Liveblogging Tonight's WPRI Senate Debate

[7:55] Whitehouse closing: Will fight against privatizing SS and for Medicare benefits and for the middle class.

[7:54] Hinckley closing: wipe away the labels, send a job creator to Washington.

[7:53] Whitehouse tries to drive home the idea that the Ryan budget would end Medicare.

[7:52] Hinckley says there are parts of Obamacare he would save.

[7:50] Whitehouse tries very hard to get in the fact he'd raise the earnings cap to save SS.

[7:49] Hinckley: Actuaries can put together a plan to save SS; it might mean some people collecting benefits later, means testing is a possibility.

[7:48] Hinckley: Dems have no plan to save social security. It will go broke, before people in their 30s and 40s begin to collect.

[7:46] Nesi forwards an email Q: Is it hypocritical for you to run on not changing Social Security, when you didn't intervene to stop pension reform. Whitehouse: Pension solution was necessary; pension crisis informs my position on SS

[7:44] Hinckley likes Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan; Whitehouse doesn't (Ed Fitzpatrick question).

[7:42] Term limits? Whitehouse, not any less than 36 years (Claiborne Pell's time in office); Hinckley, yes.

[7:41] Trade embargo on Cuba? Hinckley, not a priority; Whitehouse, I could go either way.

[7:41] Same-sex marriage? Yes and yes.

[7:40] End filibusters? Hinckley no; Whitehouse, yes.

[7:39] Oh, no -- lightning round. I'll try to keep up. No promises.

[7:37] Whitehouse cites Chinese currency manipulation as a place where he agrees with Romney.

[7:36] Answering a Ted Nesi Q, Hinckley says his pro-choice and pro-gay marriage positions align more with Ds than Rs.

[7:35] Hinckey: More than just people with money should have the choice to send their kids to good schools.

[7:34] Hinckley cites religious nature, as a reason for sending his kids to private schools.

[7:33] Whitehouse wants to extend Race to the Top to middle schools.

[7:32] Whitehouse sends his kids to private schools, because he wants them to have the best education they can get.

[7:31] Fitzpatrick asks why do you send your kids to private schools, and what would you do for education in RI.

[7:30] Whitehouse rather aggressively defends foreign aid to Egypt.

[7:29] White asks if Whitehouse supports hearings on Libya. Whitehouse responds that the Intelligence committee will be holding them.

[7:28] Hinckley: We shouldn't be spending on nation building, when we can't afford to maintain our own bridges at home.

[7:27] White to Hinckley: How would cutting foreign aid help with the problem of terrorism?

[7:26] Hinckley says he would support fewer deductions as part of a simpler tax code.

[7:25] Hinckley says Whitehouse's rigid partisan attitudes make resolving the deficit problem impossible.

[7:24] Whitehouse says Dems have put 2T of cuts on the table, but he seems to be defining tax increases as spending cuts in his examples.

[7:24] Whitehouse says we need to eliminate 4T dollars in a 10 year budget plan. 2T should be cuts, 2T should be revenue.

[7:23] Whitehouse cites conference of Catholic bishops opposition to the Ryan plan.

[7:22] I lost the question, but Whitehouse says he opposes the Ryan budget. Hinckley says he supports Simpson-Bowles, but not necessarily Ryan's budget.

[7:21] In a dive towards the middle, Hinckley says he might not support Mitch McConnell as Senate Majority leader.

[7:18] Nesi asks Hinckley if Medicare should be converted to a premium support system? Hinckley says he supports choice, and that legislators should discuss a wide range of options.

[7:18] Whitehouse: We have to control overall healthcare costs. Mentions US system is less efficient than most other countries.

[7:17] Paraphrasing Ted Nesi: Can we continue with unlimited growth of spending on medicare?

[7:16] Tim White asks about favorite justice (cribbing a question from the Brown/Warren debates). Hinckley, Clarence Thomas; Whitehouse, Sandra Sotomayor

[7:15] Whitehouse: "We have a court that has turned to the extreme right". Cites Citizens United as the decision that needs to be overturned.

[7:14] Hinckley cites the Roberts healthcare ruling.

[7:13] Ed Fitzpatrick asks about SCTOUS justices, and what rulings should be overturned?

[7:12] Hinckley says we should lower the corporate tax rate. White notes that the Prez would lower it to 28%, and asks if Whitehouse would support the same. Whitehouse says yes, but in the context of moving towards a balanced budget.

[7:11] Hinckley: Our Federal delegation has to work, to push Smith Hill to act more reasonably to help economic growth.

[7:10] Hinckley basically answers growth. White asks about the 60,000; will growth happen fast enough to help them?

[7:09] White to Barry Hinckley: How would you pay for the programs you've advocated for your in your campaign.

[7:08] In response to a Tim White question, Whitehouse says 6% unemplyment would be reasonable 6 yrs for now.

[7:07] Whitehouse cites infrastructure projects going on in RI. White asks if the 60,000 people unemployed in RI. Whitehouse: There's lots of infrastructure work to be done.

[7:05] First question from White on unemployment. Whitehouse blames Bush. We need manufacturing, innovation and infrastructure to rebound.

[7:04] Whitehouse actually complemented Hinckley's point pretty well.

[7:03] Sheldon Whitehouse: We have to press from the middle class out, and its basic mainstays, medicare, social security and Pell grants.

[7:02] Barry Hinckley goes first. He runs short on time, after saying Whitehouse's plan for RI is more taxes and more government.

[7:01] Edward Fitzpatrick is 3rd man in, with Tim White and Ted Nesi.

[6:57] We had a earthquake during last week's Cicilline/Doherty debate, and there's a possible tropical storm/hurricane heading for this region for next week. I'd just like to let Mother Nature know there's no reason to keep the streak alive this week.

[6:55] For tonight's debate event, we have a conventional liveblog of the WPRI-TV (CBS 12) debate between Sheldon Whitehouse and Barry Hinckley. There is also a debate between Brendan Doherty and David Cicilline being boradcast on WLNE-TV (ABC 6) at the same time.