If you’re going to step into the political arena, you have to be ready to scrap with your opponent in a debate.
Debates give voters a chance to see and hear from candidates without the gloss of political rallies and high-dollar advertisements. And with interest in politics high this year, voters deserve a full airing of the candidates’ views.
Two recent developments, however, limit that access and ultimately hurt voters.
Last weekend, the Western Slope organization Club 20 denied American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo a chance to participate alongside Republican Dan Maes and Democrat John Hickenlooper at a debate in Grand Junction.
Club 20 did so because of Tancredo’s party affiliation. And while it is true that the ACP normally fields unknowns, Tancredo enjoys plenty of support in the polls. According to the latest Rasmussen Report, in fact, Tancredo leads Maes 25 percent to 21 percent.
Meanwhile, Colorado Congresswoman Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins, has caused the cancellation of an October debate sponsored by the Fort Collins Coloradoan and Denver’s KUSA-TV 9News. Markey insisted that the debate feature a pair of minor party candidates alongside her chief opponent, Republican Cory Gardner.
“Why not hear from everybody?” the congresswoman’s spokesman, Ben Marter, told The DenverPost.
If debate sponsors want to include candidates who have registered in single digits in the polls, that’s up to them. If not, the major party candidates shouldn’t use their exclusion as an excuse for not participating.
Are we to believe that Markey is suddenly a champion for third parties? Or is her decision political?
Her claim that she’s simply trying to be more inclusive sounds disingenuous. Allowing equal time for twice as many candidates would have watered down the effectiveness of the debate in the hotly contested race.
Meanwhile, the cancellation of that debate means voters won’t be able to watch Markey and Gardner on 9News, a ratings leader in Colorado, and won’t be able to judge how they field tough questions from veteran political reporters from 9News and the Coloradoan.
The congresswoman is trying to solidify two other televised debates that meet her criteria, but those haven’t yet been established.
The question over who should be included in debates is debated every election cycle.
The Denver Post and some other major news organizations have settled on a 10 percent rule. If a candidate — even a minor party candidate — is getting the support of at least 10 percent of those responding to credible pollsters, they’re invited to attend. The Post and 9News have invited Tancredo to their gubernatorial debate on Oct. 13, as have most of the other upcoming debate sponsors.
That’s a step in the right direction.
