We used our editorial page to talk about the "Sounds of Silence" being heard in the special election for the 161st state House seat being vacated by Joe Hackett.
I say that because the endorsed Republican, Paul Mullen, has decided to skip two public forums. The League of Women Voters actually scrapped their event after Mullen said he would not be able to make it. Democrat Leanne Krueger-Braneky was confirmed as a participant. Write-in candidate Lisa Esler was not invited because that League has a long policy of not inviting anyone who is not on the ballot.
I'm willing to give Mullen the benefit of the doubt on this one. The date got shuffled a couple of times, and Mullen says he actually shifted his schedule once only to find out the event had been moved to another night.
The League says Mullen didn't reply to several overtures they made.
On Sunday a group called Delco Debates will hold a forum for all three candidates. Again Mullen says he won't be able to make it.
I get the distinct feeling this has a lot more to do with Esler than any scheduling conflict Mullen might have. This is basic politics. Mullen is the endorsed Republican. That decision angered a group in the GOP who didn't like the fact that the party was now getting into bed with a longtime labor leader and a guy who had backed Barack Obama, Joe Sestak and even John Kane in his contentious scrap with Republican Tom McGarrigle for the 26th District state Senate seat.
Those people found a candidate in Esler, a popular member of the Penn-Delco School Board.
Mullen does not want to give any sense of credence to the Esler campaign. In effect, he's running against both the Democrat and the write-in.
The GOP fear is that Esler could siphon off enough votes from Mullen on the GOP ticket to open the door for Krueger-Braneky to eke out a win.
So it's likely there will be an empty chair at Sunday's event where Mullen could be sitting.
As we said in today's editorial, the silence is deafening.
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