Hopes of Presidential Debate in The Valley Squashed
by I. B. Lyon
The Valley County Election Commission (VCEC) had high hopes of hosting a presidential debate this fall. The Commission had been in talks and negotiations for weeks with the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) and the Harris and Trump campaigns. The candidates had agreed on a date- Sept. 31st. The location was down to two cities- Valley City, MS and Indianapolis, IN.
VCEC chairman Tucker Lemon said, “We submitted a great proposal to the CPD, and we had high hopes we’d land the debate. But, in the end, the CPD and the campaigns chose Indianapolis over The Valley. This would’ve been huge for The Valley, but it is what it is. I talked with officials with the CDP after we were told we would not be hosting the debate, and they lined out the reasons we were not chosen.”
In our discussion, Lemon explained the reasons to me The Valley was not chosen. VCEC was going to use the Valley City Civic Center as the venue, and it only holds 500 people. The Trump campaign said that it wouldn’t hold enough people, and the optics just wouldn’t be good for him. The Harris campaign said that there would be too many people in a live audience, and they would not do a debate with a live audience.
The VCEC wanted me, I. B. Lyon (yours truly), to be the debate moderator. But, the Trump campaign said I was too liberal and couldn’t be unbiased, and the Harris campaign said I was a radical conservative. Maybe I shouldn’t have posted so much on social media about my Libertarian views like legalizing recreational marijuana. And, I have shared a few Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson videos recently. Sorry VCEC and The Valley.
Additionally, the VCEC proposed a unique format where the candidates would sit at a round table for the debate. The Trump campaign insisted both candidates have to stand at podiums. The Harris campaign insisted that both candidates sit in nice padded chairs with no table. Evidently, Trump wanted to be able to show off his signature Trump branded red tie at the podium, and Harris didn’t want her Hillary style pants suit to be hidden by the podium. Additionally, the VCEC put a clause in their proposal that uncontrollable laughing and repeating phrases multiple times wouldn’t be tolerated and would be muted. Evidently, this was frowned upon by both campaigns as well.
Lemon said, “We were very disappointed we were weren’t chosen, but we’ll try again in 4 years. We learned a lot through this process, so we’ll be better prepared next time. As the VCEC chairman, make sure you’re registered to vote before Nov., and make sure you show up at the polls and exercise your constitutional right to vote.”
Valleyans, even though we were beat out by Indianapolis for the debate, make sure to tune in at 7:00 pm on Sept. 31st to watch the presidential debate. Hopefully, that will be us in 4 years.