by David Safier
On KUAT's Political Roundtable, Pima Democratic Chair Jeff Rogers sparred with Pima Republican Chair Carolyn Cox, mainly over the Barber-Kelly race. Carolyn Cox possessed a laudable quality Kelly had in spades in 2010 and is running away from in 2012 -- the courage of her convictions. She defended eliminating the minimum wage, using arguments Kelly has employed. These days, you can't pry a word about the minimum wage from Kelly's lips. She also defended privatizing Social Security, which Kelly is on both sides of simultaneously (I don't want to privatize Social Security, but I want people to be allowed to use some of the money to set up private accounts).
Rogers praised Cox for being willing to take a stand on both issues, something Kelly has refused to do of late, at the same time Rogers strongly disagreed with her. Jesse "I'm not a politician" Kelly has taken a very political turn of late and decided to duck and dodge, hem and haw on stands he took in 2010 that he knows are toxic in 2012.
If you watch the roundtable, you'll see something you rarely encounter these days: a journalist/moderator who corrects one of the participants' misstatements. Jim Nintzel told Cox she had it wrong about Social Security benefits to federal employees and about statements on Kelly's website rather than letting it slide and seeing if Rogers wanted to get into a "She said/He said." Coming from Nintzel, his corrections had the benefit of sounding like fact -- which they were -- rather than partisan bickering. Republicans may complain Nintzel didn't correct Rogers. False equivalence, folks. Nintzel didn't correct Rogers because he didn't say anything that is patently false.
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