Sensenbrenner vs. Burkee - The Cage Match

John Torinus reminds us that Jim Sensenbrenner and Jim Burkee have a forum coming up. 

Sensenbrenner has apparently accepted a debate on Aug. 27 sponsored by the Washington County GOP. Details are said to be forthcoming.

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The Republican primary on Sept. 9 promises to be very interesting. First of all, it won’t be just a Republican primary. Because there are no Democrats in the race, and because there are almost no other significant contests at the local, state or federal levels, Democrats who vote will undoubtedly be crossing over to vote in the Sensenbrenner-Burkee contest.

Independents will be doing the same.

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But, with only three weeks left before the primary, it looks like the Washington County face-off will be the only opportunity for 5th District voters to take the measure of the two men one on one.

The media shouldn’t miss this one. It could be a lot of fun.

Allow me to offer some of those forthcoming details.  The forum will be at the Germantown Village Hall on August 27th at 1900.  It is being moderated by me.  As Torinus said, this is likely the only forum of the election season for these two and since there isn’t a Democrat running, whoever wins the primary will be the 5th District’s Representative. 

The format will be relative normal for a forum.  We will start with opening statements.  Then I will pose 12-15 questions that are being prepared by a committee.  The goal of these questions will be to cover all of the major issues and will be crafted in a way to draw distinctions between the candidates. Each candidate will have 1 minute to respond.  There are no scheduled rebuttals, but I reserve the right to allow a rebuttal if one seems necessary.  I also reserve the right to ask followup questions.  If I ask a followup question, each candidate will have the opportunity to respond.  If a candidate wants to rebut something on their own, they can burn their time on another question.  The voters can decide if the rebuttal was worth it. 

Before the meeting and during the first half, audience members will be asked to submit questions in writing.  A couple of people will go through those questions and eliminate the redundant ones and the stupid ones (yes, there are stupid questions).  They will hand those questions to me when we’re done with the prepared questions and we will go through the audience questions.  Then both candidates will offer a closing statement. 

The entire thing is scheduled for one hour.  The format is subject to change. 

If you live in the 5th District, please come and hear what the candidates have to say.  If you have any questions to suggest, please let me know in email or in the comments.