It’s called debate-itis.
Debate-itis is a new, strange virus infecting politicians who figure they don’t need to debate their political opponents. We know little about this new disease, except that it’s spreading fast.
In Arizona, the sitting secretary of state, a Democrat, won’t debate her Republican opponent. In Michigan, the attorney general, a Democrat, won’t debate. The disease has spread to Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
It has seeped into Ohio, where Mike DeWine, the sitting governor, refused to debate his Republican opponents in the primary and won’t debate his general election challenger, former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
Debate-itis, a virulent infection, seems marked by a sudden proclivity to make excuses, followed by bouts of selective laryngitis and amnesia. Debate-itis manifests when the candidates conveniently forget what they’ve done or just don’t want to talk about it.
This insidious disease hurts us all. Candidates who refuse to debate rob voters of the chance to hear them defend their positions and tell us what they would do during their term to improve our lives.
They steal from us a rare chance to hear a discussion between two people who want to be our leaders.
We deserve to hear DeWine’s position on abortion, his justifications for doing nothing about gun violence following his pledges here in Dayton, and whether he’ll be an independent governor — or just do the bidding of power-hungry lawmakers.
Voters deserve to hear why Whaley, relatively inexperienced on the state stage, thinks she can lead the state. DeWine would likely challenge her on Dayton’s ills while she was mayor, such as poverty and crime, and we should hear those answers, too.
We also deserve to hear how the candidates plan to address difficult problems, such as the economy, the health of the service and manufacturing industries, state budget priorities and redistricting, among other topics.
Instead, debate-itis means we get nothing.
That’s bad for democracy. How can we possibly make an informed, educated decision when lawmakers refuse to debate? We should not only hear them but see them side-by-side because that appearance gives us a peek into the candidates themselves.
Look at recent history. In the 2012 presidential debate, Obama nearly blew the election with a miserable first performance against Mitt Romney. In the 2020 cycle, many political observers point to Trump’s first debate against Biden as the one that sank his candidacy.
And please, spare me the excuses: “Debate moderators are left-wing media elites who want to make Republicans look bad.” Please. Democrats suffer from debate-itis, too.
There are two other pieces of this, showing how quickly this disease can mutate. Candidates make themselves less available to the mainstream media and more available to friendly content outlets that won’t ask tough questions. That ensures they speak only to their base, which will support them no matter what.
Also, the League of Women Voters reports they’re having difficulty getting candidates to participate in their valuable Voters Guide, a tool that tells voters where those running for office stand on the issues. So debate-itis spreads everywhere, leaving voids of information in its wake.
There is a cure for debate-itis, but it does require painful steps. As a candidate, you’re responsible to the voters and not your own instincts of self-preservation. You need to stand up and tell us why you deserve to lead. You should face your opponent and tell us why you’re better.
The most painful part of the cure? Growing the spine to do it.
We shouldn’t even discuss the advantages of debates, but we have to because too many people want to hide behind whatever convenient excuse they can muster. If I were king of the media world, every newspaper and news website would have a countdown clock that says “16 days until the election, and (name your candidate) won’t debate.”
Don’t shirk your duty. Talk to us.
Ray Marcano’s column appears on these pages each Sunday. He can be reached at raymarcanoddn@gmail.com.
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