Jackie Walorski (R-IN 2nd), known in northern Indiana as ‘Wacky Jackie’ is refusing to participate in any open debates with her two challengers this campaign season. This seems awfully strange, since Walorski publicly demanded that her 2010 challenger, Joe Donnelly, debate her no less than six times.
Walorski was a no-show at a debate in South Bend, Indiana Tuesday night, ceding the stage to her Democratic and Libertarian challengers, Lynn Coleman (D) and Ron Cenkush (L). The two challengers to Walorski’s congressional seat proceeded to talk about issues without Walorski, discussing about a dozen topics from Planned Parenthood to federal spending to national defense.
The only forum Walorski has agreed to participate in is a radio event not open to the public or to the media. The radio station is based in the southernmost portion of the second district, and doesn't even reach a large portion of voters in the district. Further, this is not a true debate format, as the questions will be provided to the candidates beforehand. The candidates will be asked the same questions, but will be interviewed separately, each for 30 minutes.
A disturbing fact about the radio forum is the knowledge that the moderator of the radio forum, Bill Ruppel, is a Republican who served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1992-2010, personally working with Jackie Walorski from 2004-2010, when their terms overlapped. The Wabash Farm Bureau is hosting the forum, which also seems to be an apparent conflict of interest since the Indiana Farm Bureau has already endorsed Walorski. So, in effect, Walorski has the deck stacked in her favor for this forum. It makes sense she wouldn't want to participate in other debates that might not be so tilted in her favor.
i have to ask what Walorski is so afraid of that she won't participate in a debate, when she was adamant about holding so many debates six years ago. Perhaps the reason is that she can't defend her record over the past six years. Or, maybe, she's afraid of answering questions about Donald Trump. Walorski has denounced the comments made recently by Trump, but has stopped short of pulling her support from the Republican nominee.
In several commercials, Walorski has tried to separate herself from her own party by saying things like “I broke from my own party to...” Unfortunately, it seems strange that Jackie would have to break from her party to enact legislation protecting female soldiers from sexual assault or to feed the hungry. Why would Walorski be a member of a party who doesn't work for these things? Why did she have to ‘break from her own party’?
We could ask Jackie Walorski these questions, if only she were to appear at an open debate. It's an insult to every constituent that Walorski won't debate her challengers, nor take questions from the very people she wants to represent in congress.