Posted on 10/08/2020 5:37:56 AM PDT by EyesOfTX
So, last night we had a classic presidential/vice presidential debate: A moderator who is a Democrat activist posing as a journalist for a leftist media outlet; a moderator whose every question was slanted in a way to be hostile to the Republican and a puffball to the Democrat; a moderator who constantly interrupted the Republican but not the Democrat.
We also had a Republican candidate who was constantly interrupted and held to time restrictions, but who nonetheless attempted to answer every question that was asked of him; a Democrat candidate who was never interrupted, never held to time restrictions and has yet to answer a single question answered of her; and a Republican candidate who won the debate despite having to play a game of two on one.
Wash, rinse, repeat. This is the template for these quadrennial farces we have come to call debates.
Susan Page is a disgrace; Kamala Harris is an obnoxious, smirking valley girl who is really the Democrat Partys ultimate presidential candidate; and the Commission on Presidential Debates should be blown up into a million pieces and scattered to the winds.
But in two weeks, President Donald Trump will participate in another debate with Joe Biden, one that will be moderated by another Democrat activist posing as a journalist who in fact is a former Biden intern. Yet, you are supposed to suspend your disbelief and mindlessly assume that this moderator will somehow be fair to the President, just as you are supposed to assume Chris Wallace was. Because, after all, theyre journalists.
Its like that scene from Ghostbusters, where Dr. Peter Venkman is proposing to clean a library of ghosts using the teams nuclear powered entrapment tools. When the facility manager questions whether this is a good idea, Venkman simply responds with Back off, man Im a scientist as if that is all the answer required.
Dr. Peter Venkman GIFs | Reaction GIFs
At some point, the Republican Party is going to have to stop pretending that back off, man, Im a journalist is a satisfactory answer, because Chris Wallace and Susan Page are not journalists: They are activists for the enemy party. These debates are farces, and they must end. I had hoped the extremely unconventional Donald Trump would do that in 2016, but instead he used them to his advantage. He is attempting to do the same thing in this election cycle.
But Trump can do this because of the sheer force of his will and personality; he is far from a standard issue Republican. We have witnessed cycle after cycle in which GOP stiffs like Mitt Romney and John McCain and George W. Bush emerge from these 2 on 1 battles either scarred, or, in the case of Romney and McCain, irreparably damaged.
For his own part, the Vice President fared quite well. Say what we will about Pence being a bit of stiff himself, he is also tough and smart and very concise and careful in the language he uses. The contrast he provides to the smirking, giggling, bald-faced lying Harris is stark and helps the ticket from a public confidence perspective.
But in a fair set-up, one in which we either had a truly-impartial moderator or a second seat like Mollie Hemingway to offer up some tough questions directed at the Democrat, Harriss facade would fall completely apart.
If the Commission on Presidential Debates cannot find a way to provide a more fair set up in 2024, then it is long past time to blow the entire process up. The GOP needs to quit playing the abused spouse here and refuse to put its candidates through anymore of these farces.
That is all.
HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! David Blackmon
MAGADAVID
The Debate Commission seems to be as biased as the Federal Election Commission that never seems to investigate coordinated voter fraud (not just ballot stuffing by union goons but precinct judges, county officials, etc.) or voter intimidation (beatdowns, murder, etc. of Trump supporters).
>>But in two weeks, President Donald Trump will participate in another debate with Joe Biden
Not at this point, that Debate Commission/Joe Biden decided the next one would be virtual and President Trump has said that he would not participate in a virtual event (it was announced as virtual before he was even contacted).
A rigged debate is a rigged election.
the 21 gameshow scandal pales in comparison to these partisan hacks spoon feeding the Democrat candidates. The most obvious example being the CNN townhall questions being provided to candidate Hillary in advance (but not Bernie Sanders).
Exactly.
Let the campaigns themselves set up the debate. They have people who can secure a venue.
Put up one starter question.
Each candidate gets three minutes to open the debate with this question: Why should the American people elect you as President of the United States?
