Fayetteville Observer Editorial: Political debates start early, but we need more candidates to join
Fayetteville Observer
June 24, 2008
Just days into the summer season, we’d expect most folks — politicians included — would be getting away to the beach.
But this is shaping up as a busy, combative campaign season, and no one — the politicians and those of us who listen to them — will get much of a break.
Even when the politicians head for the beach, it’s campaigning as usual. On Saturday, the candidates in two of the hotter North Carolina races ran down to Atlantic Beach for the first of what will likely be many debates. Gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Pat McCrory, and Senate candidates Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan, faced off at the annual meeting of the N.C. Bar Association.
It was, by all accounts, a good show. Dole, the Republican incumbent senator, and Hagan, the Democratic state senator challenging her, sparred over topics ranging from Iraq policy to illegal immigration to the high cost of gasoline.
Lt. Gov. Perdue, a Democrat, and Charlotte Mayor McCrory, a Republican, were equally animated, debating topics that included crime control, education and ways to repair the state’s judicial system.
People who saw the debates were impressed. All four of the politicians bring polish and preparation to their races. It bodes well.
No politician, no matter how well he or she is serving the voters, should go unchallenged. And no race, no matter the issues, should go undebated. Whether it’s the presidency or a city council, we are best served when strong, knowledgeable candidates offer opposing views on how to solve our problems, and they offer them in public forums, where we can see how capably they can argue for their positions.
Politics, at its core, is about discussion and debate of issues and solutions to our problems. And democracy is about choosing the best candidates to get the job done.
That’s why we’re also hoping to see a series of debates for our local congressional races, although so far, there’s little sign the incumbents are interested. Democrats Mike McIntyre and Bob Etheridge both have Republican challengers, and Republican Robin Hayes is again facing Larry Kissell, who came within a few hundred votes of beating him two years ago.
But there are no debates on the horizon, and McIntyre’s challenger, Will Breazeale, is holding a demonstration in front of McIntyre’s Fayetteville office today, repeating his call for debates, so far unanswered. We hope all three of our congressmen soon show the same zeal for debate that we saw in Atlantic Beach last weekend. That’s how we make our democracy work.
