Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.

 

3 September 2014

How should Democrats deal with GOP debate dodgers?

debate_dodger_daines

When Richard Nixon refused to debate Hubert Humphrey in 1968, Humphrey ridiculed Nixon as “Richard the Chicken Hearted” —and began closing the gap. Nixon, who never forgot (or got over) losing the 1960 debates to John F. Kennedy, accepted Humphrey’s derision as less dangerous than debating the quick-witted Senator from Minnesota.

A generation later, Minnesota Republican Sen. Rudy Boschwitz refused to debate Democrat Paul Wellstone, who responded with his classic two-minute television spot, Looking for Rudy. Not enough voters looked for Rudy on the ballot; after the election he could’t be found in the Senate.

In Montana in 2014, Steve Daines and Ryan Zinke, both leading in the polls, think the odds they’ll be found in the U.S. Senate and House in 2015 are highest if they duck debates with Democrats Amanda Curtis and John Lewis, and Libertarians Roger Roots and Mike Fellows. So, they withdrew from the debates, Zinke in particular earning rave reviews for executing withdrawal maneuvers worthy of a French farce.

What are they afraid of? And how best can Democrats exploit their fears?

Zinke may rightly suspect he’s a bit slower on his feet than Lewis and Fellows. A gaffe — for example, suggesting there are ways to drill for oil in the Flathead’s North Fork that do no damage — might help Lewis catch and pass him. That’s understandable.

What’s less understandable is why Daines should fear debating Amanda Curtis. Not only is he probably still a bit better informed on many issues (some would disagree with that assessment), his calm, reassuring manner in debates causes women who respond to him with even the faintest show of emotion to come across as fishwives. Ask Kim Gillan. Why should Daines, a rich man with tons of campaign cash, fear matching wits with a young math teacher who still owes $24,000 in student loans? Hard to figure, that.

What’s not hard to figure are ways of making Daines and Zinke conclude that debating was the lesser evil.

Zinke may be the easier target. “As a Navy seal, he braved bullets. But as a politician, he chickens out of debates. Let’s not give him a shot in Congress.” Other zingers come to mind faster than they can be typed. Let Lewis and Fellows appear on stage with a chair occupied by a stuffed seal with a face resembling Commander Zinke, a nose trying to balance a Nerf Ball, and a vague resemblance to Charlie the Tuna.

And Daines? I’d have a group named The Debating Dozen, dressed, perhaps, as turkeys, picket him everywhere with signs like the one above. Plus, I’d have Curtis cut television spots showing her in a math classroom debating a sock puppet with Daines’ face. Hollywood’s best writers and ventriloquists would volunteer to help produce such an ad.

Let the editorial writers supply the outrage and indignation. Curtis and Lewis should supply the fun.