Public Debate Difficult to Hold When One Side Doesn't Speak

Summary

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Ten days ago, in an eagerly anticipated Augusta showdown, supporters and opponents of Maine's proposed bear-hunting referendum squared off in a real, live, public debate.

The cute slogans didn't matter. The witty bumper stickers didn't matter. The oft-mentioned fact that a national animal rights group was emptying its purse in support of the referendum didn't even matter. Well, not too much. This was Mainer vs. Mainer, point vs. counterpoint. It was people on both sides of a contentious issue coming together, sitting in the same room, and addressing the legislature's committee on inland fisheries and wildlife.

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Extract

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Public Debate Difficult to Hold When One Side Doesn't Speak

This was (take a deep, refreshing breath with me here) a public debate. Pure and simple.

That was the plan, anyway.

Until, that is, the proponents of the referendum showed up in Augusta and pulled the oldest schoolyard...

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