Democrats have repeatedly touted the theme of our country’s democracy in recent years. In fact, it seems whenever they want to criticize something they disagree with, rather than explain why they disagree with it, they demonize it as a “threat to our democracy.” With the midterm elections fast approaching, one would think Democrats would listen to their own words.
Yet that isn’t the case, with two Pennsylvania Democrats being reluctant to debate their opponents. Every voter has a right to make an informed decision each election, and Democrats sought to deprive Pennsylvania voters of that. By refusing to debate, Democrats are trying to manipulate democracy instead of protecting it.
Only recently, Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman agreed to debate Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz. The campaigns have tentatively agreed to an Oct. 25 date. However, the details are still being worked out. Fetterman only agreed to the debate after intense scrutiny and pressure. He tried to blame his health problems as reasons why he couldn’t debate — yet Fetterman’s health was perfectly fine when it came to recent public appearances throughout the state in which he was surrounded by people who supported him.
Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race, Josh Shapiro, has ducked Republican nominee Doug Mastriano’s request for a debate for weeks. Mastriano’s campaign sent a request to Shapiro for a debate to be held on Oct. 22 with Mercedes Schapp as a moderator. However, Shapiro rejected the proposal and called the whole thing an “unserious stunt.”
“Doug Mastriano has spent his entire campaign refusing to answer questions, and this unserious stunt is just another attempt to avoid answering for his extreme agenda,” Shapiro’s campaign said.
But this is just a gutless response from Shapiro’s camp. “Extreme” is just a buzzword left-wing politicians frequently use to fearmonger when they cannot provide legitimate refutation. It shows a lack of integrity and character on Shapiro’s end. He’s not worried about Mastriano’s “extremism.” He’s worried about getting embarrassed in a debate, and it negatively affects the current lead he has in some polls.
Politicians who refuse to debate during an election do their constituents a great disservice. These acts show such people care more about obtaining power than engaging in the hallmarks of democracy. Voters should be able to see how candidates perform against one another in debates. Shapiro’s refusal and Fetterman’s reluctance are the actual unserious stunts. Objectively, it raises the question of why Pennsylvania Democrats are afraid to debate Republicans. And it’s a question all Pennsylvania voters should be asking.
