Marsha Blackburn’s snub is more than disappointing, it’s disqualifying

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Mat Diana '20, Opinion Editor

Senate candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) made a calculated political decision by declining to debate her opponent, former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D), on the Rhodes campus this fall. She is the slight favorite in what is an uncharacteristically close Senate race, one with monumental significance as it could decide control of the chamber. Denying Bredesen the publicity in the western half of Tennessee is an easy, play-it-safe strategy. Averting the national attention that would fall on the region helps to make sure some of those 62 percent of Shelby County voters that went for Clinton in 2016 are not thinking about the race come November. Of course, the debates Blackburn will attend in Wilson County and Knox County are more appealing for her campaign. Voters there went 70 percent and 59 percent respectively for President Trump and Blackburn will have no issue with the Senate race being brought to their attention with the media frenzies sure to descend on the area later this month.

Shelby County voters ought to take note of this strategy, because, while it is a valid tactic towards winning a close race, it is unacceptable coming from a person hoping to represent Tennessee in the nation’s upper legislative chamber. Ducking voters in the largest and most populous county in the state is absolutely unbecoming of an elected official, especially a seasoned politician like Blackburn, who has served in the House of Representatives for the last 16 years, representing Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.

This campaign has surely proven more difficult than Blackburn is used to, as she has never received less than 66 percent of the vote in eight elections for her current seat. Still, she has not yet realized she is running for the Senate to represent the people to both East and the West of her current constituency. Her unwillingness to debate here should signal to Memphians that there is good cause for the prevailing sentiment that this region and its problems are overlooked and pushed aside in the larger field of Tennessee politics. A debate, more so than a rally or individual visit, puts local issues before the candidates in a way that they must confront and respond to them in the face of their opponent, rather than reverting to the familiar campaign spin without a challenger to defend against. Denying this region that opportunity robs voters of the chance to make fully informed decision, and more importantly rejects any legitimate claims from the Blackburn campaign that she has shown adequate respect for the concerns of this region’s voters’ and the pressing issues which the area faces.

When $250,000 for Memphis was stripped from the State budget as retribution for the sale and removal of Confederate Statues in city parks, State Representative Raumesh Akbari voiced to her colleagues the anger Western Tennesseans feel frequently.

“Memphis is a city in this state, and I’m sick of y’all acting like it’s not,” Rep. Raumesh Akbari (D) said in the State Capitol Building. “I know some of you all would be happy if we gave the doggone part of the state to Arkansas.”

Blackburn’s decision not to debate here only reinforces Akbari’s anger, and all Memphians have good cause to feel the same way. It is a continuation of the long and tiring trend, whereby Memphis’ problems receive little of the attention they desperately need. Come November, voters ought to remember which candidate agreed to all four debates across the State without hesitation and which opted instead to play it safe.