Confirmed: Ron Paul Cut From Debates
Posted on January 1, 2008
After several conflicting reports the confirmation is here. While I apologize for reporting what seemed to me to be the truth, I stand by making fun of the over-reactions. I advise all the Ron Paul supporters that are apt to over-react to remain calm and try not to have a head explosion. Please refrain from riots. Please come up with some creative and loony looking protest to keep us entertained. Please include the blimp if possible. Here is the news.
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 Rep. Ron Paul.
Fox News says it has limited space in its studio, which leaves Rep. Ron Paul out of a weekend debate. 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. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee received invites, leaving Paul of Texas and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California on the sidelines.
The network said it had limited space in its studio — a souped-up bus — and that it invited candidates who had received double-digit support in recent polls.
In a nationwide poll conducted December 14-20 by The Associated Press and Yahoo, Thompson had the support of 11 percent of GOP voters and Paul was at 3 percent.
Maybe his supporters are correct in this not being fair, but this is how the process works. As much as you flood polls, troll blog comments, and raise money….his support numbers are small. Now, argue small but powerful, yet votes are what count at the end of all this. I don’t want to see Ron Paul run on an independent ticket and steal votes from whatever Republican gets the nod, but if I were to honestly advise…I’d suggest that for him at this point. That is the best chance he has.
Overall, I agree with Captain Ed:
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.
I agree. Its still early, but at some point the networks will be justified in narrowing the field.
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22 Responses to “Confirmed: Ron Paul Cut From Debates”
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Let the PEOPLE decide who should be invited to the debates, not the untrustworthy biased land-phone based polls!
Wait until AFTER the primaries in Iowa and NH have concluded before trying to streamline the debates. The numbers from the primaries will serve as a rough guide. To exclude candidates from the debates at this stage of the game is just absurd, and has all of the appearances of conspiracy.
Doesn’t everything have the appearances of conspiracy to a Ron Paul supporter?
Paul Rivals Clinton, Raising Almost $20 Million for Campaign
By Kristin Jensen
Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) — Presidential candidate Ron Paul raised almost $20 million for his campaign in the last three months, potentially outpacing every one of his Republican rivals and putting his fundraising in league with Hillary Clinton’s.
Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas, raised at least $19.5 million, according to a statement posted on his Web site. His campaign said today that he originally aimed to raise $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The take puts Paul on par with the top fundraisers in the Democratic Party, who outpaced Republicans last year. The campaign of New York Senator Clinton yesterday said she raised more than $100 million for the year, meaning she brought in at least $20 million in the fourth quarter.
Paul has drawn supporters with his libertarian message and his opposition to the war in Iraq, spurring a burst of donations on the Internet, the source of about 80 percent of the contributions last quarter, according to Paul spokesman Jesse Benton. In the three months through September, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani brought in the most contributions among Republicans, for a total of $11.5 million.
Presidential campaigns don’t have to report fundraising figures until the end of January, though many give hints about their totals earlier than that. Arizona Senator John McCain, who’s seeking the Republican presidential nomination, yesterday told reporters in New Hampshire that December was his best fundraising month since July. He gave no further details.
First you manipulate the “polls” and then you use these figures to manipulate the debate. Boy thats fair. Why don’t you allow the candidates to participate according to the number of participants in national meet up groups (Ron Paul has more then any candidate in either party), or the winner of the most straw polls, or the winner in all of the Debate polls or the winner of the AOL Presidential poll or the GOP who raised the most cash this quarter (19,500,000). I for one am ending my cable subscription with Comcast and am boycotting all sponsor of the propagandized event. Even if I were not a supporter of Dr. Paul, the bias in this election process is clearly evident. It is a dark day in America when we realize that our “Free” press is controlled by corporate fascist with agendas. They are excluding the only candidate who will immediately end the war. I intend to triple my efforts to elect Ron Paul and his message of Freedom.
“Most of us have made no secret of our wish to see the number of candidates narrowed for these debates, and for good reason.” Oh Please! FOX is simply trying to supress Ron Paul message of Freedom and Liberty. Dr. Paul is the only true Republican in the race and this is why the shepherds (FOX) of the sheeple are terrified of Paul.
