U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and Republican Senate hopeful Tim Michels came out swinging Friday night — relenting only to opine on music and sports — as the two candidates quarreled on national security, taxes and health care during a debate in Madison.

Frederica Freyberg from Wisconsin Public Television moderated the hour-long "We The People" forum, which WPT broadcast statewide.

As he has done frequently throughout the campaign, Michels strongly criticized Feingold's vote against the USA Patriot Act, saying no documented cases of civil liberties violations have occurred due to the act's implementation.

"You were wrong in your sole dissenting vote on the Patriot Act," Michels said to Feingold, the only senator to vote against the act. "I've looked at the Patriot Act; I don't see what you saw in there that you were concerned about."

Feingold questioned how Michels would know if no civil liberty violations have occurred, noting matters pertaining to the act are classified and unavailable to Michels. He added Michels' hard-line support of the Patriot Act runs counter to prevailing opinions on the measure, including some by Republicans, such as Congressman Tom Petri (R-Wisconsin).

"You're actually on the wrong side of many Republicans who realize now that the USA Patriot Act is dangerous when it comes to our civil liberties unless we fix the provisions that need to be in there," Feingold said.

An ad from each side was shown during the debate, followed by a chance for the ad's opponent to defend themselves against the other campaign's negative attacks.

A Michels ad was shown criticizing Feingold for being in favor of higher taxes. Feingold countered a legislator must keep his eye on the ballooning federal deficit whenever deciding on the merits of a tax decrease.

"The difference between me and Mr. Michels is he's never found a tax cut for the wealthy he can't support or wouldn't support; I think we need the right balance between tax cuts and making sure we don't have a huge deficit," Feingold said.

But Michels insisted President Bush's tax cuts are spurring the economic growth necessary to cut the federal deficit.

"You cannot tax your way out of a deficit," he said.

Feingold's ad, "Rubber Stamp," condemned Michels for supporting trade agreements detrimental to Wisconsin's economy. In his rebuttal, Michels supported the benefits of free trade but stressed trade must be fair, unlike China's trade relations with the U.S. Michels said he would consider revoking China's most-favored-nation trade status, but emphasized Wisconsin farmers need foreign markets for their goods.

On the subject of health care, Feingold said states should be allowed to try different initiatives towards the goal of a viable universal health care system. Michels asserted Health Savings Accounts and more competition should be introduced into the health care market.

"Hang on to your wallets," Michels said of Feingold's "socialized" health care system.

The two candidates held little back during the debate, frequently interrupting each other. Lightening the mood, Freyberg asked the two candidates to divulge their favorite music discs and athletes. Both said they like country music, while Feingold and Michels expressed admiration for Tiger Woods and Brett Favre, respectively.

The debate was the second-to-last in a series of six agreed to by the candidates after Michels' win in the GOP primary. Feingold, seeking his third term in the U.S. Senate, has consistently outpolled Michels, often by double-digit leads.

A small audience viewed the debate from Wisconsin Public Television's studio in Vilas Hall. One viewer, undecided voter and Middleton High School senior Travis Foss, said he came in supporting Michels but was impressed by Feingold's performance.

"I think Feingold was kind of on top of things, but Michels stood his own," Foss said. "I do think Feingold may be better for the future just because he has more experience."