Ron Paul pressures Fox News
Ron Paul’s campaign says he’s planning an alternative event at the same time as the Fox New Channel’s Republican forum in New Hampshire on Sunday if the network continues to hold back on an invitation, a campaign official tells Politico. Jesse Benton, Paul’s national press secretary, said he likely would hold a town hall with New Hampshire citizens — an event that would amount to counter-programming and would likely generate considerable publicity for the anti-war libertarian. Fox News has not specified its exact criteria for the debate, but debate planners have long yearned to winnow the cast to permit more substantive and detailed conversation.
Dennis on Open Political Debates
Presidential debates are the single most important event in the process of selecting a presidential candidate. They provide the American people with the opportunity to view all viable candidates as they discuss important issues in an unscripted manner, designed with the best interests of the people, not the political parties, in mind. They are an essential component of true democracy in America.
Unfortunately, the value of this democratic principle has failed under the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Established in 1988 as an extension of the major political parties, the CPD has transformed the presidential debates from dynamic political forums to "glorified news conferences," where candidates recite prepackaged sound bites and avoid discussion of significant issues.
I believe in the power of open debates to restore higher values of democracy and voter education to the American political process. By establishing a Citizen's Debate Commission to replace the CPD, the American public can once again see presidential debates that are rigorous, fair, and inclusive of important issues and all popular candidates. There is an increasing demand for voices that challenge the bipartisan consensus on many critical issues in America, and I am one of those voices. It is time for open debates that will serve the American people first.
Keep Mike in the Debates
Why is it that the Republican Party is more fair than the Democratic Party when it comes to the presidential debates? The recent debate in Iowa where Alan Keyes was allowed to participate, while Mike and Dennis Kucinich were excluded, is concerning to many progressives who view this as an attempt on the part of the Democratic leadership to get rid of its progressive members. Is this what's happening? Why are the candidates who advocate ending the war immediately and who support equal rights for the LGBT community being sidelined?
What do you think and what would you do to fix this?
Michael H. Drucker
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