In politics today, there are red states, blue states and even purple states. Lately, though, some Texas political incumbents are looking a bit ‘yella.’
Too many of our state’s elected leaders — some with fine, well-honed skills in oration and adversarial dialogue — are running away from debate opportunities with their political opponents.
Today’s profile in debate dodging is Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — arguably the most powerful politician in Texas.
The Houston Republican’s political strategist recently told the Texas Tribune that Patrick had no intention of debating his formidable Democratic opponent, Mike Collier.
As a political tactic, that’s understandable. But as a disservice to Texas voters, it’s indefensible. And the lieutenant governor needs to reconsider.
Patrick, on the other hand, is turning tail on a time-honored tenet of the democratic process. In doing so, he tacitly concedes that Collier is a serious candidate. The Democrat has an MBA and a background in the energy and accounting businesses here in Houston, where he served as a partner for PriceWaterhouseCooper. He offers smart and persuasive arguments against school vouchers, one of Patrick’s favorite causes, and he’s sharply critical of how the state’s Republican leadership has cut state funding for public education and thrown the burden back on local property tax payers. Texas voters would benefit from hearing an exchange of ideas on these and other crucial public policy issues.
And you better believe that if Patrick thought his campaign could benefit from debating Collier, he’d do it. Patrick, after all, is skilled with a mic. Before he jumped into politics, he spent countless hours mastering the art of persuasion as a conservative talk show host. He has such a commanding personality on camera that, as a Houston TV sportscaster, his nickname became “the silver-tongued devil.” Anybody who once wrote a book entitled “The Second Most Important Book You’ll Ever Read” doesn’t exactly lack confidence.
The lieutenant governor needs to muster the guts to face his opponent, even if he fears some Texans might find Collier and his ideas appealing. At a time when internet streaming has basically made television time an unlimited commodity, there’s no good reason for political incumbents to deny voters an informative exchange before Election Day. Anybody who refuses to show up for a job interview doesn’t deserve to be hired. And any red-blooded Republicans or blazing-blue Democrats who won’t defend their qualifications before opponents and the people they hope to serve is just showing their true colors.
Read more on the Houston Chronicle.