Why is Hamadeh calling out Hobbs when he won't debate opponent?

Abe Hamadeh spent last week ripping Katie Hobbs for dodging a debate with Andy Biggs. Fair enough, that's a legitimate hit on a governor who has made avoiding scrutiny something of an art form. But then Hamadeh turns around and refuses to debate his own opponent, Bernadette Greene-Placentia, in CD 8. You can't have it both ways. Either debates matter or they don't.

This is the kind of thing voters notice even when the press doesn't dwell on it. Politicians love to demand transparency from the other side while quietly ducking it themselves, and it works right up until someone points out the contradiction in plain terms. Hamadeh isn't some obscure backbencher hoping nobody's paying attention. He's a sitting House member who wants Arizonans to reelect him, and part of that job is showing up and making the case in front of people who might disagree with him.

We're not defending Hobbs here. Her reluctance to face Biggs on a stage is its own problem and deserves the criticism it's getting. But credibility is earned by consistency, not by picking convenient moments to sound principled. If Hamadeh believes debates are how voters should judge candidates, he ought to prove it by standing next to Greene-Placentia and taking questions like everyone else running for office.

Arizona voters aren't asking for much. Just some honesty about why the rules seem to change depending on who's being asked to follow them. If debating is good enough for Hobbs, it's good enough for Hamadeh. Republicans in this state should hold their own to the same standard they're demanding from Democrats, or stop pretending the standard matters at all.