Tag: Debates

Member Post

Hoystory
Hoystory
86
 

The inclusion of “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace as one of the moderators for this fall’s presidential debates sparked a firestorm when he told colleague and media reporter Howard Kurtz that it wasn’t his job as a moderator to fact-check the candidates during the actual debate. I do not believe that it is my […]
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Johnson, Stein, McMullin Locked Out of Presidential Debates

Jon Gabriel, Ed.
Jon Gabriel, Ed.
9918
 

jill-stein-gary-johnson-evan-mcmullin-green-party-2016The system is rigged. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced today that the only candidates to be invited to the first scheduled debate are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. While claiming to be non-partisan, the CPD has again demonstrated that it is instead bipartisan — a racket designed to protect the interests of the Democratic and Republican parties against the threat of other options.

CPD’s official selection criteria are as follows:

  1. Candidate is constitutionally eligible to hold the office of President of the United States.
  2. Candidate has achieved ballot access in a sufficient number of states to win a theoretical Electoral College majority in the general election.
  3. Candidate has demonstrated a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate, as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recent publicly-reported results. These polls are from ABC-Washington Post; CBS-New York Times; CNN-Opinion Research Corporation; Fox News; and NBC-Wall Street Journal.

Libertarian Gary Johnson has been endorsed by four major newspapers and is on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This means he obviously meets the first two tests but fails to achieve the arbitrary third test. The banning also applies to his running mate Bill Weld who will not be allowed to attend the first vice presidential debate. Johnson expected this result, but remained disappointed:

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Austin Murrey
Austin Murrey
64
 

I saw this on Steyn Online and it seemed like something many of us would love to watch and care passionately about: The Munk Debate on the Global Refugee Crisis on April 1, 2016. While it’s doubtful we’d all be able to attend the Toronto debate it will apparently be carried online. Preview Open
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At the Next Debate, Just Ask Candidates About These 5 Charts

James Pethokoukis
James Pethokoukis
1010
 

I would run the next Democratic and Republican debates a bit differently. Instead of having moderator questions, I’d simply show the candidates important economic charts and let them comment on what they see. We’d quickly find out — I hope — who has real deep knowledge on key economic issues and challenges facing America.

Now as it turns out, the Obama White House just released its big annual economic report, which contains a bunch of great charts. Here are a few I plucked out that would make for great debate material, run Pethokoukis-style:

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mezzrow
mezzrow
88
 

Following the last GOP debate and the prospective fates of Jeb! and Marco, I’d like to make an observation. Personally, the truest source of Jeb’s subsequent demise seems to me to be his alacrity in joining the CNBC star chamber in piling on Rubio when he had the opportunity to do so for his own […]
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How Many More Debates?

BrentB67
BrentB67
3717
 

Last night’s debate was refreshing in that it brought out some fight in the candidates. Unfortunately, the fight was born of necessity thanks to another biased, unprofessional performance from the moderators.

Republicans have endured three of these debacles so far, but the only unifying issue is that, in each case, the moderators tried to make themselves the story. Fox News — a supposed bastion of objective media — showed its sensational circus act and it has been downhill since then. Meanwhile, on the Democrat’s talking point presentation programs debates, we get to see how who can promise the most benefits and who the moderators will most want to get selfies with. To make matters worse, the Democrats have five more opportunities to roll out their agenda and polish Hillary’s crown, while we’ve got seven more of these fiascos scheduled.

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Member Post

Leigh
Leigh
75
 

Let’s grant outright that there is no perfect solution to the 17-candidate dilemma.  Ideally, every serious candidate should answer almost every serious question.  But none of us want to sit through a dozen answers on Medicare or Common Core or even Iran.  Ten candidates on stage at one time is more than enough.  While we […]
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Let Chaos Reign!

iWe
iWe
6825
 

The_Melee,_Eglinton_TournamentWhy have “controlled” debates at all? Curt Anderson, in today’s WSJ, suggests that we just let the candidates debate each other whenever and wherever they like.

The Republican Party should be looking forward instead of backward—and seeking every opportunity to feature its roster of excellent candidates, rather than trying to find ways to constrict the field. The voters will do that, as is their prerogative. The simple truth is that competitive primaries usually make a party stronger, not weaker.

He continues:

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Member Post

Albert Arthur
Albert Arthur
2616
 

Do not, under any circumstances, grant an interview to George Stephanopoulos. Do not participate in any debate for which Stephanopoulos is “moderating.” However, if you do, then for God’s sake, the first words out of your mouth ought to be: Hello, George. I would like to remind your viewers that you are and have been […]
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A Better Debate Template: July Madness

Judge Mental
Judge Mental
3419
 

38557_lotto-madness1This is my first post, so be nice. On the other hand, the screen name is no joke; I’ve been around since the first podcast, months before the site was even launched. I had planned to wait until I retire in a few months before joining, and frankly I was hoping that Rob would get to the point of kneeling, sobbing, and just pleading for people to join. But now I have stuff on my mind …

As I assume everyone knows, the RNC is planning a greatly reduced debate schedule for the 2016 election cycle. The party believes (and without question, many agree) that the large number of debates hurt them in 2012. The committee apparently thought it unwise to give the candidates that many opportunities to say something stupid and waste a lot of valuable campaign time.

On the other hand, many of us (including me) loved having a debate every few days. For political junkies, it was like football season, and there was always another game coming up. For us oddballs, the idea that the schedule will be limited to just three or four debates is a huge disappointment.

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