Landes declines debate invite
Citing issues with fairness, Steve Landes is backing out of a debate invitation from the News Leader and WHSV-TV3 with 25th District challenger Greg Marrow.
“I’ve expressed my concerns of the editorial board – not being fair and balanced – moderating a debate between my opponent and me,” Landes told the News Leader on Thursday.
(Story link – www.newsleader.com/article/20091001/NEWS01/91001014/1002.)
Marrow and Landes have already had one joint newspaper-TV station debate. The candidates met on Sept. 24 for a debate sponsored by the News Virginian and NBC29.
“Steve Landes is once again dodging the real issues by shying away from a televised debate. What is Landes afraid of?” Marrow told the AFP in an e-mail message Friday morning.
The Sept. 24 debate – on friendly turf for Landes, with conservative NV editor Lee Wolverton as moderator – didn’t go well for Landes. Wolverton played the debate straight up and grilled Landes on comments at an August Republican Party event comparing the Obama administration to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and on manufacturing job losses.
The debate ended with an awkward, apparently rehearsed move by Landes interrupting a Marrow answer by handing him a red folder with a Landes campaign sticker to draw attention to his legislative record.
It’s more likely that Landes simply doesn’t want to have to go through more rounds of tough questioning and is using the idea that the Leader is somehow not “fair and balanced” as an attempt at providing cover for the decision.
“It’s obvious that Steve Landes doesn’t want voters to know about his poor record as a delegate and his lack of leadership,” Marrow said in his statement this morning. “My campaign is more than willing to accommodate Landes’ campaign because I am confident in my message and the importance of voters being able to hear both sides.”
- Story by Chris Graham
Related posts:
- Landes, Marrow to debate tonight in Waynesboro The News Virginian and NBC29 are cohosting a debate featuring 25th House District candidates Steve Landes and Greg Marrow tonight at 6 p.m. at Kate...
- Is Landes feeling some heat from Marrow challenge? Steve Landes is “starting to get a little PO’d” at what he thinks is Democratic Party opponent Greg Marrow’s effort to “distort” his legislative record....
- Marrow, Landes neck-and-neck in summer fundraising The Greg Marrow campaign came up just short of staying dollar-for-dollar in the fundraising race with 25th District Republican incumbent Steve Landes this summer. Marrow,...
- Landes to kick off re-election campaign in 25th Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, will be making three stops to announce his plans for the 2009 General Election for the House of Delegates on...
- AFP InDepth | Examining Landes’ record on jobs The 2009 state elections are going to be about the economy, for obvious reasons. Steve Landes thinks this is to his benefit. “The NFIB, the...
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Bravo to Landes for having the guts to refuse to refuse to participate in any “debate” involving the News Leader which has participated in a campaign against him and most valley Republicans. I also wonder why Graham doesn’t post a disclaimer on the bottom of every political piece he writes reminding readers that he is chairman of the local democratic party and has zero ability to be objective.
“Bosco” preaches objectivity. Interesting. “Bravo to Landes.” The News Leader “has participated in a campaign against him and most valley Republicans.” And these observations are made from a point of “objectivity”?
Pols on the GOP side are supposed to point out that critics in the media lack objectivity.
It really hurts me to the core of my being that a water-carrying sycophant for Landes calls into question my objectivity. (That’s sarcasm, for those missing on the subtlety.) As I’ve explained here before, my approach on these matters is to speak truth to power. Be that the Democratic Party of which I am a member or the Republican Party of which I am not.
Those who attempt to minimize the power of the message by raising “objectivity” issues are only fooling themselves. No honest observers of the modern political scene are “objective.” The stakes to the politics and policy arena are too important for us all to not have strong opinions one way or the other.
Give us credit for at least not pretending to be something that we’re not.
So Mr. Graham you honestly believe that the News Leader has been fair to Landes and would be an objective moderator of a debate? I can’t believe even you would believe that. I do appreciate that you start off your response with a personal attack. Nothing like a logical fallacy, ad hominem, to begin a response. Actually, unlike you, I don’t have a dog in the Landes/Marrow fight. I’m not in his district and am a registered independent. A newspaper, online or print, typically contains both objective news and editorial opinions. However, they should be clearly labeled. I realize objective news reporting is extremely difficult and rare these days and you seem to have no interest it. May I suggest you simply rename your paper so no one will confuse it with a real newspaper. I suggest the Augusta Liberal Rag.
A fun way to start the work week – with a bit of levity from the far, far right. The fact remains that Greg Marrow agreed to and went through with a debate sponsored and moderated by the right-wing News Virginian, and Landes is not going through with a debate being arranged by the centrist News Leader claiming that he wouldn’t get a fair shake.
I don’t blame Landes for running scared. He obviously had his hat handed to him at the debate in front of the friendly audience. I’d run and hide if I were him, too.
Something “Bosco” wrote in the above note got my attention – the reference to being a “registered independent.” Just like a TV report that I saw recently in which a person who claimed to be a “registered Democrat” plans to vote for Bob McDonnell.
From the State Board of Elections website:
“Virginia does not have party registration in its voter registration process. In other words, citizens do not designate a political party affiliation when registering to vote in Virginia.”
Link – http://bit.ly/1121rc.
Which is to say, in Virginia, all registered voters are registered independents.
The “registered independent” line going around amuses me. People consider themselves Republican or Democrat, even if it’s not official with the state. It’s been a long time since I moved to the state, so I would consider myself a registered Republican even if the bureaucracy didn’t ask that question.
You can consider yourself what you want, but it doesn’t make you “registered.” The word “registered” carries an official-sounding connotation that is not valid in reference to voter-affiliation status in Virginia.
Otherwise, I can start declaring myself a “registered independent,” per the criticisms from “Bosco” above regarding my leanings one way or the other. That would mirror the approach of Bill O’Reilly, who touts himself as an independent to legitimize his righty rants.