In life we have to do things we sometimes don’t want to do. But the fact is as adults, we have responsibilities to those around us.
This is especially true of politicians. Which is why it’s so disheartening that Gov. Kay Ivey is choosing to avoid debating her Republican opponents.
Granted from a political perspective she has every reason in the world not to want to get on stage for a debate. Every reason. She’s so far ahead of them in the polls, she has nowhere to go but down. It does nothing but lift their name ID and give credibility to their candidacies, blah blah blah — we all know the reasons.
But the fact is, voters deserve a debate anyway. By ducking out on them, because of political realities, she’s ignoring her obligations as a statesman, a representative of the people and somebody who is asking for voter support.
Will the debate be fun? Probably not. Will it be easy? Probably not. But should the Governor do it for the people? Absolutely.
The fact of the matter is, the people have a right to hear from those representing them. Gov. Ivey has repeatedly said that her campaign is about taking Alabama in a new direction. It’s about starting over and restoring trust in our elected officials. In order to do that, she shouldn’t duck and hide. She should face her competitors, answer tough questions and let the voters have a sense of where she stands on issues besides the soundbites and press releases she chooses to put out. If she’s so proud of her record in “steadying the ship of state,” she needs to own it.
While we don’t know if she’ll actually do what’s best for the people and participate in a debate — there’s no denying, she absolutely should.
