The Republican candidates didn’t agree on everything, but they were united in their criticism of four-term Democratic Congressman Dennis Moore and the status quo in Washington.

“The spending in Washington is just plain out of control, and this is with a Republican Congress,” said candidate Chuck Ahner, a senior vice president and chief technology officer with Midland Loan Service Inc. in Overland Park. “Congressmen are bloating the budget with earmarks, wasteful pet projects, and we must eliminate those earmarks and target expenditures and balance the budget.”

State Rep. Scott Schwab, of Olathe, also criticized congressional spending.

“I believe Congress can come out with a plan to balance the budget in four years, and I believe a part of that is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent,” he said.

In addition to Ahner and Schwab, advocate for people with disabilities Tom Scherer, of Merriam, and retired elevator mechanic Paul Showen, of Shawnee, spoke to about 40 people during a forum Thursday night at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The candidates will face off in Tuesday’s primary election for the right to run against Moore in November for the congressional seat in the 3rd District of Kansas, which includes East Lawrence.

Scherer, a former Democrat who tried to run as an independent in the race, differed with the other candidates on his solution to cutting federal spending. He said he would push to send American troops home from Iraq this year and send in United Nations peacekeeping troops.

Scherer also proposed taxing Mexico for the cost of illegal immigration and increasing efforts on child-support nationwide. He said he would introduce a “right-to-life constitutional amendment.”

“I don’t like Dennis Moore for his position on partial-birth abortion,” he said.

Showen revealed his plan to introduce a 10 percent flat income tax rate.

“This is capitalism in its purest form. Variable taxation means economic confusion,” Showen said.

Ahner and Schwab also criticized Moore as an ineffective congressman for the state.

Schwab said targeting independent voters in the district to vote against Moore in November would be the key to regaining the seat, and he touted his endorsements from conservative and moderate state legislators in the district.

“For the first time, we have conservatives and moderates behind one candidate,” he said.

The candidates also discussed energy independence and health care costs.

The Republican Party of Douglas County, the Douglas County Young Republicans and the Town & Country Douglas County Republican Women sponsored the forum.

Mary Baxter, a Republican precinct committeewoman who lives in East Lawrence, heard them speak for the first time. She said Schwab impressed her the most.

“I liked what I heard him say. It’s a hard choice,” she said. “We need Moore out of the office.”