The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance. – Samuel Butler
As I’m frequently wont to do, lets start this one off with a few stipulations.
First, as my adoring throng will readily attest, I’m here to help, particularly when it comes to doling out copious amounts of constructive criticism. All kidding aside, my singular journalistic goal is to bring balance to the political force, because on the rare occasions the process works, it can be a magical thing.
So, when I recently reached out the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County, I wasn’t trying to be my semi-frequently snarky self. My singular intent was to bring balance to the pre-election debate force.
And second, I’m a classic Evanston liberal, or a “Blue Dog Democrat” as we were once respectfully referred to. That virtually extinct and mainly southern U.S. species once believed in embracing social causes, but doing so only with a reasonable sense of fiscal sanity.
Sadly, that Blue Dog term has lost all meaning because, in their effort to abscond with the party, progressives have moved the goalposts so far to the left that folks like Bill Maher and I shot right through the Libertarian spectrum and landed smack dab in the middle of conservative territory.
Lastly, as a semi-reasonable campaign manager, I can unequivocally declare that local political debates have become about as pointless as getting Lindsey Graham to admit he’s gay. The same 30 to 50 members of the choir will inevitably attend only to confirm their confirmation bias.
Even when the pandemic forced debates to go virtual, no more that 50 voters watched the proceedings any given time, and the average number of viewers was generally a lot closer to 30.
The only way those debates can make a difference is if the local press deigns to show up, a candidate says something really stupid, and the paper runs the story. Remember, the average age of an Illinois voter is about 60 and those folks still read newspapers.
That means, if I’m managing a candidate who’s demonstrated a propensity to go off-script, I will strongly encourage them not to debate their opponent(s). And by “strongly encourage” I mean tying them up, gagging them, and locking them in the trunk of my car until the danger passes.
Don’t worry. You get used to the muffled screams and the thumping.
But now, campaign managers and candidates have to carefully consider whether to participate in a debate for a brand-new reason. Some debates are clearly partisan, but those halcyon neutral hosting organizations like the LoWV have shifted so far to the left that conservative candidates don’t stand a chance. The moderators are biased, the questions are biased, and the rules tend to favor the more liberal candidates.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re not talking about a conscious bias here. But the fact that it’s unconscious makes it so much worse because it becomes so much harder to address. And it’s becoming a self-fulfilling feedback loop, too.
To wit, some hosting groups attempt to deflect that inherent bias by taking written questions from the audience. But with many conservative voters having already given up on this stilted process, the audiences tend to offer the kind of inquiries that paint conservative candidates in a bad light. This phenomenon has become so blatant that Republicans are begging off LoWV debates in droves.
During a lengthy discussion with a local Republican Party regular on this very topic, he told me the LoWV’s most recent response to the GOP candidate debate absences was to send an email explaining how they’d just sweetened the pot by partnering with the NAACP to host a forum for local appellate and supreme court judicial candidates.
Don’t get me wrong! The NAACP is a wonderful organization, but they have a very specific agenda, and it may be a reasonable agenda but it doesn’t favor conservative candidates. The reason they call them debate “moderators” is because they’re supposed to be moderate.
My Republican friend’s response to this newest initiative was to laugh and say, “Let’s see how many GOP candidates show up now.” And the fact that the LoWV is so blind to this reality is more than a bit terrifying. If the NAACP wants to hold a forum, let them do it. At least then the potential participants will know exactly what they’re getting into.
But because the LoTW has been a worthwhile institution, I thought I’d reach out to the central Kane County chapter to better explain this debate issue. My lovely electronic missive read thusly:
I understand you’re having issues getting Republican candidates to attend debates, and since this journalist generally recommends that they don’t, I’d be happy to explain why they’re avoiding you.
And their response was this:
Thank you for your interest in the LWVCKC candidate forums. Our practice is to communicate with the candidates and their campaigns directly when scheduling forums and when sending out invitations for same. Information will be sent to local media outlets and should be posted on our social media platforms.
I may be slow at times, but I know when I’ve been told to f**k off! Their outright arrogance, not the least of which assuming that I wasn’t part of any campaign, is quite astounding.
This is my response to their response:
That’s all good and fine, but one-sided debates don’t exactly work out well now do they? I simply offered to explain how your organization can avoid fading into political oblivion, but apparently you’re dead set on obsolescence. At least I tried.
And that’s exactly what’s going to happen. The LoWV will persist in their inexorable march to the left and Republican candidates will avoid their forums in ever increasing numbers, essentially rendering the organization obsolete.
If they want to remain relevant, that organization needs to collectively reread the first sentence of their website mission statement; “The League is a political grassroots network and membership organization that believes the freedom to vote is a nonpartisan issue.”
Clearly, it would behoove that group to re-look up the word “nonpartisan,” but at least for now, they’d much rather kill the messenger.
