumas, Desai said, was so little used that it had cobwebs on the doors.
After the debate, Crawford told reporters that the Dumas office had just opened this year, and that staffing of those offices is dictated by House rules.
But during the debate, Crawford accused Desai and Desai's supporters of grandstanding, saying protesters who have shown up at his offices have declined face-to-face interviews in favor of picketing.
"I'm probably one of the more accessible members of Congress you'll find," Crawford said.
Desai said Crawford ignored the concerns of Delta farmers by supporting President Donald Trump's escalating trade war with China, which has led to increased tariffs on American soybeans.
Desai accused Crawford of being a "full-throated supporter of these tariffs from the beginning."
The congressman defended the administration's actions by saying that China will be unable to sustain a standoff against American farmers.
China "can't feed themselves," Crawford said. "They'll have to get it from somewhere."
Monday's debate was filmed by the Arkansas Educational Television Network on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas. The debate, which aired last night, will be rebroadcast Sunday, Oct. 21, and is available to watch online.
No more debates are scheduled between Desai and Crawford before the Nov. 6 general election.
Metro on 10/09/2018