Politics are Paul Bates’ business – but he’s no politician. He just happens to be the co-founder of what he describes as an “average corporation” that’s got its sights on stimulating San Diego’s political thinkers.

“We’re just your standard corporation,” Bates said of San Diego Speaker Series, Inc. “But we do have kind of a higher mission of enriching San Diego culture so that people can understand these issues better.”

The company has created the San Diego Speaker Series, which begins in September at Cox Arena. As a nonpartisan company, the series aims to present all sides of the spectrum with scheduled talks by speakers Rudy Giuliani, Ann Coulter, James Carville, Bob Dole and Wesley Clark.

“It’s our goal to educate and empower people through the series,” Bates said. “This is something that’s done in all kinds of major cities and we’re hoping there’s a market for this here. We think San Diego is politically interested.

“When choosing these speakers, we wanted to create a dynamic of having different levels of topics,” he continued. “My partner and I have seen each one of these speakers speak ourselves. The speakers who we’ve chosen were hand picked because they tend to be more candid. We don’t want to have a slate of the same opinions by different people. We want speakers that are going to talk on a theme from different perspectives and expertise.”

The series will take place over three nights. Each speaker is scheduled time to lecture, followed by a question-and-answer session run by a moderator. Although the speakers will not be prepped for the questions they will be asked, there will be no audience participation.

But that doesn’t mean that Bates isn’t foreseeing heated debate.

“As far as the topics, you can pretty much guess,” said Bates. “We can’t tell the speakers what to say – certainly the moderators can ask them whatever they want to. Based on who these speakers are, you can tell what their political affairs are.”

Rudy Giuliani, who is scheduled to speak on Tuesday, Sept. 26, is expected to address the 9/11 crisis and how it was handled in New York.

“But immigration is a hot topic with him and so is homeland security,” Bates said. “I expect the moderator to ask him whether or not he’ll be running for president. Hopefully he’ll answer that one.”

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, right versus left will take the stage.

“We expect the second night to be the most controversial, with a lot more back and forth debate than the other nights,” Bates said.

Ann Coulter – an infamous Republican commentator who has been quoted in the past advocating literary tests, poll taxes and ending women’s suffrage – will face James Carville, a Democratic political commentator and ex co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire.”

“Obviously, we have left-versus-right ideology,” Bates said.

He expects same-sex marriage to play a prominent role in the night’s debate.

“We know Ann and James are going to be taking the stage a month before the congressional election,” Bates said. “I expect to hear whether or not Republicans are going to use the gay issue or gay marriage as being a platform – whether or not that’s something they actually care about or just something they’re using.”

Bates said he hopes to see as much diversity in the audience as on the stage.

“We’ve priced our series at about two-thirds of what most cities charge,” he said. “We’re targeting a larger audience. We’re trying to open this up to everyone. We’re not just sending advertisements to Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar and La Jolla.”

Ticket prices for the three-lecture series range from $180 to $1, 013.50 for special VIP packages. The event is partially sponsored by the House of Blues, San Diego State University and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“San Diego State is a sponsor of ours and they support our organization because it supports their own mission to educate,” Bates said. “I think they see that this is going to enrich the culture of San Diego and so it’s going to enrich the reputation of San Diego State.”

The series will be the first nonpartisan speakers series designed for a public audience ever to be launched in San Diego.

“We’ve probably taken on a challenge that a lot of people thought about doing and they declined,” Bates said. “It’s a risk, but we think it’s important. What we see on television isn’t the whole story. Sitting 50 feet from people whose discussions shape our opinions is something that’s really powerful.”