Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott and U.S. Senate candidate Republican Marco Rubio, have forced the League of Women Voters of Florida to cancel debates scheduled for Thursday in Orlando, as they have refused to participate.
The League, which in collaboration with PBS had secured The NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff as moderators, announced the cancellation of the debates on Wednesday.
In a statement released today, Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida said:
“Florida voters get the short straw when candidates limit their participation in moderated public forums. As citizens try to do their homework, candidate forums and debates provide viewers with important substance on issues and specific answers about voters’ real concerns. Commercials and soundbites read from prepared press releases are a poor substitutes for voters trying to make informed decisions. Voters across Florida will now miss the opportunity to hear responses to the tough questions that the candidates would have faced on the comprehensive coverage a PBS debate would have provided.”
Macnab added that regretfully, there have been numerous instances across Florida, at both the state and local level, where candidates are ducking the public’s scrutiny in debate.
Several news outlets have already reported that Scott has been consistently boycotting newspaper editorial boards to explain his positions, in contrast to Democrat Alex Sink who has scheduled interviews with five of the state’s major newspapers this week, following three such meetings with other Florida papers.
Meanwhile, Rubio has faced tough questions from the St. Pete editorial board, concerning his use of a Republican Party credit card for personal expenditures and the big salaries he paid out to staff when he was Florida House Speaker, which he has characterized as “distractions” from the real issues. The paper has endorsed Gov. Charlie Crist in the U.S. Senate race, saying in a statement that “Rubio is exactly what Florida and the nation do not need”.
In a controlled setting such as a debate, Scott nor Rubio is in a position to control the message, and so their refusal to participate in the Orlando debate suggests that they are seeking to avoid tough questioning.
“This is a loss for voters,” Macnab said. “It puts more emphasis on commercials and prepared speeches. Voters deserve better.”
