Informed, educated voters make informed, educated decisions when they enter the election booth. There’s no denying that fact.
This November, Virginians will be electing a new governor, choosing between Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds. A gubernatorial election is always important, but the national economy and the prickly issues facing the commonwealth elevate this election to the next level.
Transportation, jobs creation, economic development, tax code reform and a host of other issues face the state, and Virginians deserve the chance to hear the candidates discuss these topics as often as possible.
To that end, former Attorney General McDonnell has challenged state Sen. Deeds to a series of 10 debates, spread across the commonwealth, leading up to November election. Deeds, the surprise winner of his party’s June 9 primary, has been trying to dodge the challenge, waffling on the number and hinting at a much lower number of engagements.
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That’s got to stop, senator. The electorate deserves better.
So far, only one debate date is carved in stone: July 25 at the Virginia Bar Association’s annual meeting, this year at the Homestead Resort in Bath County, Deeds’ home.
Here’s what the Deeds campaign had to say on subject, in a statement earlier this summer: “We expect the number of debates to be in line with precedent from the 2005 Kaine-Kilgore and Deeds-McDonnell debate schedules.” (The emphasis is ours, by the way.)
The “precedent” alluded to from the 2005 campaign, when Tim Kaine and Jerry Kilgore ran for governor and Deeds and McDonnell squared off for attorney general, would be … are you ready? … three.
Three debates. That’s it.
McDonnell’s proposed list of debates, running from July 25 through Oct. 20, includes four that would be broadcast across the state. That would give any voter multiple opportunities to hear the candidates for the state’s highest office tackle questions from the news media and other experts on a variety of topics and issues.
The scope of the Republican proposal is unprecedented in modern Virginia politics, but then the times in which we are living are a bit unprecedented.
Voters deserve as many chances as possible to see the candidates in action.
Politicians run campaigns based on snappy television ads, great 30-second sound bites and cutting-edge Internet strategies.
Statesmen run campaigns based on thoughtful, spirited discussions with voters in which they confront the enormous issues and challenges of the day.
Be a statesman, Sen. Deeds; go for the full, 10-debate schedule.
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