Posted on 01/04/2008 6:02:56 PM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance
NEW YORK - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich filed a complaint with the FCC on Friday after ABC News excluded him, fellow Democrat Mike Gravel and Republican Duncan Hunter from its prime-time debates on Saturday.
Kucinich argued that ABC is violating equal-time provisions by keeping him out of the debate and noted that ABC's parent Walt Disney Co. had contributed to campaigns involving the four Democrats who were invited.
"ABC should not be the first primary," the Ohio congressman said in papers filed at the Federal Communications Commission.
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Fox News Channel is sponsoring a debate in its mobile studio Sunday that excludes Paul and Hunter. Huckabee, Giuliani, Romney, Thompson and McCain have been invited.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I haven’t paid that much attention to how these things were arranged in the past, but should the Democrat Party and the Republican Party have some say in which candidates should participate in the debates? I.e., the DNC and the RNC?
The Republicans have been particularly dismal in the way they have let the TV people run all over them, without any kind of consequences.
I remember a day, way way in the past, when the League of Women’s Voters ran these debates, and did so as honest and neutral umpires. Of course now that would be ludicrous.
The problem is, there should be some sort of grownups in charge, to decide when the debates should be narrowed down. And there is no one in sight to do it.
I suppose you can say that the media have a right to do whatever they like, and that the two parties have a right not to agree with decisions they consider unfair. And the candidates have a right not to work with a network they consider unfair—as, indeed, the Democrats agreed to do with Fox. But the whole process is breaking down, and you can’t trust any of the parties to be fair or decent, because those concepts seem to have gone out the window.
BA-ZING! Well, I guess you roasted my ass. Not.
Hunter is not a known loser. Hunter has not been “culled”. He is just not invited to those insipid debates. The debates are just Moderates and Liberals fighting over which is the most conservative. I hope the first question is; “Why were none of you particularly interested in securing our borders until you began your bid for the WH?”
You can’t bring cream pies and seltzer water and stuff. I already asked.
If you want to play the equal time game, how about all the Libertarians, Socialist, Communist, Natural Law Party, Constitution Party, Independent Candidates, etc... etc... etc...
Granted, this is during the primaries, so it’s a tad bit different than this Fall for example, but I can see where having 50 people up on stage would make a debate rather pointless.
I don’t think anyone could come to an agreement on what the cutoff should be because there will always be one or more candidates just under the line who feel slighted...
Don’t know what to say about this really.
As for Walt Disney contributing to campaigns — a little more information on that point might be a good place to start re: the MSM influencing the elections.
“He refused to sign a loyalty agreement in Texas stating that he swears allegiance to the Dem nominee just to be on the ballot in Texas.”
And have to PLEDGE to the U.S. Flag!
All else is expatriatism—or treachery and probably both.
I am with you on that one! The little guy kind of surprised me.
I know that I am going to take garbage for this one, but I am going to say it anyway -- If I were Kucinich and had been so poor that I actually grew up living with my parents in a car (at one point) I'd probably be a Liberal Democrat, too. But I didn't. The fact that Kucinich has some compassion for those who are still at the level of where he came from, is not a sin. It is, unfortunately, a completely unworkable political philosophy for running a country.
You don't have to agree with someone's positions to understand where they might be coming from -- and I don't mean Alpha Centauri!
I'd love to see Hillary brought to a studio in handcuffs and FORCED to answer questions based on "equal time" rules.
I’d like to see all candidates sign a loyalty agreement to the U.S. Constitution to be on any ballot anywhere.
And have to PLEDGE to the U.S. Flag!
Hello Obama, are you listening?
“I’d love to see Hillary brought to a studio in handcuffs and FORCED to answer questions based on “equal time” rules.”
Kucinich is the type of guy i can disagree with on virtualy every issue, but at the end of the day, I can sit down and have a beer with the guy. He’s true to his convictions IMO, and isn’t a lying, conniving disingenuous SOB like most politicians. Maybe I havn’t followed him closely enough, but that’s my genuine take (he and Jerry Brown).
That makes more sense than anything else I have read here!!
I agree, I think that he is for real.
I agree with you.
Everything I need to know about Ron Paul supporters I read on two bumper stickers on the same car.
First bumper sticker...”PSYCHIATRY KILLS!!!”
Second bumper sticker, next to the first....”Ron Paul for President.”
I thought he was the Travelocity Gnome. It's so cute when he sticks something in an electric outlet and flys across the room.
ABC is on pretty safe ground, as they can argue that the debate is a “bona-fide news event,” separate from their coverage.
Fox News is not a broadcast network, so they don’t have to follow equal time rules, as far as I know.
In a way, I hope he succedes...but for my reasons not his. Marvin the Martian, and Gravel, only dilute the Dems push by highlighting theit patys weaknesses, while Hunter, will only bring foeward the best of the consertvate hopes and ideals.
The irony in all of this is that now all of the excluded Presidential candidates are getting more attention from being excluded from the debates! They truly wouldn’t be getting this much present attention if they were included in the debates!
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