The Republican 2nd Congressional race has turned ugly, even bizarre.

A debate before a live audience Thursday night and aired on a local radio station was a good example:

Derek Smith shouting "out and out lies!" at Rep. Merrill Cook several times.

Cook challenging Smith to strike a deal to pull all negative ads, in exchange for Cook not talking about Smith's business troubles.

Attendees at the KCPW debate at times joining in the public verbal brawl, while others registered disgust.

Several of those present at the debate, staged at Westminster College, walked to the microphones to ask why anyone should vote for either Smith or Cook in next Tuesday's GOP primary election, considering their actions.

Some wondered out loud how either man could beat Democrat Jim Matheson in November if they cut themselves up like this.

"I find personally this race is somewhat distasteful. Almost to the point I don't want to look. I want to leave the room," said a woman in the audience who walked to the microphone to ask the candidates a question. "How can (either of the men) beat Jim Matheson when (the race) is so perverse at this level?"

Said one man who called in to the radio debate over the telephone: "This is the nastiest sniping I've heard in years, and I lived in New York for 16 years. I ask you to pledge to stop these personal attacks and stick to the issues."

Calling the debate lively would be mild. At times it seemed the candidates were out of control, with audience members catcalling Smith and Cook and both men interrupting each other.

Smith seemed especially frustrated.

After Cook ask Smith to account for his campaign finances — specifically, who bought Smith's stock in Smith's iEngineer computer/Internet company, the proceeds of which went into his campaign — Smith said Cook is really claiming that he got into the congressional race after Rep. Chris Cannon, paid campaign consultants and others recruited Smith to run against Cook and agreed to buy Smith's company stock at inflated prices to finance his campaign.

"I call it the 'Cook conspiracy theory,' " said Smith. At one point, he said Cook is "delusional" over the stock issue.

"And you continue to take the 5th Amendment over it," Cook said.

Smith has said that, upon legal advice, he can't break confidentiality agreements and say who bought the stock. (Smith has put more than $500,000 of his own money into the race.) But he can and will ask the buyers to identify themselves, and he hopes they will, he said. None of them are in any way involved in politics and none paid inflated prices, Smith said.

He challenged Cook to stay focused on the issues.

Cook responded that campaign finance reform is an issue this year and he will file a bill to stop what he called "such phony asset" deals, if that is indeed what happened, in the future.

Cook said Smith broke the law when he voted in his former Salt Lake voting precinct after moving to Sandy and Draper.

Smith seemed to lose his temper, demanding that Cook read the Utah code, which he said not only allows such voting but encourages it.

"Yeah," Cook responded, "The same lawyer that did the confidentiality agreement, I guess," on Smith's stock deal.

Cook got angry after Smith accused him of voting for a bill that would fund an abortion-inducing medication. At first, Cook didn't understand Smith's accusation.

"What are you talking about, Derek Smith?" he asked, adding he has always voted 100 percent pro-life.

After Smith clarified the July 1998 vote, Cook exploded, saying that the vote was on an amendment on "the Catholic position" opposing federal funding of contraception. "I definitely voted for contraception, not abortion," Cook said.

Smith said Cook was "amazingly hypocritical" for voting against permanent trade status for China but not opposing it for Pakistan or Russia.

Shows what you know, answered Cook. He said Russia has never received permanent trade status from Congress.

At one point Smith just couldn't take any more and began calling Cook a liar and saying he was spouting lies about him personally.

After audience members expressed displeasure with how the men were acting, Cook said he would not mention Smith's finances again if Smith would pull negative ads about him and apologize. (There are only four days left before the primary election.)

"Apologize?" Smith shouted.

Cook even said he'll pull any of his ads that Smith finds objectionable as part of the deal.

"I find every single spot you have objectionable," Smith said, presumably even the TV spot that has Cook's wife, Camille, asking voters not to believe all the bad things said about her husband.

Smith said that before the state Republican convention his advertising and campaign was "100 percent focused on my background and issues."

But Smith said after Cook began attack ads, misrepresenting his positions on education, taxes, mass transit and other matters, he had to respond.

"I won't unilaterally disarm. I'm going to make him accountable for his unbelievable lying; someone has to hold Merrill Cook accountable."

Cook said Smith began the negative advertising by running an ad that paraphrased Cook's 1998 Democratic opponent, Lily Eskelsen. The Smith ad says: You know Merrill Cook. He will say and do anything to get elected.

Cook said it is fair to compare Smith's stands on a number of issues, then began ticking some off as Smith objected to Cook's characterizations of him.

The men traded barbs for an hour, part of the time in response to loaded questions from an audience stacked with supporters.

At the end, Smith said he sincerely wishes this had not gone to a negative campaign. "But I promise you I will clean it up if you give me the chance."

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Cook said he has just tried to hold Smith to previous statements — that he's backing away from statements made on flat taxes and federally-funded education programs for the disadvantaged.

He added that Smith's stand on gun control alone — expressed during Thursday night's debate — is reason enough he would lose to Democrat Matheson in the 2nd District , which while still leaning Republican is the most moderate U.S. House district in Utah.

The KCPW 2nd District debate will be rebroadcast Monday at 11 a.m.


E-MAIL: bbjr@desnews.com

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