Is Mr. Sensenbrenner a coward?

This weekend La Casa de Esperanza hosted a forum in which candidates for the congressional seat were able to meet the public. Mr Sensenbrenner chose not to attend. Many will say that he's a coward for choosing not to face his detractors. Many will say that they don't blame him for avoiding a potentially confrontational situation.
Two things. One, I try to teach my kids to stand up for what they believe in. I challenge them to defend their opinions. Whether I think they're right or wrong, if they believe in something - defend it, no matter what. Did Mr Sensinbrenner ever get that lesson? Two, I'm also aware that a wise warrior chooses his battles. My question is, does Mr Sensenbrenner see the Hispanic community as a potential voting block, one that deserves to be addressed in an honest, open manner. Or does he see us as the enemy, to be avoided? I can understand his thinking the later. No one enjoys walking into an angry crowd as a target. But I wonder if he missed a chance to show the Hispanic community that although he may not represent a view popular to us, he at least believes in his view enough to stand up for it. Those of us who agree with him (there's more than you know) would have liked to see him lead on this one instead of avoiding the confrontation. By the way. Bill Clinton showed everyone how it's done. Stand up and fight. Wrong and decieving as he may be, I'll bet the democrats got a charge from it. When will the Republican leaders charge us up?