In a few minutes, Roxanne Conlin is prepared to debate Senator Charles Grassley at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Art Center. Grassley, the Senior Senator from Iowa, and one of the longest serving members of congress has dodged opportunities to debate Conlin, only agreeing to a joint appearance with her on Iowa Public TV's Iowa Press and once on radio. Will Senator Grassley show? We'll know soon.
I'm sure we'd all like to have Chuck there so that the candidates can make brief remarks, take questions from the audience, and discuss issues. Roxanne is looking forward to it.
If not, the empty chair format Roxanne's team has put together is informative and entertaining. There will be remarks and questions from the audience. Roxanne is a good speaker and loves to engage with people on the issues of the day. What about the Senior Senator's opinions? In an effort to be fair and represent Grassley's positions, there will be video excerpts of Grassley's speeches shown throughout the event.
It's about to start. You can follow along from the live-streaming on Roxanne's web site.