nope! e.g. When I eat a mid-morning snack, I eat less for lunch. The logic can still propagate forward -- mid-morning-snack -> less-for-lunch

You ac absolutely infer to some extent that Tanner has debating skills in mind when they say the public should insist on candidates holding debates. But the relevance of debating skills to the job of public office isn't the main point of disagreement. The main point of disagreement is whether or not we should demand debates at all, and Saldana is just adding some claims to bolster her argument that they are unnecessary