"Rose Garden" strategy?

Third district Republican congressional candidate Jon Runyan, a newcomer to politics, has declined to debate his opponent, Justin Murphy, who ran in a GOP primary for this seat two years ago and came in a close third.  "This kind of Rose Garden strategy tends to be the purview of powerful, entrenched incumbents," said Montclair State University political scientist Brigid Harrison. "It tends not to be the purview of people who have not run for public office before."

Rose Garden strategy? It should be called a "manure pile" strategy that Runyan uses to keep his farmland assessment.