ROUNDUP: Granite Staters Knock Sununu for Chickening Out on Debating Brown

ROUNDUP: Granite Staters Knock Sununu for Chickening Out on Debating Brown

After U.S. Senate candidate John Sununu’s unprecedented refusal to participate in WMUR’s televised Republican primary debate, Granite Staters lit him up for “chickening out,” making an “unforced error,” and being “a coward and arrogant,” calling it part of a “constant pattern of being absent in the campaign.”

Sununu drew confused, frustrated, and disappointed reactions from his primary opponent Scott Brown, radio hosts, political analyst Scott Spradling, and experienced Republican political strategists.

His fellow Republicans were particularly incisive, with political consultant Alicia Xanthopoulos claiming Sununu shirking the debate makes him “not qualified to be in Congress” and saying, “We've got enough cowards in Congress. We don't need another one.” Lobbyist Brad Card similarly called Sununu out and noted that it lets Scott Brown ask the obvious question, “If you can't stand up to me, how are you going to stand up to Donald Trump on things that you don't agree with?”

Read more below:

WMUR: John E. Sununu declines WMUR debate invitation; opponent Scott Brown reacts

• Scott Brown is calling out John E. Sununu after Sununu declared he will not participate in the Granite State Debates next week.
• Brown said he was shocked to learn that Sununu had declined WMUR's invitation to engage in a debate amid the U.S. Senate Republican primary race.
• Brown contends Sununu is depriving voters statewide of a major opportunity to see and hear them discuss top issues and outline their differences.
• "It's the D.C. way, not the New Hampshire way. You look at his website. It always says, ‘The New Hampshire way, the New Hampshire way.’ The New Hampshire way is to have a debate," Brown said.
• [...] Brown has long prodded Sununu over the popularity of Sununu’s brother, former Gov. Chris Sununu, saying, “John is not Chris."
• Now, he is accusing the Sununu campaign of trying to exploit potential voter confusion over which Sununu is on the ballot by not participating in the primary’s only statewide, televised debate.
• "We hear it all the time, 'I like you, but I'm going to vote for the governor.' I say, 'The dad?' And they go, 'No, no, Chris.' And I say, 'No, it's not Chris, it's John,’" Brown said. "So yes, he's been away for almost 20 years, and as a result of that, we don't know where he stands." [...]

Union Leader: John E. Sununu passes on televised debate with Scott Brown

• For the first time in WMUR-TV’s recent history, a contested Republican primary for the U.S. Senate will go off on Sept. 8 without a debate between the leading candidates, in this case both former U.S. senators.
• [...] Former Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Rye said he learned Monday night from WMUR news management that former N.H. U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, the frontrunner, had passed on the debate.
• Brown said there had been informal plans for the campaigns to do a walkthrough of the debate site Tuesday morning, but it was abruptly called off.
• [...] “He doesn’t want to show up. He feels privileged that he’s somehow entitled to a debate-free campaign,” Brown said during a telephone interview late Monday night. “I feel bad for the people of New Hampshire.”
• [...] “We were together for two previous debates or forums, whatever you wish to call them. He didn’t do well at either event,” Brown said. “I think he’s a little bit scared.”
• Brown said he wished WMUR would hold the event and feature an empty chair where Sununu would sit if he took part.
• "I hate to see him get the kid-gloves treatment," Brown said.
• [...] Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley noted Sununu skipped a GOP primary forum that Brown attended in Sununu’s hometown of Salem.
• “John Sununu completely chickening out on the WMUR debate is further proof that he’s running a scared campaign, propped up by his daddy’s last name and his endorsement from Donald Trump,” Buckley said. “It’s embarrassing, undemocratic and not the way to win over New Hampshire voters. If Sununu thinks he’s entitled to this seat, he’s in for a real shock when Granite Staters reject him at the polls for selling our state out to Trump and corporate special interests.”
• [...]

Scott Brown on WFEA:

• BROWN: “So, I was on my way to WMUR this morning, and I got a call from the news director late last night around 10 o'clock, saying, ‘Hey, listen, don't bother to come in because John, John bailed on the, on the debate, and both of our teams were supposed to be there going over logistics. And it's, it's a closed, it's a closed, it's, it's just him, me, and a moderator and two reporters answering questions for an hour. And here's, here's the problem. Obviously, I'm disappointed, but I'm more disappointed for the people of New Hampshire. They don't deserve this kind of elitist, you know, privileged approach to do it, you know, you know, from your back porch or your front porch, and allow all the NRSC and the AFP and all these other people, like you pointed out, doing, doing these ads.”
   
