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Here's an idea for the new state ethics committee to consider: If the state gives money to those seeking elected office, then those candidates are committed to debating a certain number of times on TV. Live.

It is completely unfathomable that a gubernatorial race will not have one statewide televised debate. Utterly ridiculous. The clunk you heard in the air Tuesday was politics in this state hitting bottom.

I don't care who you think is at fault here, be it Gov. Bill Richardson's people or challenger John Dendahl, the result is unacceptable from any angle. From here, the governor's desire to debate with no cameras present is more than suspicious.

Add Patricia Madrid and Heather Wilson to this sorry mix and it makes the point that these decisions need to be taken out of the candidates hands. It's time for an honest third broker.

Is Dendahl's desire for a live TV debate so outrageous? I doubt that the Dendahl camp took this tack as a way to try to corner the governor. It's just how debates are done.

What is outrageous is for the governor's people to resist that request because they don't like what the challenger has to say about New Mexico. As if Dendahl is some kind of mentally incapacitated freak who might leap from his lectern and wrestle Richardson to the ground on live TV. This is an intellectual assault beyond the pale.

The governor's campaign people have walked across a not-so-fine line with claims of disservice to voters if Dendahl is allowed an hour on live on TV. That position should give voters in this state a long and deep pause. I don't care what side of the aisle you sit on.

I don't need my sensibilities protected, thank you. This is an amazing slap in the face.

Shrouding the excuse under the insulting and ridiculous reasoning that Dendahl would not be able to have a "positive sharing of ideas," is pure code. It exposes a culture that says our ideas are the only ideas and we don't need nor want anyone to question them for any reason.

That isn't democracy. It isn't even good politicking. This is Huey Long behavior, pure and simple.

The simple fact is a debate is supposed to expose people for who they are, and if they believe the challenger is that unstable, well, the camera doesn't lie. It'll be case closed by the end of the broadcast.

I shared a table with Dendahl for many months on "The Line" on KNME-Channel 5 before he left the show to run for governor. While the guy drove me crazy now and again, just like any true believer of any stripe, I learned more from him than I thought possible. Whatever personal history you might have with him is yours, but that's mine.

If the man has a fault it's probably that he enjoys his role as a bad boy just a tad too much. He's spent so much time over the top that throttling back can be elusive, but while he's there he does make his points.

He has no prayer of winning certainly, but at a basic level I believe voters understand his long-ball intentions: to make this governor explain himself on decisions and positions without the filter of staff minions and media quotes.

Now if that's unreasonable, then call me unreasonable. No elected politician should have a free ride through office. It's dangerous, disrespectful and ultimately damaging to the populace.

If the governor slides through on this one, we're all the worse off for it. You can hide behind that big, fat smirk because it's Dendahl and you never cared for the guy, but you've been snookered.

This is not about personalities.

The gap between the elected and the electorate just widened another inch. The governor needs to step to this and muzzle his staff. Today.