Live By Debates, Die By Debates

by: huntsu

Tue Jun 17, 2008 at 12:24:16 PM EDT

At the time I noted that the debate demands were a normal tactic for a challenger, and that ducking debates was the norm for the frontrunner.  I dismissed the outrage as manufactured and suggested that Lautenberg would accept debates (he did) and that this was really a non-issue.

In response folks continued to slam Lautenberg for being anti-progressive, and my own progressive cred was even questioned.

Now there's this:

Long shot Republican candidate Dale Glading issued a debate challenge to Camille Andrews on June 5th, asking her to respond by Friday, June 13th. But as of yesterday, Glading still hadn't received a reply from Andrews. ...

"It is disappointing to the citizens of our district that Camille Andrews has chosen not to follow in her husband's footsteps in desiring to publicly debate the issues affecting the people of New Jersey," said Glading. "Camille Andrews is hiding from the voters of the 1st District, choosing to spend her time instead in the smoke-filled back rooms of the party machine."

At least Lautenberg's campaign responded by saying, "Rob needs to lighten up.  There'll be debates but on our terms, not his."  We don't even get that much from Camille Andrews' camp.

Andrews campaign manager Benjamin Parvey did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Why? Because Camille Andrews is not actually a candidate for Congress, and everyone knows it.  Her candidacy is a joke, a sick joke, on the voters of new Jersey's first district.

Look, I'm thrilled that Dana Redd is likely to be the next Representative from NJ1.  She'll be a great Congresswoman and add some gender and racial balance to our state delegation.

But the flim-flam scam Rob Andrews, George Norcross and their team pulled on the voters of NJ1 still stinks to high heaven and it gets worse each day it's allowed to stand.  The way they are handling it now shows that the Rob Andrews campaigns' outrage over debates was as false as Camille Andrews' candidacy.

It's now time to get it over with, immediately.  Camille Andrews needs to reject the nomination given to her by the voters, and the County Committee members in NJ1 need to select their nominee.

It'll still stink, but at least with Dana Redd in there it will accomplish something good.