Letter to the Editor: Why Won't U.S. Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen Debate his Democratic Challenger?

Dear Editor:

On August 10, Ridge Empowerment for Political Participation (a non-partisan high school political advocacy club) in concert with the Somerset Hills League of Women Voters issued an invitation to (U.S.) Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen and his Democratic challenger Douglas Herbert to participate in a debate at the Ridge Performing Arts Center in anticipation of this November's election. Unfortunately Rep. Frelinghuysen has yet to respond in any manner to the invitation, a decision that is incongruous if not perplexing, when one considers his nearly impeccable record of community and constituent service in Bernards Township and the entire 11th district.

 Since taking office in 1994 Frelinghuysen has made himself a staple of public life in Bernards Township and while he may be most visible at Charter Day he has truly distinguished himself in his service to Ridge High School. He has historically appeared as a guest speaker to junior year Government and Economics classes and even works with municipal Republicans to offer an annual internship to enterprising young conservatives. Basking Ridge, needless to say, has taken note of this strong local connection and reelected Frelinghuysen every two years.

The school administration has been tremendously accommodating in fully approving the planned debate, providing the free use of the Ridge PAC, and offering five possible dates to the candidates in order to work with their busy campaign and work schedules. Likewise the League of Women Voters will provide a trained moderator from outside the 11th district in order to ensure a professional debate. 

 While Douglas Herbert's campaign almost immediately accepted the invitation, we have yet to hear any answer from Rep. Frelinghuysen's campaign. Let us first acknowledge the gorilla in the room: as an incumbent, he has little to gain politically from such an event, while his challenger stands to benefit tremendously. Likewise, Ridge is in no way entitled to host a debate and Rep. Frelinghuysen certainly cannot grace every school in his district with such an honor.

This still leaves us with more questions than answers. The majority of the questions to be asked in the prospective debate will be audience generated; why miss out on an opportunity to gauge the pulse of his constituents? On a more fundamental level, don't we as voters and students deserve a transparent political dialogue between all candidates for office?

 As students we can perceive all the gridlock, ineffectiveness, and folly that the political system we stand to inherit has come to represent -- folly characterized by argumentation and bickering, not debate or discussion. One debate will not fix this issue, but it is undeniably a step in the right direction. Rep. Frelinghuysen has little to lose in accepting a debate but has a unique chance to connect with and inform voters about his policies, all while reminding us exactly what democracy should look like. We believe he must debate his opponent at some point. We would like the debate to take place in our school's beautiful new performing arts center, before students and parents eager to learn and understand. If you agree please contact the Frelinghuysen campaign and let them know that you value an educated choice in who will represent you and that such a choice can come only from debate.

Sincerely, Peter Vogel,
Ridge Empowerment for Political Participation representative,
11 Summit Dr., Basking Ridge