Invitations have been issued to all three Republican U.S. Senate candidates to participate in an Electronic Townhall Forum on Tuesday June 6 from 7-9 am to discuss their views on taxes and tax reform. Ed Bryant, who proposed the series of forums, and Van Hilleary have already accepted. Listeners will have a chance to call in with their questions. 

Bob Corker checked in Wednesday afternoon and indicated that they have not yet decided whether to participate, and whether the date of June 6 will work out, but that the comment by his press secretary that they would not be involved because Steve Gill Mornings was not a "serious media outlet" was not accurately reported. Those comments were apparently made BEFORE we extended the invitation, at which point the Corker Team perceived the Bryant "Townhall Truth Forums" as a campaign ploy for Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant to team up on Bob Corker. The news reports that quoted Corker spokesman Ben Mitchell regarding only accepting debate opportunities from "serious media outlets" were made before we offered to host an Electronic Townhall Forum on June 6. Bob Corker has assured me that he considers our show and WWTN to be a "serious media outlet" and that no offense was meant. Sounds reasonable.

Hopefully, Team Corker will consider the invitation to appear on June 6 with an open mind. Voters in Tennessee deserve to hear more than soundbites or bumpersticker solutions to the serious problems facing our nation. A debate/conversation similar to the one that Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman had during the Bush-Gore campaign 5 years ago is the proper way to grapple with the issues rather than grapple with each other. Both men showed themselves to be serious and capable of dealing with difficult policy issues in a thoughtful and honest way...even if they had areas of disagreement. Those are the kinds of people we need in Washington, and a debate format that is less Jerry Springer and more like a conversation among family around a dinner table will reveal more about which candidates best measure up. The flurry of television commercials we will get from all three candidates in July won't tell voters nearly as much as a conversation focused on issues. Hopefully Bob Corker will see the rationale for doing this, whether he sees a political advantage or not. In the meantime, the offer remains open.