Party lines give people perspective
Thursday night I moderated the debate between Jerad Higman and Ben Nesselhuf. I spent a good chunk of time developing the questions for the first half of the 90 minute debate. When contemplating what to ask, I made sure not to pose any questions that could be perceived as bias. All of the questions, which you can view at the The Volante website, were neutral. It was my intention not to give either candidate any unfair advantage.
Overall, I thought the debate was a hit. Good questions and good responses all around, but there was one exception. I understand that being bipartisan is important, and I don’t blame either candidate for agreeing on more than one topic; however, a certain question prompted, in my opinion, a less than impressive answer by Jerad Higman.
The question was about public smoking bans. I expected the incumbent democrat Ben Nesselhuf to tout the anti-smoking propaganda that Americans have heard since what seems forever, which he did. What I didn’t expect was republican Jerad Higman to concede to the liberal ideology, whether it’s correct or not, that business owners shouldn’t be able to decide what they can or cannot do in their own establishments. Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought conservatives protected the interests of business owners and personal freedoms, whether they want to bring their kids to Applebee’s or not.
