Enough Back And Forth....Schedule The Debates!:

Scott Eckersley

The Democratic candidate for the 7th District U.S. House seat is ready to rumble, but his opponent was on vacation and not responding to a series of debates according to a news release.

It's been two weeks since Scott Eckersley challenged Republican nominee Billy Long to a series of 10 debates, one in each of the counties that make up the 7th District, but still no word on when the two will hash out the issues.

In a news release Eckersly wrote, "I'm disappointed that Mr. Long isn't taking the public's call for candid debate more seriously. This is exactly the kind of attitude that frustrates the people of southwest Missouri."

The campaign manager for Long's campaign, Royce Reding says, the delay in scheduling the debates was because Long had been in Las Vegas for a vacation with his wife and daughters.

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Billy Long

"He enjoyed some time off with his family," said Reding. "It was a hard-fought 18 month campaign, and he needed a break."

"Now that Billy is back from vacation, he is rested and ready to move forward and campaign for the general election. If Scott Eckersley wants to make this into a circus, then he is going to need to bring his own tent. Maybe he just doesn’t want to tell us where he stands on earmarks, cap and trade, Obamacare, the stimulus, immigration reform or other important issues to Southwest Missourians.”

Eckersley is asking that newspapers in the ten counties sponsor the debates and would like questions to be selected by newspaper editors. He has proposed a series of one-hour debates on Tuesdays and Thursdays to be held in county courthouses at noon.

The Ozarks Sentinel has been selected to host the forum set for Stone County.

In a news release Eckersley stated, “There is a lot of work to be done before November. These are serious times and the people of southwest Missouri deserve more than 30-second sound bites. I intend to show the people of southwest Missouri that I’m here to work for them and respond to their questions and concerns.”

Reding said in a news release on Monday August 16th, "The Long for Congress campaign tried to reach Scott Eckersley on Friday (August 13th) at 11:16 a.m.; 2:18 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. No one picked up the phone at his campaign headquarters. At 4:03 p.m., Scott Eckersley himself answered the phone and told us he did not have time to talk with us.

Eckersley plans to hold a news conference at noon Tuesday August 17th on the steps of the Greene County courthouse outlining his plans to move forward with the district-wide courthouse debates.