Posted on 01/01/2008 9:40:06 AM PST by jdm
Ron Paul's supporters are seeing red after Fox News decided to exclude their candidate from the next presidential debate. ABC also plans to whittle down the participants in the next debate but will wait for the Iowa caucus to make clear who should get the invitations. The exclusion comes after Paul raised $19 million in the fourth quarter, the second-best GOP total for the year:
ABC and Fox News Channel are narrowing the field of presidential candidates invited to debates this weekend just before the New Hampshire primary, in Fox's case infuriating supporters of Republican Ron Paul.
The roster of participants for ABC's back-to-back, prime-time Republican and Democratic debates Saturday in New Hampshire will be determined after results of Thursday's Iowa caucus become clear.
Fox, meanwhile, has invited five GOP candidates to a forum with Chris Wallace scheduled for its mobile studio in New Hampshire on Sunday. Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson received invites, leaving Paul and Duncan Hunter on the sidelines.
Most of us have made no secret of our wish to see the number of candidates narrowed for these debates, and for good reason. The current roster of seven or eight on a stage makes for nothing but the exchange of substance-less soundbites, and provide no insight into the true character and nature of the candidates. Given the game-show, gotcha quality of these gladiatorial events, one has to question why any of the contenders would want to participate.
However, since we've muddled through this long, it makes little sense to start excluding candidates just before the first meaningful vote gets taken. Raising $19 million in a quarter shows at least some level of significant support, even if limited to the the fringes of the GOP and Libertarian parties. Also, if Fox wants to rely on polling, Paul does at least as well as Thompson in Iowa and perhaps better at the moment in New Hampshire. Why not just wait for the results from Iowa to make that determination for both parties, as ABC plans to do?
I'd much prefer a smaller field for the debate, but at this point, an exclusion gives nothing more than another excuse for conspiracy-mongering among Paul's supporters. It's hard to imagine a better one, given the fund-raising success Paul has had in the last few weeks. If Fox and the rest of the broadcasters give it a few more days, they'll likely have all the data they need to whittle the debates down to three candidates each.
UPDATE: James Joyner agrees.
False.
That means they're really Demagogues.
Is Ron Paul really a GOP candidate?
ping
The “choosen 5” need to step forward for DH and RP.
This is how democracies start to die - with the elites deciding who’s a “valid” candidate.
This should be disturbing to everyone.
DH doesn’t get to speak anyway so I am not sure why he would be overly concerned. I think it may be a good thing that the country get to see “Los Cinco Moderados” all alone without a conservative on stage.
They can exclude Duncan Hunter all they want. I’m still voting for him in the primary.
[Raising $19 million in a quarter ....]
Curious .... is there any way to know if all of the $19M is money actually received by the RP organization, or if it is mostly pledges?
Any RP supporters who know the answer?
This is how democracies start to die - with the elites deciding who’s a “valid” candidate.
This should be disturbing to everyone.
True. I am no fan of Paul, but have a major problem when the networks decide who is a candidate.
Fox News is just as liberal as the other news networks...its being called “conservative” is about as stupid as referring to illegal aliens as “immigrants”
If they start omitting Paul, is Fred next? They already have excluded Duncan Hunter (where is the outcry on that)
Me too.
JMO but I think it’s all about Rudy.
I’m pretty sure the majority is from online credit card transactions. A few websites were set up prior to the “money bombs” to set up lists of “pledges,” but the numbers calculated are based on actual cash received.
“Chosen Few”
“This should be disturbing to everyone.”
Shhhhhhh, you might wake the hippocrites.
All of Dr. Paul's contributions is immediate cash contributions, donated from individuals from all walks of life.
Is Rudy?
You’re right! Neither is.
“This is how democracies start to die - with the elites deciding who’s a “valid” candidate.
“This should be disturbing to everyone.”
Hmmm - the USA ain’t no stinkin’ democracy. We need to go back to the original method of selecting a President and get rid of the popular vote - which is a vote for nothing (as the Electoral College is still what actually counts).
No, he isn't -- but he's just WAITING to be dissed by the GOP sufficiently to warrant his beginning the 3rd-party run the hildebeeste so desperately wants. It is her (or osama hussein's) only chance of winning the general, so much hildebeeste money is making its way over there, has been and will be to an even greater extent. I cannot overstate this case. It is the biggest bombshell of the year. There is no way to keep him out of a 3rd-party run, in view of the non-refusable offer the beeste is going to make. It will involve carrots (tens of millions) and sticks (arkancide). I hope I am wrong, but see this as an inevitability.
But there is no sense in US giving him the excuse he needs. Let the idiot debate.
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