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Why Republicans don't need to debate

by Russ Crowder
| September 15, 2014 8:29 AM

If you are a Democratic office holder or candidate for public office today, you are opposed to the right to keep and bear arms; you are for open borders; you believe that the U.S. Constitution is an archaic and outdated document written by old slave owners and should be abolished, or at the very least ignored; you are pro abortion; you are against school choice; you are opposed to using our abundant energy and natural resources; you know that capitalism is the root of all evil, and property rights stand in the way of government being able to solve all of society’s ills.

You believe this because you have no choice. Unlike the Republican Party, which by way of their “big tent,” many think tends to go to the extreme the other way, today’s Democratic Party does not tolerate dissension in its ranks, and not believing is considered dissension. Which brings us to the great “2014 debate” debate.

Montana Democratic candidates are outraged that their Republican opponents are reluctant to give them the free publicity and public forum a debate offers. One candidate for the U.S. Senate, Amanda Curtis, can’t understand why her Republican opponent won’t debate her at all seven Indian reservations and at every major city in Montana before the general election, which is just weeks away.

Democratic U.S. House candidate John Lewis is also bemoaning the fact that his opponent won’t debate him as often as he would like. Regardless of what they may say at a debate, does anyone really believe that if either of these Demorats were sent to Congress they would be the only dissenting Democratic votes to any legislation favored by President Obama or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid? The past six years say otherwise.

Locally, the Democrat running for Flathead County Commissioner can’t understand why her Republican opponent, Phil Mitchell, like former county commissioner Jim Dupont, doesn’t choose to waste his time with a public debate because he already has a distinguished record of public service that is an open book to anyone who is interested. As Phil stated, “If you believe in the Obama Democratic big-government agenda, vote for my opponent; if you believe in my conservative Republican pro-freedom conservative platform, vote for me.”

As with most of these debates, do we really need to listen to Democrats running for public office claiming that they are really not Democrats, only to watch these political leopards change their spots when elected? Just look at the past six years; Democrat. When you go to the polls, what more do you need to know?

Russ Crowder lives in Marion.