Yesterday, Kansas Republican Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt, who are challenging each other for the state’s U.S. Senate seat, faced off in a debate hosted by Topeka’s NBC 27 television station. Both of the men were trying to one-up each other, attempting to prove who is the most right wing. One contentious issue was immigration, where Moran hit Tiahrt for once supporting the DREAM Act, which would provide undocumented high school graduates a path to legal residency and the chance to attend college. Tiahrt, however, quickly tried to explain why he has come around and now supports punishing children for the choices of their parents:

MORAN: [O]n two occasions, he’s [been] a co-sponsor of legislation called the DREAM Act, which provides amnesty and in-state tuition for children of those who were here illegally. [...]

TIARHT: Well, some time ago — a long time ago — I thought it was compassionate to not punish the children for the parents’ sins.

Watch a video of the exchange uploaded by the Moran campaign:

He went on to say that after listening to “arguments from fellow Kansans,” he now opposes “amnesty.”

One difference during the debate was on the oil spill. While both lawmakers slammed both the Obama administration and BP for their response to the disaster, Tiahrt shielded the oil corporation from blame because, he said, “accidents happen”:

On the oil spill, the candidates were asked if they believed that “accidents will happen.”

“I think that is a true statement,” Tiahrt said.

Moran shot back saying, “I don’t think you write it off as accidents happen.”

The GOP senatorial primary is on Aug. 3. The Republican establishment has split in endorsing the two men, with Tiahrt receiving the backing of Sarah Palin, Sen. James Inhofe (OK), and Rep. Mike Pence (IN), and Moran supported by Sens. John McCain (AZ), Jim DeMint (SC), and Tom Coburn (OK).

Speaking on the House floor last week, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) was greeted with audible boos after arguing that had the government been willing to pay for abortions, the mothers of President Barack Obama and Justice Clarence Thomas might have aborted their children. Earlier today, the House GOP’s official website posted video of Tiahrt’s offensive comment. The entirety of the floor speech is found under the title, “Tiahrt’s Opposition to Taxpayer Funded Abortions.” But the House GOP has flagged for its readers the most inflammatory part of the speech, by pulling out Tiahrt’s quote claiming that Obama’s mother might have terminated her pregnancy:

…if you think of it in human terms, there is a financial incentive that will be put in place, paid for by tax dollars, that will encourage women who are single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion. If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in those similar circumstances. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it?

Media Matters Action Network asks, “All of this raises the question for every Republican in the House: do they endorse Rep. Tiahrt’s comments, or not?”