Accusations fly in Fourth District debate

A debate Sunday in Mason City between the major party candidates for Iowa’s Fourth Congressional district seat ended with one man nearly calling the other a liar. Republican Congressman Tom Latham of Alexander and Democrat John Norris of Ames appeared at a forum sponsored by KLSS/KRIB radio. Norris began by criticizing Latham for supporting the idea of letting younger workers invest a part of their Social Security taxes in a personal account. Latham said members of Congress and federal workers get that kind of investment option, and ordinary Americans should get it, too. Later, Norris criticized Latham for failing to boost the Medicare payments for Iowa hospitals and doctors, which are the lowest in the country. And again, Latham bristled. Latham closed the debate by saying Norris was making a “flat misstatement of the truth. I won’t say it is a lie, but it is not true.” Norris said he was simply discussing Latham’s record. The new Fourth Congressional District stretches from Decorah to Mason City, down to Ames and around Des Moines to Winterset and Indianola.