Kline rejects another opportunity to appear with Shelley Madore

According to the Madore campaign, former state Representative Shelley Madore received a formal response Monday from incumbent John Kline rejecting an opportunity to debate her in front of a live audience in the Second Congressional District.

"It saddens me that the voters of this district will have one 25-minute radio interview just one week before the election as their only opportunity to evaluate our ability to best represent them in Washington," said Madore discussing the incumbent's reluctance to make time to appear before district voters.

"Rep. John Kline has been in office for eight years; he seems to take for granted that his seat is secure despite the 18% public approval rating for members of Congress. I believe the voters of this district have had enough of elitist Washington politics.

I have appeared at FarmFest and the Goodhue County Veterans candidate forums and will participate in two Transportation Alliance candidate forums in the next two weeks, all of which John Kline has refused to attend. In his response, John Kline cited his conversations with voters at community events over the summer. I have spent the last nine months listening to voters' concerns about jobs, health care, transportation and education funding. These are serious times and demand a serious candidate willing to work for your vote."

Former Minnesota Representative Shelley Madore

Madore's campaign has reportedly conveyed an additional offer made Monday by the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce to host a debate, seeking an opportunity for voters to compare and contrast the two candidates and their records in a setting where the public can see and judge both.

According to Rasmussen incumbents are in trouble, and Kline's lack of initiative for projects within the district while he continues to vote for earmarks inserted by other members of his party leaves him open to questions from the voters. His record of voting against funding for veterans has led some to accuse him of supporting war without supporting the warriors. Madore's 35 Cent Tour has successfully explained to Minnesotans that not all earmarks are pork, and swing voters are increasingly suggesting that Kline needs to do more than repeat talking points if he wants to represent them in Congress again.

"Only 12% of voters believe most members of Congress are more interested in helping people than in helping their own careers. Seventy-six percent (76%) say most in Congress put their own careers first. Skepticism has remained this high since October."

From Congressional Performance

Rasmussen Reports

Kline continues to dodge voters

First Kline dodged the Farmfest candidates forum, then the former Marine officer skipped the invitation to the Goodhue Veteran's forum, and yesterday the Star Tribune revealed that GOP Congressman John Kline somehow could find no time to debate his opponent, former State Representative Shelley Madore, in response to an invitation from KSTP-TV and the League of Women Voters. The spin? Madore's campaign hadn't specifically asked.

Seriously. The Star Tribune article cites a campaign statement that Kline has been busy talking with constituents about Washington's "increasing intrusion into their homes and workplaces," echoes carefully tested GOP talking points -- but where is Kline talking? Saying a short joint appearance on MPR - less than a half hour - an open exchange of ideas with his opponent suggests Kline has nothing much to talk about. And even that came from staff.

OK, I suppose he can rationalize avoiding voters at Farmfest since it was a few miles outside the district. After all, Michelle Bachmann wasn't there. Sure, it's a big deal to Minnesota farmers, but it's not like his whole district is farms, right? There are obviously many more votes in the northern, suburban areas. Of course, Madore thinks farmers are a vital part of the local economy, but she grew up on a small farm.

Still, it starts to be a story when a former Marine officer somehow can't find time to accept an invitation to a veteran's forum that is clearly inside his district. His rhetoric tends to support military funding - well, at least funding current operations. If my record voting for spending on veteran's affairs was as shabby as his I might give the veterans forum invitation a miss, too.

But KSTP and the League of Women Voters gave him plenty of notice, and evidently the rest of his voting record isn't something he's proud of, either. Well, kudos to Shelley Madore for holding a press conference and personally delivering a letter to his office.

"Please allow the voters of our Congressional District the opportunity to learn enough about us to make an informed decision by participating in a debate with me."

Shelley Madore,

in an open letter to John Kline

Should Madore echo the late Senator Paul Wellstone's "Where's Rudy?" campaign, perhaps? Kline's spokesman says he's talking to constituents, but mostly he seems to wave from the middle of parade routes. Is a 4-term Congressman really so scared of losing his seat that his campaign has to make flimsy excuses? Is his record really that thin? Apparently so, yes.

Kline doesn't usually talk to anybody in uncontrolled, unscripted settings, and he's hoping that talking a few minutes on MPR one week before the election will convince voters in his District that he listens?

Pull the other one, John; it's got bells on.

DFL's Dan Powers Dodges Debates

While interviewing former state Representative Shelley Madore, Alan Miller of Access to Democracy offered to moderate a debate between Madore and her opponent Dan Powers - the two DFL candidates in the upcoming primary. I'll publish excerpts from the show in the next few days. 

Powers had dodged debate prior to the convention so it comes as little suprise that his campaign manager, Mary Breitenstein, has opted to decline on his behalf.  Her statement concluded:

"Dan will be focusing his time on beating John Kline and bringing the people of CD 2  the sort of representation they deserve."

~Mary Breitenstein

Whoever wins the DFL primary will surely want to debate Kline, relying on that most traditional tool of challengers to draw contrasts between themselves and a well-known incumbent.  Logically it might seem an excellent opportunity to practice a skill he's never needed before, and create a little more buzz for the party, much the way the Obama-Clinton contest helped keep Democrats in the news after it had become a foregone conclusion who would garner the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.

So much for "practice makes perfect."

Evidently Powers fears debating a fellow DFLer could outweigh the media exposure he'd get going into the primary. The only conclusion voters and pundits can draw is he worries that revealing how he handles himself in front of the media would convey significant advantage to Shelley Madore.

In this case, I agree with his fear despite her much greater name recognition; having spent time with both candidates I'm hard-pressed to see how he could possibly outshine Madore.  I've donated time and money to both campaigns, and I know it's much safer for Powers to rely on talking points and spend money on slick ads than it would be to engage in a debate. 

A debate would obviously reveal how relatively difficult it is for a rookie to talk issues, policy, and procedure on the same stage with a former legislator.

Still, I'd like the chance to see Powers fielding questions in an unscripted appearance, and see if he can think on his feet. As a voter in the District and the former chair of the Rice County DFL unit I can't help but wonder if he's scared Shelley Madore might reveal something about him that Congressman Kline wouldn't. I find that unlikely, because she's been taking the high road so far, and if there's one thing we've learned about Kline's campaign style it's that he will research his opponents thoroughly, and attack relentlessly.

© All photographs copyright Thomas Hayes, 2010