• “John owes it to the people — because he hasn't been around for 20 years — he owes it to the people to tell them where he stands on issues. And if you look at his website, ‘The New Hampshire way, the New Hampshire way. I'm doing it the New Hampshire way.’ Well, you pointed out in your opening, this is definitely not the New Hampshire way. This is the D.C. way, and quite frankly, you know, I encourage people to call WMUR and have the debate anyway, and put an empty chair or go to his website and say, ‘Stop chickening out.’” 
   
• [...] 
   
• JEFF CHIDESTER: “I think, you know, once again, you sharing that with us this morning is quite discerning because when we look at, you had an opportunity to meet with John Sununu in front of the Chamber of Commerce in Salem. He didn't show there, either. This, this constant pattern of being absent in the campaign, I'm not sure where he thinks this is going to help him in the long run.”
   
• BROWN: “Well, he's been absent the whole campaign. He's been absent for almost 20 years from New Hampshire. He's been in D.C. you know, making, you know, millions. He made $2.4 million from Boston Scientific just in stock alone. Then he made another $4.7 million with Boston Scientific. Now this is a company, it's a good company, but it's exported jobs to China, 1000s and 1000s of jobs to China.”
   
• [...] 
   
• CHIDESTER: “Before we let you go, final push. Once again, remind people that you know you'd like to debate, and let's, let's see if we can get this thing back on.”
   
• BROWN: “Yeah, listen, it's a, it's a, it's the New Hampshire way, and like I said, John keeps saying, ‘I'm doing it the New Hampshire way.’ No, you're not, sir. You are not. You are, you are embarrassing the people, and you're dishonoring the people of New Hampshire. They deserve to hear your thoughts on issues and my thoughts on issues. I'm out there all the time, and I think you're right, the, MUR should actually put a chair up there, and he'll come, you do that. But they're kind of, you know, just kind of, you know, I don't know, kissing the ring. I don't get it.”
   
• CHIDESTER: “Well, that's happened in other states. Other, other news outlets have done that when a candidate chose not to show up, they said, ‘No, we're still having the debate. You decide. You can put your makeup on at the last minute if you have to, but you'll put that makeup on.”

Scott Brown on NH Today:

• CHRIS RYAN: “Let's start off with how you found out about this, and you know your reaction, in that, as I mentioned before, everyone traditionally does the WMUR debate in the lead up to the primary.”
   
• BROWN: “Well, first of all, it's never happened in the history of MUR doing debates that someone, especially someone who's a former senator, cancels against another former senator. I got a call from the news director last night around 9:30 saying, ‘Hey, listen, you know, the walkthrough that we had scheduled for both campaigns is canceled.’ And I go, ‘What? What? Why?’ He goes, ‘Well, you know, John backed out.’ I go, ‘What? What was his reasoning?’ ‘He didn't give one. He just said he's not doing it.’”
   
• “And you know what's, what's — obviously I'm disappointed. I love debating, and I debated him in Hampton, and he didn't, he didn't really do that well. But more importantly, this is a disservice to the people of New Hampshire. If you look at his website, it's like ‘I'm doing this the New Hampshire way,’ and his commercials, ‘New Hampshire way, New Hampshire.’ This is definitely not the New Hampshire way. This is the D.C. way. You know, running and hiding and running a back porch campaign, not showing up at events, and if you do, you leave right away.”
   
• “And honestly, the people of New Hampshire deserve to know because he's been away for 20 years, don't forget, working for all the banks and the World Economic Forum. Doesn't he deserve to tell people where he stands on issues instead of having the NRSC and AFP and all these outside special interest groups running his commercials? Doesn’t, doesn't he owe that to us?”
   
• CHRIS RYAN: “No, I agree, and I would encourage Senator Sununu to reconsider and to to attend the debate because that is the New Hampshire way. We, as a citizenry, as a media, you know, we need to to to demand of our candidates, whether they're governors, senators, members of Congress, outsiders, whoever they are, you know, we we want to see them with the brightest lights in the biggest moments and how they're going to, you know, react to that.”
   
• [...]
   
• BROWN: “Here’s what I recommend people do. Call MUR, tell them, ask them ‘Why aren't you doing a story on it?’ Because as of last night, they weren't even going to do a story on it because they're giving him the kid glove treatment. Not only is it this kind of elitist privilege thing to do to just kind of sit back and run on your name, but also you know, contact his website and say, ‘John, I'm not voting for you, and, and unless you get out and debate.’ You know, we deserve it. The people of New Hampshire deserve this, so.”
   
