PROVIDENCE -- U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee and his Republican challenger, Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey clashed yesterday over the issues of immigration, taxes and federal spending, the Iraq war and Mideast policy, school vouchers and stem-cell research in the first of four campaign debates.

At the hour-long debate on WHJJ 920's Arlene Violet Show, the typically even-tempered Chafee took the fight to Laffey. At one point, during a discussion on school vouchers, Chafee upbraided the Cranston mayor for mentioning that the senator "has a lot of money" to send his children to private schools.

"You don't bring up my family, I won't bring up yours, Mayor Laffey," Chafee said.

(As it turns out, Laffey acknowledged he also has a child at a private school; Chafee said he attended public schools through seventh grade, and that his children have attended public schools in the past.)

Laffey halted that line of attack, but was steadfast in his support for school choice and vouchers, which would allow parents to use tax money to send their children to private schools.

On taxes, there were stark differences. Laffey took the supply-side approach, saying he is for the repeal of estate taxes and would have voted for President Bush's tax cuts -- some of which Chafee has opposed.

The economy has benefited from the tax cuts, Laffey said, while Chafee said federal deficits were still too high and that taxes ought not to be cut until federal spending is reduced and revenues grow enough to pay for them.

As he has throughout the campaign, Laffey criticized Chafee for voting for special projects that were a "waste" of taxpayers' money.

"Republicans control the Senate and the Congress and the presidency, and Democrats would like to take control," Laffey said, "but quite frankly the special interests are really in control down in Washington."

When asked by Violet to name three pork projects in Rhode Island, Laffey only came up with two -- demolition of the Jamestown Bridge and a $200,000 appropriation for an animal shelter in Westerly.

Defending his work to bring federal money back to Rhode Island, Chafee said that in the latest federal highway bill, which is financed by gasoline taxes, Rhode Island received $2.21 in highway and bridge money for each $1 the state sends to Washington in such taxes.

Chafee also came up short when asked for specifics. Asked to name three issues on which he supported Mr. Bush, Chafee offered free trade and provisions of the No Child Left Behind legislation that led to testing school children. Laffey said he did not support the No Child Left Behind bill, but said he backed the president on tax cuts, free trade and the war on terror.

While Laffey called for resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Chafee reminded the audience that he had been an early opponent of the Iraq war, which Laffey says he would have voted for.

"Mr. Rumsfeld should resign. Someone should be held acountable," said Laffey.

Chafee fired back: "Mayor Laffey has criticized me countless times for being against the war, time and time again, for not supporting the president on the war. . . . I've been an early opponent of the war and now that it's turned into a borderline disaster, those people that were the cheerleaders for it are first to be critics."

Chafee was the lone GOP senator to vote against giving Mr. Bush authority to prosecute the war.

The two jousted over the current crisis in the Middle East, with Laffey insisting that the United States is not too pro-Israel and Chafee saying the United States must spearhead the negotiating process.

"Israel has been attacked and is defending itself. . . . If, for example, today Hezbollah laid down its arms, there would be peace," said Laffey. "If Israel laid down its arms, they would be annihilated."

Countered Chafee, "My view is that a bad peace is better than a good war. We have to get back to the peace process . . . we have to work with our allies on this issue."

On immigration, Chafee said he supports a compromise measure backed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would increase border security but also provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who learn English, take civics lessons, pass criminal background checks and pay back taxes and fines.

Laffey said Chafee's position "sounds like Washington happy talk. Folks, we need to secure the border."

Laffey also said he favors "enforcing the law and putting some people in jail."

But Chafee said Laffey flip-flopped his position on immigration after he saw "it doesn't poll well in a primary."

Chafee also chided Laffey on one of the mayor's centerpiece issues -- that he stood up to the union representing Cranston school crossing guards because their wages and benefits were too high. The crossing guards "were all women with an average age of 58" and their expenses represented just a quarter of 1 percent of the city's budget.

In seven years as Warwick mayor, Chafee asserted, he raised taxes less than did Laffey in four years in Cranston. But Laffey countered that Cranston was teetering on bankruptcy when he became mayor and that Chafee had been more generous with benefits for public employees during his tenure in Warwick.

"The way to help property taxpayers in the state of Rhode Island was to fire the Cranston crossing guards," said Laffey. "You [Chafee] gave them free health insurance when you were mayor. I fired them. That's the way to do it."

Chafee continued to press the attack to the last moments of the debate. After Laffey expressed his support for adult stem-cell research -- rather than research using stem cells culled from embryos -- Chafee noted the mayor's personal investment last year in a California company that does embryonic stem-cell research. "This is another example of hypocrisy," Chafee said.

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