Posted on 11/02/2015 6:42:31 AM PST by conservativejoy
Ben Carsons campaign is suggesting that future Republican presidential debates only be broadcast over the Internet, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The suggestion that the future debates not be televised is one of several calls for reforms from one of the frontrunners for the GOP nomination after a debate last week on CNBC that was widely criticized by the candidates.
'We also think there are too many debates,; Carson spokesman Doug Watts told the Wall St. Journal on Saturday. 'They are all bunched up and they really do take a lot of time away from the campaign and they take a lot of financial resources for us to be able to work on them.' Carson is leading polls in Iowa, which hosts the first contest in the GOP primary in February. He also has surpassed Donald Trump in some national polls, giving him leverage in the loud debate over changing the debate process.
Carsons campaign manager, Barry Bennett, is holding a meeting with GOP campaign representatives on Sunday night to discuss changes to the remaining debates.
The retired neurosurgeons campaign says future debates could be carried on Facebook and YouTube, unnamed sources familiar with the situation told the Journal. They believe doing so will strip television networks of their power to control the formats of the debates.
The campaign also says the forums should prioritize lengthy statements from candidates rather than frequent moderator intervention.
'Hes throwing out suggestions,' Watts said of Carson. 'I dont think hes saying, ‘This is what we want.’ Hes giving some suggestions and some context. Hes saying, ‘This is what we have on our minds.’
There are eight debates left in the primary election cycle. The next one, hosted by Fox Business Network, will be Nov. 10 in Milwaukee.
The Republican National Committee pulled out of a scheduled debate early next year with NBC, CNBCs parent network, in response to the complaints about last weeks debate.
This is the key.
The "debates" have been turned into the political equivalent of Survivor.
The lamestream media has become the Democrat's Super PAC. (Yes, I know I'm not the first to use this analogy).
They think it's their job to tear down the Republicans, while throwing softball questions at the Democrats.
Take that power away from them, and they fade into irrelevancy.
.
Ahhh...
Bye, Ben!
.
Carson is not stellar in the debates so, of course, he wants them not televised.
Internet only - Debates my mean the GOP Conservative message will only reach the “choir”.
True. The debates would not have nearly the number of viewers if they weren’t televised.
Carson wants more “lengthy statements.” No. We don’t.
My = may.
Wish we could edit our posts - at least for a few minutes.
I am as hooked on computers as anyone, BUT:
Taking the debates off TV and streaming them is stupid beyond my understanding.
I am not going to sit for two hours at my computer to watch the debates and if I am not, you can be sure most people are not going to to.
With it on TV, people can watch while eating dinner, in a bar, as a family, etc.
Streaming it will insure most people will never see it.
A bit self serving don’tcha think.
Where the debates are broadcast is not the problem. Giving network control over who moderates the debates is the problem.
The moderators are the problem with the debates as they are all reporters / columnists / opinion givers for the associated broadcaster and they are all Democrat supporters.
If the networks agreed to air the debate and the RNC got to say “ok, Mark Levin hosts this one, Rich Lowry hosts the next one etc..” the debates would be just fine.
We need debates that get deep into the nitty gritty of the issues, that’s where the men will be separated from the boys, there are far to many boys in this race, if we already had one decent debate the field would much thinner by now.
I think you pick two or three republicans to moderate the debates... and you sell the right to broadcast the debates to the highest paying network. And you distribute the proceeds to the campaigns.
Rush Limbaugh should offer his good offices for Republican debate(s); he has the EIB and he has the Dittocam. He could make the dittocam free temporarily.
Great idea. Why should the networks get a bananza payday on TV ads while they mock and make fun of Republicans?
You are exactly right. The tabloid debate format has not produced results. We want moderators who understand the issues and can steer valid discussions.
Carson just doesn’t want anyone seeing him sleeping on stage....
Carson sure don’t like Mannatech questions.
We dropped cable several years ago. The only debate we have seen is the one that CNN streamed. I think it’s a great idea. If you don’t stream it, some people do not have access to it.
Yeah, Maybe Carson can get Mannatech to sponsor one of the debates. After all, he gives them credit for financing his endowment Chair at Johns Hopkins.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.