Posted on 02/05/2016 7:32:21 AM PST by Kaslin
ABC News announced the lineup for Saturday's GOP presidential debate in Manchester late Thursday evening. Seven candidates will take the stage just three days before the New Hampshire primary. For Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will not be one of them despite beating rivals John Kasich and Chris Christie in the Iowa caucus. She's also beating Dr. Ben Carson in New Hampshire polling.
.@ABC reveals Republican candidates participating in Saturday's #GOPDebate https://t.co/phaAPdGLAh pic.twitter.com/VHuGgmlBd4— ABCNews PR (@ABCNewsPR) February 5, 2016
Fiorina is responding with accusations the "game is rigged."
"I've been telling you the game is rigged. And here's even more proof: The people of Iowa voted in an election this week, and I beat the establishment's guys. Tens of thousands of you stood with us yesterday to demand a fair debate. But Disney's ABC and the RNC have decided to keep me off the debate stage this weekend, caving to pressure from the same establishment candidates we beat who are afraid to debate me," Fiorina sent out in a campaign email Friday morning. "This isn't about me. It’s about you. It's about the people of New Hampshire who are about to vote. This is emblematic of the power that is being taken away from you every day?—?by the political class, the media establishment, and the bureaucracy. They don't want your votes to count. They don't want your voice to be heard. The network of George Stephanopoulos wants to tell you to sit down and shut up and elect Hillary Clinton."
"Well, guess what? ABC and the RNC and other candidates may keep me off that stage. But I will not be silenced. Our government is broken, and we know the establishment isn’t going to fix it. It's time to stand together and say we won't back down," she continued.
Yesterday New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former GOP Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney publicly advocated on Fiorina's behalf.
Hey @ABC: put @CarlyFiorina on the debate stage! She got more Iowa votes than John and Chris. Don't exclude only woman.— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 4, 2016
I like having her on the stage. She mixes things up a little.
I’m not backing her for president, but she is a good debater. Certainly better than Kasich or half the others up there.
Seriously, why are they not allowing her to be there? Going by primary numbers she deserves it. And she’s way more intelligent than Kasich.
Got to agree with Fiorina 100% on this. Eight candidates are in the race (who got more than 12 votes in Iowa) and ABC decides that only seven of them get on the stage? And the one left off won more votes in Iowa than a couple and is polling higher in New Hampshire than one?
She has a right to be pissed.
Agreed! Great debater, and certainly should have a role in the new administration. The rats no longer want her railing on Hitlery—it’s payback! The pubes should boycott until ABC relents.
Her father wasn't a mailman.
She did not meet the criteria for NH and national polling or Iowa results.
I am not a F fan; however it appears the White Good Old Boy club in charge of ABC is being prejudiced against Ms F.
Good, she needs to drop out.
Not a fan of Carly or ABC but she should sue. She has as much standing as some of the others. Claiming discrimination based on gender should get her case in front of a judge.
There is one good reason for ABC to do this, and it is to make the GOP look bad.
I’m not a supporter of hers, but if they’re going to let everyone else in, she deserves to be there, too.
I’d much rather listen to her take it to the Hildebeast rather than listen to Jeb pontificate on turtles in Spanish.
Agreed. If the other candidates were smart, they’d all be coming to her defense on this to make it clear that ABC is the bad guy here.
If the rules for determining participation were established, published, and applied as written, she has no room to complain.
And she hits Hillary and the democrats, which is probably why ABC doesn’t want her. They would rather the republican candidates tear each other up and leave the democrats alone.
Personally, I would just like a real debate with Trump, Cruz and Rubio. Time for all the others to go way. They are now just in it convention time, cabinet jobs or cable TV consultant contracts.
Why not let all of them “debate” Its not ever a debate anyway.
There needs to be a woman on the stage.
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