Republican Sen. Scott Brown criticized his Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Warren, for refusing to release records on whether she claimed Native American ancestry in job applications, as she attacked him for supporting billionaires and opposing legislation to create jobs in their first debate for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts.
Squaring off in Boston, Warren pounded Brown over his record, including opposing a bill to provide equal pay for women doing the same work as men. Brown, in turn, portrayed Warren as a liberal eager to tax job-creating businesses while collecting a six-figure income as a professor at Harvard Law School. Both tried to stay on the offensive, lobbing broadsides even as they deflected criticism.
"Senator Brown can say all he wants, but he has voted," Warren said. "He cannot back off on how he's voted."
"Let's get rid of the myth that Professor Warren is a tax-cutter and a fiscal conservative," Brown responded. "I've never voted for a tax increase."
The encounter between Warren and Brown featured sharp exchanges and topics ranging from tax policy to personal income and ancestry.
The debate, at CBS-affiliate WBZ-TV studios, was the first of four scheduled before Nov. 6, when voters will determine the outcome of one of the most closely watched and expensive races for the Senate.
Brown, who had an upset victory in 2010 for the post held by the late Edward M. Kennedy for almost 47 years, is seeking to persuade voters to elect him to a full, six-year term. He continued to highlight his bipartisan record while painting his opponent as a provocateur who would exacerbate political polarization in Washington.
For Warren, the forum provided an opportunity to examine the parts of Brown's record he doesn't tout, such as his support for legislation that would have permitted employers to strip their health plans of birth control on religious or moral grounds and his vote in favor of subsidies for oil companies.
In another closely watched Senate race, in Virginia, Republicans attacked Democrat Timothy M. Kaine on Thursday after he said during a debate with the GOP's George Allen that he would consider a minimum income tax for every American.
The candidates' first televised debate, an hour-long program moderated by Meet the Press host David Gregory at the Capital One Conference Center in McLean, Va., was mostly devoid of fireworks.
But shortly after leaving the stage, Allen told reporters: "It's typical of Tim Kaine. His record is always one of looking to raise taxes. When he was governor, he tried to raise taxes on people earning as little as $17,000 a year."
Kaine, who had said he would be open to "some minimum tax level for everyone," later qualified that, noting that he had not actually proposed a minimum income tax.
This article includes information from the Washington Post.
Squaring off in Boston, Warren pounded Brown over his record, including opposing a bill to provide equal pay for women doing the same work as men. Brown, in turn, portrayed Warren as a liberal eager to tax job-creating businesses while collecting a six-figure income as a professor at Harvard Law School. Both tried to stay on the offensive, lobbing broadsides even as they deflected criticism.
"Senator Brown can say all he wants, but he has voted," Warren said. "He cannot back off on how he's voted."
"Let's get rid of the myth that Professor Warren is a tax-cutter and a fiscal conservative," Brown responded. "I've never voted for a tax increase."
The encounter between Warren and Brown featured sharp exchanges and topics ranging from tax policy to personal income and ancestry.
The debate, at CBS-affiliate WBZ-TV studios, was the first of four scheduled before Nov. 6, when voters will determine the outcome of one of the most closely watched and expensive races for the Senate.
Brown, who had an upset victory in 2010 for the post held by the late Edward M. Kennedy for almost 47 years, is seeking to persuade voters to elect him to a full, six-year term. He continued to highlight his bipartisan record while painting his opponent as a provocateur who would exacerbate political polarization in Washington.
For Warren, the forum provided an opportunity to examine the parts of Brown's record he doesn't tout, such as his support for legislation that would have permitted employers to strip their health plans of birth control on religious or moral grounds and his vote in favor of subsidies for oil companies.
In another closely watched Senate race, in Virginia, Republicans attacked Democrat Timothy M. Kaine on Thursday after he said during a debate with the GOP's George Allen that he would consider a minimum income tax for every American.
The candidates' first televised debate, an hour-long program moderated by Meet the Press host David Gregory at the Capital One Conference Center in McLean, Va., was mostly devoid of fireworks.
But shortly after leaving the stage, Allen told reporters: "It's typical of Tim Kaine. His record is always one of looking to raise taxes. When he was governor, he tried to raise taxes on people earning as little as $17,000 a year."
Kaine, who had said he would be open to "some minimum tax level for everyone," later qualified that, noting that he had not actually proposed a minimum income tax.
This article includes information from the Washington Post.