I’m not a Paul supporter in any stretch of the imagination, but all in should be allowed at the debates; otherwise, the media again controls what the viewer sees and hears.
I see the PaulBots are out. Lets see…
“…the winner of the most straw polls (SPAM), or the winner in all of the Debate polls (SPAM) or the winner of the AOL Presidential poll (SPAM) or the GOP who raised the most cash this quarter (19,500,000)-(I will give you the last one. The weirdo minority certainly gives a lot of their money to that bozo).
“I for one am ending my cable subscription …” – ( I can hear Roger Ailes crying now).
“Dr. Paul is the only true Republican in the race and this is why the shepherds (FOX) of the sheeple are terrified of Paul.” – (He’s no Republican. The only people scared of Ron Paul are Jews & black people…for good friggin’ reason).
“Uncle Ron” has had a year to campaign…he’s polling nationally at 3%. He doesn’t have a chance & he never had a chance Sorry, not gonna happen. Let it go. Paul has a small handful of ideas that should and will be advanced & discussed in conservative circles for a long time. Otherwise he’s made his point, had his time, and is FLAT OUT DONE.
You ignore history if you conclude overreacting doesn’t work.
Who are we kidding here? Your next President has been long decided! This game we all participate in is just a “Feel good about America” campaign.
So be sure and contribute,(lots of money) lots of letter’s,e-mail,phone calls! We will all go to the polls to do what’s best. When the electronics count the votes, BINGO” Not your choice I’m sure. Politic’s 101. Have a Happy Day”
Cary Says: “…the winner of the most straw polls (SPAM), or the winner in all of the Debate polls (SPAM) or the winner of the AOL Presidential poll (SPAM) or the GOP who raised the most cash this quarter (19,500,000)-(I will give you the last one. The weirdo minority certainly gives a lot of their money to that bozo).
I think Cary should save that comment to reread in about 24 months.Freedom in America is gone! It amazes me how anyone can look at whats going on in the media with Ron Paul and be happy about it.
LOOK, I suggest ALL OF you do the research on whatever CFR supported puppet your voting for and you will find that there is only one Man that can bring our Country back to where WE are respected and not FEARED!!! RON PAUL!!!!!!!! nad if you can’t see the Truth then your Ignorance won’t save you Sheep!
Where do poll numbers come from? Do you know? They come from the last elections. They are not an accurate reflection because they exclude all new voters and all voters who did not caucus in 2004. The donations are a much more accurate view of voters today.
This is a travesty and will be the undoing of the current system.
Keep your eyes open for the next denouncement. The pundits will attemt to discredit Dr. Ron Paul’s numbers in Iowa as more “spammers”.
Just watch.
Murph
Explain to me how any of those numbers are the result of “spam”. Do you even know what that means or did you just hear that on Faux News? One involved voting in person, one involved voting by cell phone text message (limited to one text per #), and one involved voting by computer (one vote per IP address). Finally, yes you have to leave the donations alone, you don’t have anything to say about that one! Spambots don’t donate, do they? If you truly don’t agree with the man’s views, don’t vote for him. But don’t go around making stuff up or repeating a bunch of Faux News Whitehouse talking point propaganda.
Ironically, Fox News’ website shows Ron Paul polling ahead of both Huckabee AND Fred in New Hampshire. Additionally, he appears to have received more support than Rudy in the Iowa caucusi. Speaking as one Florida voter who supports Dr. Paul’s candidacy, his general poor polling and complete lack of media and party support are not evidence of a conspiracy. On the contrary, Dr. Paul’s difficult candidacy is a symptom of a dysfunctional and broken system. The republic began to disintegrate with the ratification of the 12th amendment to the constitution. The Vice-Presidency was designed to be SECOND PRIZE. There is a very important reason for that. read Washington’s farewell address, he warned us. We failed him, and each other.
Mustard, I was always puzzled about the reasons for the VP being a second prize in the original constitution. But you made me realize that people would be much more inclined to vote for a minority position if they thought it stood a good chance of coming in second even though they doubted it could come in first, so I can see that benefit.
