There are few acts of campaign cowardice more egregious than ducking a debate against a credible challenger. What's the point of election, if not to convince voters that you're right on the issues?

Even Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, whose management of the jail was so lax the feds had to get involved, agreed to a series of debates with Republican challenger Lowell Cannaday.

But Tony Goolsby, the long-time Republican state rep from the North Dallas area, must think someone crowned him king. Last week, he refused an invitation to debate his Democratic challenger, Carol Kent. He must think he's above it all -- this messy thing called "democracy."

As a Republican in Dallas County, Goolsby may be part of a dying breed, but cutting and running from your opponent doesn't seem like the best way to get off the endangered species list. If you think you're a better candidate than Kent and you have the record in Austin to prove that, then, what exactly are you afraid of?

Lame.

We left a message with the Goolsby campaign, but no one called us back. That makes sense. If you're afraid to be seen in public with a rival, you're not going to jump at the chance to explain yourself to a reporter. Men with no arms don't box.

Still, we figured we'd let the Kent campaign get a quick jab in and asked them a rather simple question: What do you think of your opponent's tactics here?

“I wouldn’t want to debate, either, if I’d put lobbyists and utility companies ahead of school kids and working families for twenty years," says campaign manager Will Stovall. “But the people of Garland and Dallas deserve to be represented by someone who is willing to talk about the issues we are facing. To do otherwise is simply unacceptable.”