The Register’s Editorial: King’s refusal to debate is a disservice to voters

Debates have been an important part of the American political process for many years, and for many good reasons.

The most famous debates probably were the seven meetings in 1858 up and down the state of Illinois between incumbent U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas and his challenger, a country lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon ushered in the television era of debates with their four face-offs leading up to the 1960 election. In Iowa, Gov. Terry Branstad and challenger Jack Hatch will meet on Saturday for the second of their three debates.

There are lots of excellent reasons for candidates to appear on the same stage together. It gives voters the opportunity to see how well the candidates can think on their feet, how well they frame their arguments and how their positions square with the voters’ views.

No one is entitled to hold a public office. Nor should anyone have the right to thumb his nose at the voters and refuse to debate.

Yet, that’s what U.S. Rep. Steve King is doing. He is refusing to debate Jim Mowrer, a Democrat from Boone, who is running against King in the 4th Congressional District.

Mowrer is no rag-tag political wannabe. He’s a serious-minded young man. He grew up on an Iowa farm and lost his father much too young. He served his country in the U.S. Army in Iraq and later worked in the Pentagon on ways to save the taxpayers money.

One is left to assume that Steve King is afraid to stand on the same stage with Jim Mowrer — and let the voters in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District make the side-by-side comparison between the two.

Steve King is doing a huge disservice to the voters — who are his bosses, after all.