League Forum Falls Flat
By BRETT WARNKE
When a treaty with the Creek
Indians was being proposed, George Washington took his plans to the Senate to
ask the body’s advice. Unfortunately,
because the windows were open no one could hear. After a struggle, a labored discussion,
unprepared senators, and repeated demands for more information, Washington was
delayed and grumpily admitted: “I will
be damned before I come here again.”
The grand-standing and slow bog of
politics is expected. Who ever
heard of a divided democratic body “leaping” into action? But if democracy is not a spectator’s sport, as
the President of the League of Women Voters told the audience at forums
throughout the past month, then why did the citizen “spectators” sit as still
and quiet as the Blarney Stone? The
League of Women Voters held the first of three "Meet the Candidates Nights for
South County" this September, inviting the audience to submit written questions and videotaped
the forums for those who could not attend.
It was a useless waste of time—and need not
have been.
No doubt the anxiety (or at least
the lesson from the recent past) is
that too much audience participation will lead to loudmouths and hucksters making
love to the microphone during the candidate’s valuable question time. The thinking goes: “This will protract an already packed and
rapid debate with single-issue voters.”
But something is lost in the current efficiency-focused model of
“Lightning Rounds” and written-only questions.
If bloviating citizens wish to speak their minds, let them do it and let
the moderators confront them. This is
New England. It is expected and
necessary to have respectful dispute here without “offending” someone. If the fear is speech-making at the
microphone, please remember that some individuals need to be reminded that the
world is not an ideologically-tested cable news show. If control over the forum or timing is truly the
issue, bring in editors from the unsentimental press to help
moderate—publications would have no
trouble telling audience members when they’ve trespassed on our precious
time.
At meetings where democratically
elected candidates are given questions without a challenge to their responses and
with little opportunity to debate one another, citizens do not have forum. Nor do they have a debate or even the shadow
of a dialogue. What they have is a joint
press conference with an audience and a camera.
The questions the League asked throughout
the forms were merely appropriate but not controversial or challenging. Each were certainly topical, clear,
demanding, and offered opportunities for intelligent and challenging responses.
But the candidates did little more than
rehearse campaign literature that was already available.
What then was the purpose of the forum? To keep citizens from the agony of reading a
campaign leaflet? If these candidates
are elected, what evidence will we have (after such a forum) that they can
actively discuss, aggressively promote, and personally debate policies in the
General Assembly that will affect our lives?
When, if not during an election, will an audience be able determine how
candidates will respond in open forums, at school committee hearings, or at Town
Council meetings?
It is not just
important that dialogue be established with the audience at a forum of this
kind, it is necessary that debate be encouraged between our candidates. Without debate, the citizenry loses what is
most necessary in any election year: a
clash of ideas.
The League should use the
technology available at Town Hall. There
are projectors, screens, and the staff knows who know how to use them. Ask candidates to create a slide with
pertinent personal information and supply it before the debate so that it can
be shown during the introductions at the forum.
Otherwise, ask candidates to bring summaries of their views and platform
to the debate for viewing and discussion which will help the audience see how
the candidates portray themselves in print as they begin to show us in person.
If changes are not made to the
style of the debate there will certainly be little change in substance. And if that is the case, I’ll be damned if I
come again.
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