A candidate for public office who refuses to hold a town hall or engage in a debate deserves ridicule, not votes. The electorate should insist on meaningful exchanges with each contender.

The Republican nominee for governor kowtows to a wannabe dictator, has not held a town hall in seven years, and refuses to debate her opponent.

The Republican nominee for House District Four shuns open discourse and has not held a meaningful interaction with voters in thirteen years.

This is how democracies decay.

Jeff Cowell

Tullahoma