Congressman Conor Lamb, GOP challenger Sean Parnell spar over ACA, civil unrest in WPXI debate

U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and Republican challenger Sean Parnell sparred Saturday night over the Trump administration’s push to gut the Affordable Care Act in their first in-person debate.

“My opponent favors overturning that law that protects you,” Lamb, 34, D-Mt. Lebanon, told viewers during the debate hosted by Trib news partner WPXI-TV. “This is a very difficult pandemic. The last thing we should do is throw out the law that gives coverage to 133 million Americans.”

Parnell responded that despite supporting the law’s repeal, he would still aim to protect people being denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.

“You’re running an ad right now that is a bald-faced lie saying that I will kick you off your health care plan if you have a pre-existing condition,” Parnell told Lamb.

Lamb looked not at Parnell but instead addressed viewers via the camera and said, “Look, if you want to see more of this in Washington, D.C., if you want to see more of this on cable news every night, you should vote for Sean. The ad says he opposed the Affordable Care Act because he does.”

“If you’d rather be protected by an executive order that President Trump signs on the eve of his election to try to get votes, if you’d rather be protected by his words that he’ll always protect you, fine,” said Lamb. “But I think most people would prefer the force of law.”

The televised debate, moderated by WPXI morning anchor Katherine Amenta and aired at 7 p.m., spanned 30 minutes including commercial breaks. It will rerun several more times on WPXI’s streaming channel.

The candidates both pitched themselves as moderates who will put the people of Western Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District over party loyalty.

The district includes about half of Allegheny County with suburbs to the south, west and north of Pittsburgh and all of Beaver County.

Parnell, 39, a Murrysville native who recently moved from Cranberry to Ohio Township, said he “had high hopes” for Lamb when he ascended to Congress in 2018 by flipping regions who favored Trump in 2016.

“Conor Lamb promised to be an independent, moderate voice, and he has not been that,” Parnell said. “I’m running for Congress to make sure that you, the people of Western Pennsylvania, have that independent voice, and I will always stand with the people of Western Pennsylvania and not that of a political party.”

Each candidate touted his commitment to working across the aisle to get things done — and then questioned the other’s ability to do so.

Lamb said thousands of his constituents at town halls in the region since 2018 have lamented that “they’re tired of the chaos, tired of the shutdowns, tired of the feeling nothing gets done. People want members of Congress to stop attacking each other, and start dealing with the real problems that we face.

“There are Republicans who will work with us, to get better testing so your kids can be back in school, so your stores can be open, your restaurants can be open,” Lamb said.

Gesturing toward Parnell, Lamb said, “This isn’t one of them.

“If you do me the honor of sending me back to Congress,” Lamb said, “I’ll continue to do the work I’ve started to make Washington better, to make government work again and to help beat this pandemic.”

Parnell said his experience as a platoon leader in Afghanistan, where he was wounded in battle, taught him to lead diverse groups in challenging environments.

“My job was bringing people together. And if I was able to do it in one of the most hostile regions on the planet, I’m sure as heck going to be able to do it right here in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District.”

The pair clashed over concerns over systemic racism and social injustice.

“You’re out marching with ‘Defund the Police’ radicals, and as far as I’m concerned I find that reprehensible,” Parnell told Lamb. He accused Lamb of not being vocal enough in denouncing social justice protests that have turned violent or led to looting.

“I put people in jail for more than 20 years for committing violence against each other,” said Lamb, a former federal prosecutor. “But we can’t be blind to the fact that we have a problem in a lot of these cities and there is police violence. The community doesn’t trust the response in many of those places.”

Parnell said he recognizes injustice, including the death of George Floyd.

“I hope and pray that George Floyd’s family gets justice,” Parnell said. “In fact, you didn’t even opine on the issue, you were silent till three or four days later. You can’t say that you care about building bridges and then remain silent as left-wing mobs rampage across our country and injure police officers.”

Lamb retorted, “I’ll say it again because you didn’t hear the first time: I don’t believe anyone should commit violence. And I’m the one that’s actually spent a good amount of my career prosecuting people that commit violence. You can say what you want, you can call the names that you want.

“I support funding for the police — but I also support always trying to improve,” Lamb said. “We all have a job to do to try to improve police in this country and the difference between the two of us is, I’m willing to do that job. I’m willing to work with Republicans on their ideas to get these bills actually passed and make a change.”

In Parnell’s closing, he reiterated his appeal to a broad swath of voters. “We won’t always agree,” Parnell said, “but I reject the notion that we have to. I sit around the table with my big, American family – and we don’t agree on anything. So, why should our American family here, in our district, be expected to agree? For me, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is. It doesn’t matter who you love. It doesn’t matter where you come from. If you believe that this country is exceptional and that freedom is worth defending, then stand with me.”