What do Ohio Governor John Kasich, State Treasurer Josh Mandel, Attorney General Mike DeWine, and Secretary of State Jon Husted all have in common, besides being Republican? They've been ducking debates leading up to election day.
In Governor Kasich's case, his campaign feels that, with such a large lead over Democratic challenger Ed Fitzgerald, it could only potentially do the governor harm to participate in debates. Given many Republicans' issues in such settings leading up to the 2012 elections, perhaps many have opted to go the silent route, thinking it's less potentially damaging than actually attempting to answer moderators' questions by opening their mouths.
Regardless of the reason or excuse, however, I think this strategy is very disrespectful to voters. What are independents, moderates, and undecideds supposed to weigh their decisions on? Misleading ads and fliers? Newspaper endorsements? Biased radio shows and cable news networks? Good luck with that...
What this strategy says to me is the following:
1) These politicians don't feel confident enough with what they've done in office to comfortably answer questions about their record.
2) They don't feel that they need to be held accountable for any mistakes they may have made during their tenures.
3) They feel that it's not important to showcase to voters that they're the better option by debating with their opponents and proving they truly want to represent their constituents and fight to move the state forward.
4) They feel that regardless of how little effort they put into their campaigns, voters will be stupid enough to vote for them.
If I ever ran for office, I wouldn't care how much I led or trailed by in the polls, I'd feel it's my obligation to participate in debates, to clearly illustrate the contrasts between my opponents and I, and attempt to prove to voters that I'd do everything in my power to better people's lives and move the state forward. What Kasich, Mandel, DeWine, and Husted's actions (or lack there of) shows me is that they don't feel similarly on the matter, believe they can cruise to victories without any effort whatsoever, and to me, that's rather reflective of how they have and will continue to handle their time in office.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/09/down-ballot_republicans_duck_d.html
In Governor Kasich's case, his campaign feels that, with such a large lead over Democratic challenger Ed Fitzgerald, it could only potentially do the governor harm to participate in debates. Given many Republicans' issues in such settings leading up to the 2012 elections, perhaps many have opted to go the silent route, thinking it's less potentially damaging than actually attempting to answer moderators' questions by opening their mouths.
Regardless of the reason or excuse, however, I think this strategy is very disrespectful to voters. What are independents, moderates, and undecideds supposed to weigh their decisions on? Misleading ads and fliers? Newspaper endorsements? Biased radio shows and cable news networks? Good luck with that...
What this strategy says to me is the following:
1) These politicians don't feel confident enough with what they've done in office to comfortably answer questions about their record.
2) They don't feel that they need to be held accountable for any mistakes they may have made during their tenures.
3) They feel that it's not important to showcase to voters that they're the better option by debating with their opponents and proving they truly want to represent their constituents and fight to move the state forward.
4) They feel that regardless of how little effort they put into their campaigns, voters will be stupid enough to vote for them.
If I ever ran for office, I wouldn't care how much I led or trailed by in the polls, I'd feel it's my obligation to participate in debates, to clearly illustrate the contrasts between my opponents and I, and attempt to prove to voters that I'd do everything in my power to better people's lives and move the state forward. What Kasich, Mandel, DeWine, and Husted's actions (or lack there of) shows me is that they don't feel similarly on the matter, believe they can cruise to victories without any effort whatsoever, and to me, that's rather reflective of how they have and will continue to handle their time in office.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/09/down-ballot_republicans_duck_d.html
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