• [...] 
   
• RYAN: “At the end of the day, you should do the right thing. And the right thing is to put yourself in front of voters, you know, answer tough questions, engage in some back and forth with your opponent. And I think that that is the way that it is supposed to be done in, in New Hampshire.”
   
• BROWN: Yeah.
   
• RYAN: So as I said, I hope, I hope Senator Sununu reconsiders.

Scott Brown on the Pulse of NH:

• BROWN: “It's really not about me. It's about the, the voters not having an opportunity because don't forget he's been away for 20 years. You really don't know where he stands on issues because he hasn't taken any tough questions. And when he took them in Hampton, he, he wasn't ready for prime time.” 
   
• [...] 
   
• BROWN: “One of the main differences, as evidenced by what's happening right now, is I show up. I actually try to earn people's support and answer any and all questions without any filters. John hasn't been showing up for almost 20 years, and he's not showing up now. He's not answering questions to people. It's all controlled. It's being basically driven by D.C. not New Hampshire. This is not the New Hampshire way.”
   
• [...] 
   
• HEATH: “So, I did invite recently, it was about a month ago, when Scott Brown had been on the show. I asked him would he show up in my studios and do an hour with me, just you know one on one with Sununu and Brown, asking questions about everything from foreign policy, the war in Iran, the War Powers Authorization Act, cost of living, things like that. Brown said, ‘Yes,’ and the Sununu camp declined.”

Brad Card on the Pulse of NH: 

• BRAD CARD: You know, I think Senator Sununu almost gave an opportunity for, for Senator Brown to, you know, take some shots at him…”
   
• HEATH: “Well, yeah.”
   
• CARD: “...which is, which is not great as to unite a party. But when you could say things like, ‘Lookit, if you can't stand up to me, how are you going to stand up to Donald Trump on things that you don't agree with?”

Alicia Xanthopoulos on the Pulse of NH: 

• JACK HEATH: “Two weeks from today in the primary here.”
   
• ALICIA XANTHOPOULOS: “Yeah, two weeks for the primary, and last night John Sununu backs out of the WMUR debate.”
   
• HEATH: “You surprised?”
   
• XANTHOPOULOS: “I wish I were. So before you text me this this morning, I did not know, and then I verified it. And my reaction was this: We've got enough cowards in Congress. We don't need another one. And that was my honest first reaction.”
   
• HEATH: “Wow.” 
   
• [...] 
   
• XANTHOPOULOS: “Scott Brown's got my vote because we have enough cowards in Congress. This is tradition, and if you can, look, Jack, you and I have both pressed candidates for governor, for U.S. Senate, for president even.”
   
• HEATH: “Moderated debates, yeah.”
   
• XANTHOPOULOS: “We've moderated, I've moderated presidential debates. You have. We've been involved in these down to the core, right? If you can't prep yourself enough to be able to answer questions from either your opponent or canned questions from the members of the media, when if you can't figure out what they're going to ask you and be prepared to answer, you are not qualified to be in Congress. That's as far as I'm concerned. This is a tradition. This isn't a random county debate that you can't make because you already committed to being in a different county. That's not this. This is a WMUR debate. You do it, and if you're not doing it, I question why and I call you a coward and arrogant.”
   
• [...] 
   
• XANTHOPOULOS: “The, the people in the chair of that campaign said, ‘Is it worth the risk?’ You want to be a United States flipping senator and you don't want to take a risk? Shame on you. Shame on you, John E. Sununu. That's what I feel right now.”

Scott Spradling on the Pulse of NH: 

• SCOTT SPRADLING: “I see this as nothing but an unforced error. I'm, I'm honestly scratching my head. And listen you know I, I know all these cats, you know all these cats. I'm friends and friendly with all of them, so I'm always loath to say anything super hypercritical but this just makes no sense to me. Why would you, to your point, give fuel to Scott Brown and give him something to now really talk about in the closing days? It raises real speculation about why he's doing it.”
   
• [...] 
   
• SPRADLING: “By doing it this way, you are alienating, potentially alienating all those Republicans who do support Scott Brown, because it's not like two or three. You've got a lot of votes there. And you are quite possibly depressing the Republican turnout for you in November for people that will still go and vote, but say, ‘Nope, I'm gonna keep, I'm gonna leave that one blank.’”