The debate was to be sponsored by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute and Vicki Kennedy is the president of the Institute. So there’s some notional logic to the demand. But c’mon. In the real world it’s irrelevant to anything to do with the debate. Media organizations would control the questions and the questioners. Brown’s really trying to insist that Kennedy’s widow stay uncommitted for the whole cycle?
You know, Martha Coakley was endorsed by Vicki Kennedy and Scott Brown didn’t give a damn. I think Scott Brown is shook because Warren is actually a much better opponent, but he shouldn’t be so shook that he wants to bind Vicki Kennedy’s free speech to his agreement to debate. It’s a f*cking stupid bargain. Nothing irks me more than this new type of debating where candidates pre-screen questions and cherry pick moderators, but there is still value in debates. It’s where some real differentiating can happen. Scott Brown is really happy to seem more moderate than he is and wants to not remind people that he works for a party powered by a swelling base of aging, increasingly mon0-cultural, political zealots.
And that’s what it is: Scott Brown won’t debate Elizabeth Warren. it isn’t “they can’t come to terms” or “both sides were unreasonable”, Scott Brown wants to keep the widow of the Senator he succeeded to keep her mouth shut. To literally trade free speech for him to feel it necessary to debate his opponent. Warren should hammer him on this. And not in a mean, snide way, but demand that they be allowed to discuss the issues in front of voters.