After six minutes, let the have an open conversation for the next 60 minutes.
Easy
“Kamala Harris is an obnoxious, smirking valley girl who is really the Democrat Partys ultimate presidential candidate”
She really is. She’s like their version of Mitt Romney.
Truth be told, the debates are no longer compelling or informative. Before the so called Fake News debate begins, the hype builds for the RAT planned moderator ambush of the GOP candidate.
Since propaganda rules the day now, the debate or “RAT AMBUSH” of the conservative have lost their interest.
No crap. And this was written before the Commission announced, the first thing the next morning, that the next debate will be virtual, which they had to know Trump would reject. Does anyone doubt that was done deliberately to overwhelm the news cycle and distract from Pences win?
The commission is replete with elderly naive nitwits who have obvious bias...over the many decades. What a farcical organizing body of confused, biased people.
Quote:
“The GOP needs to quit playing the abused spouse here and refuse to put its candidates through anymore of these farces.”
It’s the same old same old every election. Sorry, no change. The GOP’s Uniparty role is to be “Washington Generals” to the ‘Rat’s HG. And the dying GOP is just fine with the status quo.
We need a new party.
Trump submitted a list of over twenty acceptable moderators. I am sure most real as right down the middle as you can find on they rejected every one of them. In hindsight Trump should pulled out right then and there.
The Commission should resemble what happened on Game of Thrones, ‘The Thirteen of Q’arth’!@!
I think Trump is in the process of blowing it up.
Someone else posted a good idea about chess clocks, and Ill expand on it much further. Two hour debate for example, each candidate gets an hour on the clock. Moderator introduces them, then flips a coin on who goes first.
Each candidate gets a button that does four things. Mutes their own mic, unmutes the other guys mic, stops their own countdown clock, and starts the other guys clock. They can talk as long as they want, no interruptions, but they only get half the total debate time. They also get a pen n paper to keep notes for their responses to each other.
Moderator has a button that mutes both and freezes both clocks, but his only role is to provoke conversation if the candidates hit a stop in their debate, from a list of questions/subjects whose exact wording was agreed to by both candidates prior. Or keep things civil if it gets heated/personal, but since each candidate is in full control of handing over the mic, it should remain rather calm. And move, since going slow only hurts yourself and your clock. Plus Im sure each candidate wants to save their time to try and be the final speaker.
After both clocks hit zero, they each get two(?) minutes for closing thoughts, muted from each other, so theres no further debate/rebuttals/continuation of debate from whomever goes second, its just a short closing speech.
The moderator can then thank both, end the night, and remind the audience about whatever circus is on at 8pm eastern tonight, and/or beg everyone to watch the Cowboys and try to prop up their ratings dive.
Debates tend to favor lawyers.
Instead have the DNC prepare 20 questions for the Republican and the RNC prepare 20 questions for the Democrat.
The responses to be in writing and posted online within three days. Help allowed.
We are a nation of laws. The Italian word for law is the same as the word for reading.
I keep saying let the DNC chair ask the questions of the Republican and the RNC chair ask questions of the Democrat. 3 minute response. 2 minute rebuttal. 2 minute rebuttal to the rebuttal. Next question.
It’s completely fair and removes anyone in the media from being an “impartial” moderator. You can have one as program host (to open and close the show) and timekeeper but is otherwise silent and doesn’t get to interject or ask questions.
I was hoping Trump, as incumbent, might have pushed for this format.
It is NOT an American organization that gathers together every four years to solely stage the presidential debates.
Rather it is globalist in its reach to instruct other countries and “to gain knowledge from their experiences”
It's as bi-partisan as the Jeff Flake and Andrew Coons coalition, a fraud perpetrated upon the American citizens...and has been such since its inception. A large organization unaccountable, unmonitored, and without any checks in their goal of shaping American national elections.
No moderator, jut a time keeper, allow back and forth in a timed setting.
Good point.
So, last night we...
The real question is, why do writers start sentences with the word "so"?
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.