The Chris Moeller Archives

The phantom debates

Roxanne Conlin, candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa, debated an empty chair in an auditorium filled with her supporters on Sunday. The incumbent senator, Charles Grassley, refused to appear opposite her on the stage. In Grassley's absence, Conlin resorted to answering questions on his behalf, and video clips were aired of Grassley's past appearances on television.

Sure, Conlin didn't get the opportunity to debate the long-time incumbent face-to-face, but she did get some positive ink (as linked above) from columnist Rehka Basu and the state's largest newspaper. Writes Basu, "We live in a democracy, not a monarchy. No officeholder should feel so entitled as to be above answering a challenger... The public should expect and demand debates, and show their disapproval when candidates refuse. And if they do refuse, challengers should keep looking for creative ways to make their case."

Now here's what Basu forgot to mention: There's a third candidate in the Senate race named John Heiderscheit, a Libertarian. Heiderscheit collected at least 1,500 petition signatures in Iowa from 10 different counties, and as a result, his name will appear alongside Grassley's and Conlin's on the ballots of Iowans who walk through the charade of voting on November 2nd. It can be assured that the Libertarian candidate was not invited to appear at the Democratic Party's sham debate targeting Grassley. He was presumably at his home in Bettendorf on Sunday, likewise debating an empty chair.

Democrat and Republican campaign stooges can't have it both ways. This is the logical extension of the polluted process through which many viable candidates-- viable as determined by the balloting process of the individual states and the federal government-- are excluded from the campaign dialogue and debate.

At the level of the national vote (U.S. President), all third-party candidates are excluded from the televised debates, as the debate commission is run as a joint venture between Democrat and Republican party hacks. No third-party candidate can be deemed viable because a duopoly has replaced the structure of democratic government. In the U.S. Senate race in Iowa, Chuck Grassley has virtually all of the name recognition, more money than he can spend, and therefore, the institutional imperative to skip out on any and all public debates. I guess that's some tough shit for Roxanne Conlin.

posted by CM @ 1:29 PM