Posted on 01/10/2008 10:46:51 AM PST by Live Free NH
Paul was able to attend the ABC debate, but, like Hunter, was excluded from the Fox debate in NH.
He met the requirement to participate in the SC debate.
I still think Hunter should be allowed to participate.
What part about the requirements don’t you understand? You have to get only FIVE percent on a national poll. That means in a room of one hundred people, you just have to get FIVE people to say, yeah, I’d vote for you.
FIVE.
Hunter has had months to get this done. But he didn’t. It’s over.
>>>Anyway they also excluded John Cox, Alan Keyes, and Hugh Cort. Gotta draw the line somewhere.
Don’t forget about Cap Fendig, also on the SC ballot.
Free Hunter!
LOL.
Wasn't asked to me, but I say YES, absoluetly, would and did.
The RINO shill who answered the phone tried to deny the S.C. GOP straw ballot had any validity, as that was supposedly "bought and paid for by the candidates." He said that is what he personally observed. Then I replied he was not seeing clearly:
Duncan Hunter who finished in a defacto three way tie in S.C. didn't buy a single vote. I informed him of that. He hung up.
You know, I’m beginning to think that Soros has his filthy hands on the Republican party almost to the extent he has on the Rats.
Hunter could not raise enough of what Republicans call free speech. Liberals raise big money, conservatives don’t. Hoisted by their own petard. Campaign finance to the rescue?
Duncan Hunter seems to be a truly decent person and a good man, and I have no doubt that he personally would add to the debates.
But honestly, there comes a point at which, after a candidate is not garnering much, if any real support, they should be excluded.
At some point, they have nothing to lose from trying to skew the thrust of discourse. This sort of action can really hurt the other, more viable candidates.
I see Ron Paul doing this sometimes. Some of his answers are so “out there” that the other candidates have to correct Ron Paul rather than put their own agendas forth in the alloted time.
It is up to the debate sponsors to decide when “enough is enough” and it is up to the candidates to decide if they stand together and reject these rules or stand apart from those being excluded and advance their own candidacies.
I don’t have an issue with any of this.
‘As I recall (and you can correct me if I am wrong), the candidates must have garnered a minimum % of votes in the NH Primary to be invited on. And Hunter didn’t.’
Yep, sad but 100% accurate. You hae to cut down the field, to give those with a viable chance a opportunity to explain their views and positions.
It makes me sick.
The GOP could and should fix the problem. But won’t.
jw
Or just be one of the top FIVE in the GOP field in NH. But Hunter couldn’t get that done either.
Blaming the media for Duncan Hunter’s failure to catch on after a half dozen or more debates, countless interviews on every talk show you can name, is ridiculous.
I like the guy as much as anyone, but just as I had to put down my family dog last year, its time for Duncan to go.
I’m well aware of their criteria - thank you.
I was polled by one of those “non-partisan” polling surveys - their questions all gave me a choice of THREE candidates only - Thompson, McCain, or Romney. None of the above thank you.
I have a question to pose to Hunter’s supporters here.
As everyone knows, Hunter is not going to be the nominee. But he does have a delegate pledged to him, and he does have some modest support, perhaps 1-2%, in many states which have not voted yet. He may have the opportunity to pick up a delegate here and there as he did in Wyoming.
So Hunter is not without some influence in the nomination, however small.
So here’s the question:
Who do you think Hunter will endorse, either before the convention or when brokering a nominee?
Do you think he will throw his support to Fred Thompson, or Mike Huckabee, or someone else?
I think most Hunter supporters assume it would be Thompson, but I disagree. I think it will be Huckabee. Religion and abortion are central themes for Hunter. So is trade protectionism. Finally, Huckabee is _now_ calling for all kinds of drastic measures on the border (never mind his dismal record in Arkansas). To me, it looks like Huckabee is most like Hunter’s kind of candidate based on the issues most important to him.
And now the bonus question:
For the advanced students — No one candidate will be able to win the nomination. It will take two combining their delegates to win. Behind the scenes McCain and Huckabee are forming an alliance against a Thompson-Romney pairing. McCain will not take the VP slot, and Huckabee will defer to him. Huckabee will be giving McCain his delegates at the convention in exchange for the VP slot, as Romney will do for Thompson. Hunter will give his delegate(s) to Huckabee, which then will be transferred to McCain.
Are you comfortable knowing that ultimately, your vote for Hunter will be going to help nominate John McCain — a McCain-Huckabee ticket specifically — either through an actual transfer of delegates, or by simply taking votes from someone else like Thompson?
Who knows? That can ALWAYS change.
DITTO! I keep hearing endless “how could we have been so wrong” about the polling. Polls are meaningless. And they are no indication of voters, nor should they be used by media pundits OR the RNC as gospel, on any issue. Much less this one. Polls can be made to reflect whatever media pundits want them to say. And they ARE used, they are used to sway public opinion. Swaying of public opinion is what the candidates should be doing, in a fair election, NOT the media.
So when we have the general election debates, I presume you'll be lobbying for the inclusion of any candidate, now matter how little support he has or how big a crackpot he is, as long as he's on the ballot?
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