A word on Debra Medina and the debates

[Flash]

A word on Debra Medina and the debates


A lot of commenters/e-mailers/callers are asking about whether Debra Medina is taking part in the next Republican gubernatorial debate, Jan. 29, sponsored by Belo Corp. and The Dallas Morning News. We appreciate the passion you bring to politics; at heart, we're political junkies, too, so we know that the really engaged few often drive the process.

And let me note that this newspaper has devoted a lot more coverage to Medina's candidacy than some outlets. Just this week, we had a front-page story on her state-sovereignty event and her role in the primary. We covered her announcement that she would run. We've blogged about her ads and her policies.

Our broadcast partners set the criteria for the Jan. 29 debate. They mirror what many media outlets use to make these decisions. They include:

-- 15 percent standing in independent public opinion polls, the standard used by the Commission on Presidental Debates.
-- substantial campaign contributions from varied sources.
-- previously held significant public office.
-- received a substantial number of votes in prior elections for public office.
-- will be included in election-night returns reported by news agencies.
-- has received significant news coverage from a wide range of media outlets.

At The News, we will continue to monitor the situation and report on this campaign like we do all others: without fear or favor.

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/01/a-word-on-debra-medina-and-the.html

[MsDoodahs]

Translation:

We are going to shove the establishment candidates down Texans' throats.

[Bruno]

"-- 15 percent standing in independent public opinion polls, the standard used by the Commission on Presidental Debates."

hard for a 3rd party candidate to meet that threshhold before the debates, but easier afterwards, therefore the two-party system is protected

[MsDoodahs]

hard for a 3rd party candidate to meet that threshhold before the debates, but easier afterwards, therefore the two-party system is protected

yep.

[erowe1]

-- 15 percent standing in independent public opinion polls, the standard used by the Commission on Presidental Debates.

Notice what they do here. They bring in a standard used by the Commission on Presidential Debates that is used for debates for the general election, where it is assumed that only 2 candidates are serious contenders except in unusual situations. But this is not the case in a party's primary, where there can often be multiple candidates who are all serious contenders, and because of that it would not be at all unusual for some of those contenders to have well below 15% in polls. It doesn't make any sense to apply a standard that is specifically designed for debates for a general election to debates for a primary election this way. Think back to all of the debates during any presidential primaries. They always had a good number of candidates, always including some with well below 15% support in polls.

[low preference guy]

erowe1, you should comment your entire post on that site.

[AdamT]

Every poll I saw today had Medina destroying the other 2 hacks, in some cases with 80% or more. Of course they will use some BS poll they conduct, done in the "MSM" way. In other words the poll will be biased or manipulated to keep Debra just under 15%. And if she happened to get 15% or more, they would just lie to keep her out.

[erowe1]

Every poll I saw today had Medina destroying the other 2 hacks, in some cases with 80% or more. Of course they will use some BS poll they conduct, done in the "MSM" way. In other words the poll will be biased or manipulated to keep Debra just under 15%. And if she happened to get 15% or more, they would just lie to keep her out.

Well, let's be honest. Nobody knows better than we do how easily skewed internet polls are.

[Flash]

-- previously held significant public office.

So basically shes screwed no matter what we do?

[low preference guy]

flash, I think there's an implicit OR between the conditions, not an AND.

e.g., if she polls 15%, she'll be in the debate no matter what.

[devil21]

Just gotta keep up the pressure and keep doing what you can to help her.

We know very well that the media will do whatever it can to protect the status quo candidates (see: RP in NH Fox News roundtable) but Jan 29 is still a long way away and after her performance last night she can only go up from here. I don't live in Texas but I assume that Texans are less likely to accept being "told" who they can vote for than a lot of other states. Keep plugging away!

[MsDoodahs]

Texas Election Code, Section 258.002 (b)

"It is the intent of the legislature that every candidate and political committee that subscribes to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices will follow the basic principles of decency, honesty, and fair play to encourage healthy competition and open discussion of issues and candidate qualifications and to discourage practices that cloud the issues or unfairly attack opponents."

It's voluntary for the candidates, Perry and Bailout aren't interested in having Deb present, and of course the BELO sleaze doesn't have any incentive to abide by the spirit of it.

[Flash]

flash, I think there's an implicit OR between the conditions, not an AND.

e.g., if she polls 15%, she'll be in the debate no matter what.

If thats the case then we can easily pull this off if we tried,


-- substantial campaign contributions from varied sources.

[LittleLightShining]

If thats the case then we can easily pull this off if we tried,


-- substantial campaign contributions from varied sources. Where exactly does it say that?

[Flash]

Where exactly does it say that?

In the blog I posted, mentioned in the original post,

"Our broadcast partners set the criteria for the Jan. 29 debate. They mirror what many media outlets use to make these decisions. They include:

-- 15 percent standing in independent public opinion polls, the standard used by the Commission on Presidental Debates.
-- substantial campaign contributions from varied sources.
-- previously held significant public office.
-- received a substantial number of votes in prior elections for public office.
-- will be included in election-night returns reported by news agencies.
-- has received significant news coverage from a wide range of media outlets."

[freedoms-light]

previously held significant public office.

Dumb requirement.
Rand Paul would be shut out by that one even though he's the front runner.

[LittleLightShining]

In the blog I posted, mentioned in the original post,

"Our broadcast partners set the criteria for the Jan. 29 debate. They mirror what many media outlets use to make these decisions. They include:

-- 15 percent standing in independent public opinion polls, the standard used by the Commission on Presidental Debates.
-- substantial campaign contributions from varied sources.
-- previously held significant public office.
-- received a substantial number of votes in prior elections for public office.
-- will be included in election-night returns reported by news agencies.
-- has received significant news coverage from a wide range of media outlets."

How do they quantify that? Is there a way to find out EXACTLY what that means?

[Romulus]

I guess that means keep calling :)

[sratiug]

Belo Corp. (Belo or the Company), a Delaware corporation, began as a Texas newspaper company in 1842. At December 31, 2007, Belo was one of the nation’s largest media companies with a diversified group of market-leading television broadcasting and newspaper publishing operations, including interactive media and cable news operations. Belo operates news and information franchises in some of America’s most dynamic markets and regions. The Company owns 20 television stations (six in the largest 14 U.S. markets) that reach 14 percent of U.S. television households, and manages one television station through a local marketing agreement (LMA). In addition, Belo owns two local and two regional cable news channels and holds ownership interests in two other cable news operations. At December 31, 2007, Belo’s primary daily newspapers were The Dallas Morning News, The Providence Journal and The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA) and Belo operated more than 30 news and information Web sites, in addition to participating in several interactive alliances and offering a broad range of Internet-based products.


If this is the same Belo, it's a Delaware Corporation. Why should a delaware corporation care what's best for Texas? And why should they be allowed to decide who's in a debate, when they don't care enough to pay taxes in Texas?

[MsDoodahs]

Lots and lots of businesses are incorporated in Delaware because they have very corporate friendly laws - a great place to be a "corporate person."

[sratiug]

Lots and lots of businesses are incorporated in Delaware because they have very corporate friendly laws - a great place to be a "corporate person."

But that doesn't mean Texans want outsiders deciding their elections for them.

[MsDoodahs]

These guys aren't outsiders. They live HERE. They control media HERE (and elsewhere).

I came across some stuff today on the net about their chairman and some sleazy stuff he's doing to try and get his buddy or maybe it was his cousin elected mayor of dallas.

[james1906]

I really wish Debra would have invited herself to the next debate in her closing statement.

[MsDoodahs]

bump