Florida voters need clear answers, not theatrics, from the Trump-Biden debate

Tomorrow’s the big debate. It’s rigged, we tell you. Rigged.

First of all, no live audience? And when one candidate speaks, CNN will mute the other’s microphones? And the candidates can’t bring notes to prompt themselves on zingers?

What are they supposed to do? Not pander? Remember stuff? Debate in a thoughtful, collegial way?

For the sake of argument, let’s say it were possible to return debates from theatrics to, well, debate. What issues would we want the candidates to dissect? What promises would we want to hear? What plans would the candidates lay out to improve our lives in Florida, to secure a future led by conscience and intelligence?

Here’s our short list:

-- Environment. For starters, let’s hear commitments to protect the environment. These should acknowledge that our climate is worsening quickly but that its repair is within our capabilities if we act decisively.

To be honest, that much shouldn’t even be debatable, given the scientific consensus. So, let’s go beyond that. Tell us how you’d accomplish a shift from oil and gas to solar, wind and other alternative sources of energy. How would you accelerate the shift to electric cars? How would you establish a culture of conservation? How would you advance the rejuvenation of Lake Okeechobee, The Everglades and Florida Bay? How would you buttress the EPA to give us cleaner rivers, soil and sky?

More on the Everglades: Can we save the Everglades?

-- Economy. The economy is vastly improved from its pandemic slump but housing costs are prohibitive for many in the workforce. Lower mortgage rates would help but the Fed needs to keep rates elevated to avoid stirring inflation. So, tell us how you would put housing back within reach of our teachers, police and service industry workers.

For those who own homes in Florida, tell us how you’d make property insurance affordable, given the extraordinary rate increases we’ve seen in the past couple of years. We’ve seen Tallahassee lawmakers leap to the aid of insurance industry shareholders shielding them from lawsuits but there’s been no help for homeowners. What’s your plan? Would you support national catastrophe coverage or reinsurance, as every region of the United States is susceptible to natural disasters of one kind or another?

More on insurance: Florida property insurance is getting more expensive. Status-quo solutions fail homeowners.

-- Immigration. Florida’s strength and character lies in its diversity — the state’s very name reflects its Spanish heritage. Immigration has long been part of our DNA, while providing refuge has always been part of America’s. What’s your solution to balancing immigration with border security, without tearing families apart or banishing the desperate to the terror of their homelands? How would you address the status of the millions who’ve lived in the U.S. for years without papers?

From a business standpoint, our Florida farm and tourism and industries need workers, while our technical industries need to recruit the finest minds, wherever they’re from. How would you address those needs?

-- Guns. We haven’t forgotten Pulse or Parkland, or the countless acts of gun violence that plague this nation daily. Yet, every slight advance in gun regulation, whether background checks, bump stock or AK-47 bans, meets with resistance and reversal. What would you do to make America safer and rein in its gun profligacy?

More on the issues: Women shouldn't die during pregnancy. In Florida, too many still do | Ranking Florida

-- Abortion. It’s clear where the American public stands on abortion but what about our candidates? President Biden’s clearly behind women’s right to make reproductive health decisions on their own. Former President Trump, though, has been all over the map from one year to the next, lately trying to look moderate by taking the decision out of women’s hands and placing it in the hands of state lawmakers. That approach in Florida has led to an extreme ban on abortions after six weeks, when many women don’t even know if they’re pregnant.

-- Democracy. If you lose, will you accept it and move on, or insist you’ve been cheated? If you win, will you serve as a president or rule as an autocrat (on Day One or any other day)? Will you respect the independence of the judiciary, or use the judiciary to seek retribution? Will you pack the courts with partisan judges?

The citizens of Florida deserve serious answers on all these questions. We’d be delighted if the new format made it possible.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida voters need answers from the Trump-Biden presidential debate