GOP candidates to TV networks: No hand-raising, no yes-no questions
The consortium of GOP presidential candidates looking to take over debate negotiations may already be falling apart. Four candidates have announced they won't take part: Donald Trump, John Kasich, Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie.
But it's worth noting the demands of the remaining candidates, led by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has the lead in Iowa and the latest nationwide poll. A set of bullet points from a draft letter obtained by Politico.com:
Will you commit that you will not:-- Ask the candidates to raise their hands to answer a question;
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-- Ask yes/no questions without time to provide a substantive answer;
-- Have a “lightening round” [The guess here is that they mean “lightning” and not an ice-breaker.]
-- Allow candidate-to-candidate questioning;
-- Allow props or pledges by the candidates;
-- Have reaction shots of members of the audience or moderators during debates;
-- Show an empty podium after a break (describe how far away the bathrooms are)
-- Use behind shots of the candidates showing their notes;
-- Leave microphones on during breaks;
-- Allow members of the audience to wear political messages *(shirts, buttons, signs, etc.) Who enforces?
This morning's Washington Post includes some blind quotes from annoyed TV executives:
"Do you want Ben Carson deciding who your moderators are? The answer is no," said another. "Do you want Bobby Jindal's campaign dictating how the debates will be run when Bobby Jindal may not even be in the race much longer?"
Some of you may be wondering why the GOP candidates don't simply cut TV news organization out of the process and strike out on their own, with purchased network time. The answer is that TV news operations offer protection from FCC equal time requirements.
Look for the issue to die down pretty quickly.
Republican fears that legitimate complaints about last week's CNBC debate could be interpreted as whining came true last night, during a New York speech by President Barack Obama. From CNN:
"Then it turns out they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators at the debate. Let me tell you, if you can't handle those guys, then I don't think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you," Obama said.
Watch the video here:
And a programming note: One of your Insiders - Bluestein - will be in Milwaukee for all the fun next week.
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Brett O'Donnell is back in business. We last heard from former U.S. Rep. Paul Broun's taxpayer-funded debate coach in September, when he pleaded guilty in a Macon federal courtroom to the charge of lying to congressional investigators about his arrangement with Broun. Nestled in a Washington Post story on the ongoing GOP presidential debate hand-wringing is the news that O'Donnell is helping out Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.:
The frontrunners were not having it.
"Why do I want to let someone who's polling at 0.1 percent on that stage so he can take shots at Trump?" asked [campaign manager Corey] Lewandowski.
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You may never know he existed, but Democrats have one less candidate to chose from today:
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A Channel 2 Action News report on violent crimes committed by immigrants living illegally in Georgia has U.S. Sen. David Perdue airing concerns to conservative Breitbart News:
"Too many victims have unjustly suffered the consequences of President Obama's lawless executive amnesty and lack of action to address this illegal immigration crisis," Perdue added. "As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I cosponsored Kate's Law and several other measures to stop the influx of illegal felons into Georgia and the United States."
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Austin Rhodes, the Augusta radio talk show host, was granted a restraining order against one of four candidates in a House special election that will be decided today. Joe Mullins, an entertainment promoter, and two friends were barred from "repeating false accusations" about the WGAC-AM (580) afternoon host.
Mullins is seeking to replace the retiring state Rep. Ben Harbin. From the Augusta Chronicle:
….Rhodes said accusations that he was taking money for promoting a political agenda had to be addressed immediately because of the Federal Communication Commission's so-called "payola rules."
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A Mississippi man has been arrested and charged with placing a bomb at a local Wal-Mart in retaliation for the retailer's decision to stop selling merchandize with the Confederate battle emblem on it. From the Tupelo Daily Journal:
Last Wednesday, Leonard posted threats on the Daily Journal Facebook page….
It was the state flag that led to his arrest. An officer in the area spotted a small silver car with a huge Mississippi flag sticking up through the sun roof run the red light in front of Walmart.
