Biden should debate other progressive candidates

Editor:

It was refreshing to read the second half of Gary Kent’s recent letter to the editor about how a few Republicans impressed him during their recent presidential primary debate.

Allow me to return the sentiment.

Wouldn’t it be great if President Joe Biden would debate Marianne Williamson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Cornel West?

Unfortunately for Democrats – and for democracy – the powers that be in their party will not allow for an open and frank discussion on the progressive side of the political aisle.

This is especially disconcerting given the candidacy of Dr. Cornel West, a former Harvard and Princeton professor and a formidable Christian intellectual whose defense of the poor and marginalized is legendary.

I disagree with much of his platform (foreign policy and climate change in particular), but Dr. West, and America, deserve a Democratic Party presidential primary debate.

For those interested in some civil yet hefty debates, check out the numerous YouTube videos of Dr. West discussing weighty issues with his decades-long close friend, conservative Christian Dr. Robert P. George of Princeton University. In a word – refreshing!

Jim Simon

Yates