Again why not?

If the republican candidate makes a complete fool of himself then it only makes Russ look better.

Russ really has little to loose in a Democratic City so he might as well do the debate.

Doug, the 3rd CD includes much more than South City, also covering Mid- and South St. Louis County, as well as more conservative Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve Counties.

But you're right about Russ having nothing to lose. If more folks actually voted for a candidate based upon their debate performance, then Russ wouldn't be running for re-election.

So, Carnahan is not only unwilling to let voters know what he thinks, he also lacks the personal integrity to admit that face to face.

Perhaps the Republican, Libertarian and Progressive candidates should have their own debate. Unlike Russ, I think they all know what they think without asking their handlers.

Russ keeps the 3rd District only because Joyce Abbousie's masterful redistricting kept the 3rd District safe for Democrats and (the trade off) the 2nd District safe for Todd Akin. Republicans are playing it uncharacteristically smart by not wasting resources on the contest. But that shouldn't stop voters from deciding independently who would represent them the best.

Oracle-

Or maybe its possible that the Congressman Carnahan really does have a busy schedule representing the 3rd District? Maybe it simply didn't allow him to make this one event? Congressman Carnahan has held many open town hall forums since being elected- this probably is just a scheduling conflict.

Yeah, right, Abby,

You figured it out. Too busy to debate his main challenger. Better to spend his time reading off note cards at senior citizen homes.

Keep playing it safe, Russ.

There are lots of reasons not to like Russ Carnahan. Anyone who needs her/his memory refreshed needs to see Frank Popper's Jeff Smith movie.

David Sladky is a progressive alternative to Russ, and I'm voting for him. To decide whether you want to as well, check out his web site:
http://www.ppmo.org/sladky2006.html

People need not fear a Republican takeover of this seat, no matter how bad Russ is. Last time, a Republican with name recognition who had raised as much money as Russ still lost by 8 points, even though Russ even ran behind Nancy Farmer (Kit Bond's opponent) in much of the district. This year Russ has the (undeserved but real) extra advantage afforded by incumbency, and the Republican candidate, while a capable spokesman of the GOP viewpoint, is a political unknown who has raised hardly any money. As noted above, redistricting made the 3rd district safely Democrat. Even counting conservative areas like south county and Jeffco, an inept Kerry campaign still managed to beat Bush in the district by 14 points. That means that Russ will also benefit from the votes of "bandwagon voters," those who feel personally validated if they vote for whoever wins (the screwed-up people who used to vote for both Gephardt and Ashcroft in the same election) and therefore consciously vote for whoever they think is going to win.

Congressman Carnahan's side-stepping, and fence-straddling is ridiculous. Unfornately, we do not have a Robin Carnahan clone to be the Congressman.

Hell, if he won't agree to a simple debate during ELECTION SEASON must I remind you. I sure hope he doesn't need a potty break during an important vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

After all...Niaknows if an elected official won't STAND UP for you (as it relates to issues) in St. Louis forums--You can bet they will do the same when it's time for an important vote or debate elsewhere.