What Does Rejecting A Debate Say About A Candidate?

Debate, discussion, and deliberation are the heart of our government. Congress was designed to incentivize it, and we saw it as so important and useful that we incorporated it into our election season. Public debate between candidates is a hallmark of our elections, so when a candidate skips them, it says something important about how they feel about American traditions.

The tradition of debate goes back thousands of years. If I can delve into history a little, I think back to the third play of Aeschylus’ Oresteia, The Eumenides. In that play, we see a debate between two perspectives on justice: Vengeance versus Rule of Law. The play is part of the creation myth of Athenian Democracy, which our Founding Fathers drew upon as our nation was founded. Debate, whether in politics or the justice system, is essential to the very concept of “America.”

There were at least two debates scheduled for the U.S. Senate race in South Dakota. One with South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB), and another with regional broadcast station KELO. My opponent, incumbent Senator Mike Rounds, rejected both, while I happily and enthusiastically participated.

For the SDPB debate, I had an hour-long conversation to talk about ideas and policy. For KELO, both Rounds and I had a roughly twenty-minute conversation with a reporter, filmed on different days at different times. Why is my opponent so afraid to be in a room with me? Why is he so afraid to discuss policy, and to discuss ideas in front of voters?

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The tradition of debate itself has been politicized. Fights over bills in Congress are no longer based on the conflict in decisions for or against something, it’s about whether a decision gets made at all. A debate is no longer to demonstrate your values and ideas to voters, it’s about whether you even have to say anything at all.

I think he sees the writing on the wall. His FEC reports show he’s done several polls in the past year, but he’s only shared two results. Actually, he doesn’t share anything at all, because it’s his campaign staff calling the shots. I cannot be entirely sure he realizes he’s even running for re-election.

His campaign doesn’t share the polling memo with the press, doesn’t show the “crosstabs,” and won’t show anything but the numbers that make Mike Rounds look the best.

Speaking of FEC reports… We have a critical FEC deadline coming up in just a few days. This is one of the last reports until Election Day, which means it’s one of the last opportunities to show my opponent, the media, and the nation how strong this campaign truly is.

We have sustained great momentum in these past few months, but we need to keep it going. We need to post a strong report to show Mike Rounds he can’t take his seat for granted, maintain strong fundraising to keep my ads running on TV, and keep building this grassroots movement of thousands of people. If you’re able to chip in to the campaign today, it’ll go a long way towards making sure that all happens.

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My opponent won’t share a room with me. He won’t debate me and he hardly even acknowledges me. That’s fine, I grew a pretty tough skin over my 26 years in the military. More importantly, my opponent is afraid to face his constituents. He doesn’t hold his own public events, and he barely shows up in public at all.

I face my prospective constituents each and every day. I hear the issues they care about, I listen to the struggles they face. I show up, and I’m going to keep showing up for all six years of my term in the U.S. Senate.

Thank you for reading.

Brian L. Bengs, Lt Col (Ret)

Independent Candidate for U.S. Senate

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