And having the opposition in a position of government power instead of being shut out would be really good. But I always thought that this would give the VP great motivation to have the President killed (and blame it on a lone nut of course).
How about let in everyone who won at least one county in Iowa? That would only exclude Thompson, McCain, Giuliani and Hunter.
This exclusion of Dr. Paul is simple to explain. Fox does not want Paul’s message heard (Murdoch orders). Paul tells the truth to power. This is a bad thing.
Fox wishes to prop up Thompson before S.Carolina and Hurt Paul’s chances in NH as well as take away votes from Paul. This is how they play the game.
Truly, I hope the “blowback” from this shameful episode hurts them badly. There are certainly signs that it has-NWS stock down (Murdoch has lost a billion already), sponsors pulling out or being boycotted. More to come.
Status quo will fight tooth and nail to maintain their power. This points clearly to FOX as not being a real news network. Secretly, the GOP is probably pleased as they also dislike Dr. Paul.
Shame on America for putting up with this. It is you right to hear the issues that is being usurped.
“But I always thought that this would give the VP great motivation to have the President killed (and blame it on a lone nut of course).”
Like with Johnson and JFK, or the attempt on Reagan. It happens regardless. A good documentary to look up is “JFK II The Bush Connection”. You can find itand many others at http://www.prisonplanet.tv .
Hey Cary,
You can’t “spam” a straw poll. They are conducted by real people who have to appear at a location and pay money for the privilege of voting. Either you already knew that – which would make you dishonest and deceptive, or you didn’t know that – which makes you seem ignorant.
Also, about this…
“Uncle Ron” has had a year to campaign…he’s polling nationally at 3%. He doesn’t have a chance & he never had a chance Sorry, not gonna happen. Let it go. Paul has a small handful of ideas that should and will be advanced & discussed in conservative circles for a long time. Otherwise he’s made his point, had his time, and is FLAT OUT DONE.”
Iowa is a statist haven of folks who are net subsidized by the Federal Government, and he’s polling at 10% among Republicans there, not 3%. He won Jefferson County outright; and he was the only candidate other than Huck or Romney to win a county.
Also, I have noted that all the other candidates have been plastered all over the front pages of the big papers like the Wash Post, and Paul never ever has appeared on the front page. Even on Dec 16th when he set the all time fundraising record – it was an A6 story.
Oh, and one more thing Cary – you and people like you are totally the problem in this country – after all, you are against Ron Paul, and so are all the other Congresspeople and Senators. Who has been having their way for the last 30 years – Paul, or the mainstream that you apparently support?
The mainstream has been having things their way, and it’s not working. Your ideas aren’t working. It’s you and those who agree with you who need to give up and step aside so the real leaders can set this country on the path to freedom.
To all those who haven’t made up their minds: please note the quality of anti-Paul arguments, and compare them to the quality of the pro-Paul arguments. Then use your head.
Oh and by the way, I utterly reject this foolish “horse race” paradigm for voting. It’s stupid. You’re not betting on the winner folks, or don’t you get that? Mindlessly trying to line yourself up with whoever the “winner” is supposed to be doesn’t do anything for this country or your children.
You’re supposed to be voting for the best person, with the best ideas, who knows what the problems are and how to fix them. If you aren’t doing that, then you aren’t really using democracy the way it is most beneficial. What’s the point of voting if you aren’t voting for the best person for the job?
How do you expect to get the best person, if all you care about is voting for the eventual winner?
Like I said – it’s stupid. Wake up, set down the pipe, quit listening to the mainstream naysayers, and join the REVOLUTION! You have nothing to lose but your addiction to the state, and everything to gain – for yourself and for your children.
As far as the Paul campaign being “done” for whatever reason…
HA! Dream on.
19 million bucks says we aren’t done.
We’ll be done when we say we’re done, and I really, really, really wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.
I think it is disgraceful for a news show to decide who is a viable candidate. I thought that was what the ballot box was for. Maybe Fox can just tell us who the president is and we won’t have to worry about elections any longer. These people should lose their license to broadcast.