Despite calls from media all over the state and undecided and independent voters for more debates after last week’s gubernatorial debate, GOP nominee Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder is sticking to his guns and staying away from voters as much as possible and letting his millions do his talking.
But that’s not stopping Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero, and he’s going to debate the outsourcer even if it’s an empty chair instead of just an empty suit. Bernero has accepted an offer from a group of Detroit clergy to debate on Oct. 21 at Renaissance High School, located at 6565 W. Outer Drive in Detroit, sponsored by “Clergy United for a Detroit Gubernatorial Debate.”
The group of 100 clergy that represents half a million people said that they want to make a clear choice, one that they say will, among other things, “lend to small business that create jobs in the community, fight against foreclosure and support the health care bill that President Obama has fought to deliver to the people.”
The group consists of some well known clergy, such as Bishop Charles Ellis III, Horace Sheffield and Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony
Predictably the outsourcer's mouthpiece Bill Nowling said no more debates; not now or ever, and the Outsourcer will continue to hold invitation only “townhall” meetings and pay for 30-second TV ads to push the false image of him. In the debate last Sunday the Outsourcer claimed a healthy Michigan needs a healthy Detroit, but he refuses to even go there and engage its citizens or their leaders.
“Any candidate that is not willing to speak directly to the citizens of Detroit in an open and unfiltered debate with minority journalists and the community they are to serve is not worthy of the vote from its people,” the group said in a statement.
I think that should include the entire state, and that’s why people should vote for Virg Bernero on Nov. 2.
2 comments:
I certainly think that it would be a very good thing if there were more debates, but the example you use here is poor. Any debate sponsored by people who specifically mention that they support key planks of both Bernero's campaign platform that Snyder opposes (a state bank, foreclosure/mortgage moratorium, and Obama's health care bill) is for all intents and purposes a partisan forum. If we were to have more debates, it would have to be in a non-partisan forum (i.e. one not sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, the UAW, or any other group of partisans), or the exercise would be rather pointless.
I disagree. It doesn’t matter who sponsors the debate. If the League of Conservation voters, for example, sponsored a debate the questions would focus on the environment, just like the Detroit clergy questions would focus on economic development, crime and the candidates' plans for Detroit. Perhaps then the Outsourcer could clarify his remarks on Detroit.
But the fact is the Outsourcer has turned down every request for a debate – from the nonpartisan League of Women voters to every media outlet in the state, and this is just one more example. I’m also at a loss as to the partisan make up of clergy.
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