Here is the scoop.
Drury University invited Blunt and Newberry to debate on September 9th. Blunt said he was working. Then, they offered 6 more dates to accomodate the majority whips "busy schedule".
Congressman Blunt turned them down.
Finally, when the controversy of Blunt's refusal to debate would not disappear, Blunt manufactured his own debate and invited himself to it.
KY3 TV news in Springfield, MO aired a story on this last night:
http://www.ky3.com/newsdetailed.asp?id=6699
SPRINGFIELD -- The candidates for Congress from southwest Missouri might debate each other this weekend. However, nobody except journalists would be there.
Rep. Roy Blunt, the Republican incumbent, has agreed to a hastily arranged appearance on Saturday at 3, after the end of the Missouri Press Association's three-day convention and trade show at University Plaza Hotel in Springfield. An association of newspapers from the Ozarks would host the event. Dave Berry, the publisher of the Bolivar Herald-Free Press who got Blunt to agree to appear, said Wednesday morning that the appearance would be a forum where candidates would answer questions. Wednesday afternoon, however, a spokeswoman for Blunt's campaign said the format would be more like a debate than a forum. Blunt faces Democrat Jim Newberry, Libertarian Kevin Craig and the Constitution Party's Steve Alger in the general election in November.
Newberry requested a debate with Blunt, not a forum. Drury University also offered to host a debate as part of its Convocation series and provided Blunt with several possible dates. Blunt has turned down those debate invitations and others, according to his campaign's Website, but his spokeswoman said Wednesday that Blunt will do other debates before the election. Newberry's campaign had not said by Wednesday evening whether the Democrat would participate in the event on Saturday, which would not be open to the public.