Why Gosar Says He Won’t Debate: His Excuses In His Own Words
Gosar Hasn’t Always Thought A Drive to Phoenix Was A Waste Of Time...
GLOBE, AZ – Yesterday, folks across Greater Arizona found out that Paul Gosar (R-Wall Street) was pulling out of the only debate he had agreed to with Ann Kirkpatrick. [link] As it turns out, the millionaire tax evader thought his evening was better spent drinking $200 bottles of wine with big donors than “wasting time” driving to a debate. [link]
This wasn’t the first time Gosar has ducked out of joint appearances or blown off neutral-ground debates, either – Ann previously proposed five debates, four in the district and one on television, almost two months ago, and Paul never responded. On the other hand, he’s always up for a high-dollar fundraiser, even if it takes some travel time – Phoenix may be “six hours wasted of driving” when it comes to debating the issues, but when a big-name national politician is in town, Paul is on the I-17 faster than you can say “We Cordially Invite You To A Luncheon…” [
link]
Since Ann’s August 25th proposal, we’ve heard any number of puzzling excuses from Gosar and his campaign – and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that each of them is intended to help the millionaire tax evader get away with not debating and having to defend his out-of-touch views. Let’s examine in Gosar’s and his team’s own words what his excuses are, along with a few questions we’d like him to answer about them:
EXCUSE: Gosar’s campaign manager told the Arizona Daily Sun that he pulled out of today’s debate because: “The schedule is getting so full ...It's basically six hours wasted of driving when we're talking a little over one week out from the election.” [10/20,
link]
Question: In the last month, you were happy to travel to do fundraisers in Paradise Valley (a five-hour round trip from Flagstaff) with House Minority Leader John Boehner on September 17th [
link] and with Mitt Romney on October 5th. [
link] Just last Wednesday, you found the time to go to Tucson to toast noted Social Security privatization champion Rep. Kevin McCarthy [Gosar email, 10/6] – an eight-and-a-half-hour trip. Why is driving to debate “six hours wasted,” but driving to hob-nob with Washington big shots worth the trip?
EXCUSE: AP reported yesterday that Gosar communications director Stefani Zimmerman “says Phoenix is too far to travel for a debate that's outside of the vast district and would take away from time on the campaign trail.” [
link]
Question: By “time on the campaign trail” do you mean high-dollar fundraisers like tonight’s? Do you believe that wining and dining is a higher priority than discussing the issues? If this is your attitude now, could voters ever expect to see you again if you’re elected?
EXCUSE: The Hill reported yesterday that Gosar campaign manager J.P. Twist e-mailed them the following: “Dr. Gosar has said he will debate anytime, anywhere in Arizona's 1st congressional district — whereas liberal Kirkpatrick continues to walk out on her constituents and instead caters to people outside of the district in Phoenix. Our requests for debates in the district have gone unanswered.” [
link]
Question: What “requests for debates in the district”? When did you communicate with Ann’s campaign about them? And if you are so willing to “debate anytime, anywhere,” why did you ignore Ann’s proposal for four debates in the district, not to mention declining invitations to debate in Flagstaff and Globe by other organizations?
EXCUSE: Gosar himself told ABC News: “I'd love to debate, but here's the scenario: Our district was made intentionally to be a rural district. We don't need to debate somewhere in an isolated area where Ms. Kirkpatrick can define the questions, isolate herself, and not have to be accountable to her constituents. If we're in a debate, bring it on.” [10/14
link]
Question: Can you explain these comments in the context of your promise to debate “anytime, anywhere” and your refusal to participate in Ann’s proposal for five debates? If Phoenix is too far for a televised debate broadcast across the district, and communities like Flagstaff, Prescott, Casa Grande and Show Low, where Ann challenged you to debate, are too “isolated” for debates, what option does that leave you?
EXCUSE: Gosar told the Mitch and Joe Show last week that “I don’t think that this district wants somebody to sit in a televised studio with orchestrated questions. I think the people need to be heard.” [10/12,
link]
Question: In that case, why did you agree to tonight’s debate in the first place? And what was your excuse for refusing to attend last night’s forum at Gila Community College in Globe, where you and Ann were set to take questions directly from the audience? [
link]
EXCUSE: Gosar told the Flagstaff Tea Party that he didn’t want to debate because it can "confine the issues" and "limit the participation from the audience.” [Flagstaff Tea Party, 8/31]
Question: You turned down an offer to attend a debate last night hosted by Gila Community College in Globe, where attendees asked every question. Is that not the kind of “audience participation” you’ve been looking for?
“You get a different excuse from Paul Gosar and his team for debate-dodging every time you turn on the radio or open a paper. The fact is, Paul is refusing to debate Ann because he can’t defend his out-of-touch policies to the folks of this district – like his questions about the constitutionality of Social Security of his pledge to protect tax loopholes for corporate outsourcing,” said Kirkpatrick campaign manager Carmen Gallus.
“His sloppy attempts to cover himself just go to show that Greater Arizona can’t trust millionaire tax evader Paul Gosar.”
