Burr, Marshall debate "broken" Washington

WILMINGTON -- North Carolina’s three U.S. Senate candidates agreed on one thing today – Washington is broken.

But in their first debate, Republican incumbent Richard Burr, Democrat Elaine Marshall and Libertarian Michael Beitler clashed over who to blame and how to fix it.

The hour-long debate before the N.C. Bar Association highlighted sharp differences over federal spending and regulations in a race that analysts say will have national implications.

“This Senate race is important for not only how it unfolds, but it’s going to help set the table for the presidential race in 2012,” said CNN political analyst David Gergen, a Durham native who also spoke to the bar.

In a year when voters across the country are frustrated with government, Burr set the tone early.

“Washington has to change,” said the 16-year veteran of the House and Senate. Congress, he added, “is not held in high regard …. We don’t deserve to be.”

Marshall, North Carolina’s Secretary of State, said she could help fix that.

“(Americans) see one side saying ‘no’ and the other side running scared,” she said. “If we keep sending back the same people who got us into this mess, we’re not going to change anything.”

And Beitler, who teaches business at UNC Greensboro, called both his opponents part of the problem.

“Are you happy with what is happening in Washington, D.C.?” he asked. “If you are happy, flip a coin. Either of my opponents will give you more of the same.”