Published: October 09, 2008 09:53 am      

It’s no lie, polygraphs proposed for 9th District forum

As tickets for the Oct. 21 9th District congressional forum are made available, the district’s Republican Party chairman is proposing the candidates have lie detectors connected to them during the forum.

Democratic Party incumbent Baron Hill, Republican challenger Mike Sodrel and Libertarian challenger Eric Schansberg will participate in the 7 p.m. forum at the Jasper Arts Center. The two-hour forum is sponsored by Vincennes University Jasper Campus and the city of Jasper. The Evening News and The Tribune plan to cover the event.

Ninth District Republican Party Chairman Larry Shickles has proposed to district Democratic Party Chairman Mike Jones that the candidates either participate in a separate debate in which they are connected to a polygraph machine or agree to be connected to such a machine during the Oct. 21 debate.

“While this format may be unusual, I feel strongly that voters need to be able to make a clear decision without all the usual spin,” Shickles said in a letter he sent to Jones on Tuesday. “Voters that I have talked to are tired of the same negative ads, the annoying phone calls and having their mailboxes stuffed with mail pieces saying the candidates want to actually raise the price of gas or cut veterans’ benefits.

“Voters deserve the truth in order to make an informed decision on Election Day.”

Vincennes Jasper Dean Alan Johnson said Wednesday morning that lie detectors would not be added to the forum.

“Our planning committee worked up the format and rules,” he said, “and we are not inviting negotiations from the candidates.”

Having a lie detector debate “just seems pretty bizarre,” Jones said.

“Polygraphs have their use in law enforcement, but I don’t see them fitting in a political debate,” he said. “There are plenty of avenues for finding out each candidate’s true position. The votes of both Baron Hill and Mike Sodrel are on record with Congress.

“I really think using a polygraph is kind of over the edge.”

Schansberg said he also received the proposal from Shickles and would agree to wearing a lie detector during a debate.

“I’d love to see more debates,” he said, “whatever the format.”

Sodrel’s campaign said he also would agree to the proposal.

Meanwhile, people can pick up tickets for the forum at Vincennes Jasper’s bookstore, Jasper City Hall, Huntingburg City Hall and Ferdinand Town Hall.

During the first hour of the forum, each candidate will be on the stage by himself for 17 minutes to answer questions posed by Vincennes Jasper student Erin Hochgesang and two journalists. Hochgesang is vice president of the student government association and president of the university’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

The first hour will be broadcast live on Vincennes’ television station, WVUT TV 22, and be made available to other television and radio stations for broadcast. For the second hour, candidates will be on the stage together to answer questions from the audience; each candidate will have the opportunity to answer each question posed.

Johnson said the discussion is not a debate.

“It’s a conversation with the candidates,” he said.

“In the first hour, it will be a free-flowing conversation with no guarantee that every candidate will get the same question. Each candidate will be on the stage alone,” Johnson said. “In the second hour, the questions will come directly from the audience and each candidate will have a chance to answer the question.”

Those audience questions will not be previewed by the university, the city or the panel.

“We’re going to take a chance and take them straight from the audience, from those who raise their hands,” Johnson said. “We’re going to ask the audience to avoid those questions that support or denigrate a candidate. We want to avoid those rhetorical questions that can give a negative spin to the conversation.”

The school sponsored a debate in 2006 among Schansberg, Sodrel, Hill and Republican Don Mantooth, a write-in candidate. About 500 attended that debate, also held at the Jasper Arts Center.

Reprinted courtesy of The (Jasper) Herald.