DFL politicians can't defend their policies

Q: What do Tim Walz, Steve Simon and Keith Ellison have in common aside from being DFL political hacks? A: They apparently think they don't need to debate their opponents. Apparently, Walz, Simon and Ellison think that they aren't accountable to Minnesota voters. Apparently, Walz, Simon and Ellison aren't confident in their abilities to defend their policies.

According to this article, "According to MPR and TPT Almanac host Cathy Wurzer, Simon was scheduled to participate in a debate Friday with Republican challenger Kim Crockett but canceled at the last minute, citing a scheduling conflict." Simon is a gutless wonder. He's afraid of losing, which isn't surprising.

Wurzer added "We can’t remember the last time a candidate agreed to a debate then changed their mind. Our long standing tradition on TPT Almanac of having the last gubernatorial debate of the election was upended when Gov. Tim Walz wouldn’t agree to appear with Dr. Scott Jensen. Not a good trend." That isn't surprising considering the fact that Walz's record on crime is indefensible. Gov. Walz's temper gets the better of him too often, too. It isn't a good look.

This is the video of the Jensen-Walz debate at Farmfest:

If you do nothing else before the election, watch this debate. The most obvious thing from the Farmfest debate was that Dr. Jensen projected policy gravitas and a calm leadership. The next biggest thing was that Walz couldn't defend his record. This is telling:

Jensen and Walz have only debated once so far this cycle — at FarmFest in August. The governor has agreed to two more debates, one on a group of Greater Minnesota TV stations and another on MPR. Neither will be in front of a live audience. According to MPR, this is the first time in 40 years where Twin Cities TV stations won’t have a debate.

This is the political version of the 4-Corners Offense that Dean Smith made famous before college basketball adopted the shot clock. Walz, Simon and Ellison hope that they have a lead and that they can run out the clock. Whatever happened to the politicians committing to debating the issues in front of voters?

Apparently, Democrats only care about doing as little as possible to win. These DFL candidates don't care if voters are well-informed. In fact, it appears that the DFL prefers keeping voters in the dark as much as possible. This explains everything:

"Steve Simon bailed on a debate with his Republican opponent Kim Crockett just days after a Democrat group announced millions of dollars in spending on the race. Steve Simon and the rest of his party are following the lead of Gov. Tim Walz," said Minnesota GOP Communications Director Nick Majerus. "Walz has refused multiple debate requests and delayed more debate appearances until well after early voting began. The Democrats are ducking debates because they can’t defend their record of failure."

Remember that Simon thinks that voter ID is draconian:

The candidates also disagreed on the topic of voter ID, which Simon described as "draconian." The secretary said he understands the "appeal" of requiring a photo ID to vote but pointed out that Minnesota voters have already rejected the idea because it has the "effect of shutting out eligible voters."

There's no proof that voter ID has effected anyone's voting franchise. Let me repeat that. There's no proof that voter ID has prevented legal voters from voting. Period.