2012 Presidential Debates

[SamuraisWisdom]

The first thing I think of when it comes to nationally televised debates is the bias of the Moderators and the non-answers from the Candidates. We can all remember the 2007-2008 debates and how those went. So if Ron Paul decides to run again, or anybody with a message worth listening to, how do we prevent the 2007-2008 style debates from happening again? I for one don't want to see 30 minutes of Mitt Romney dodging answers or conveniently changing positions and then 5 minutes of Ron answering questions flat out and honest. So how about this...

I've been floating the idea of the Tea Party holding it's own Republican debate(s). Now I know that there are laws that give political parties exclusive rights to debating, but in this case there could be an exception. The Tea Party is more prevalent within the Republican Party right now than the establishment itself, and it seems to be growing every day. If Tea Party activists were able to organize their own debate then how could the Republican Party possibly say no? How bad would that look to turn their back on the entity that has been fueling them for the past year? We could have our own moderators, our own format, our own questions without interference from the party itself. Equal time for all candidates to answer the same questions. Now there's a novelty!!

What do you guys think? Good idea or pipedream?

[speciallyblend]

hold it in Colorado;) Denver good idea but the republican establishment i would guess wouldn't let it happen but i like the idea!!!

[thehunter]

I think it's an excellent idea to encourage a Tea Party debate, especially after the whole issue that arose in 2008 with Ron Paul being selectively left off of the invitee list of some events.

[South Park Fan]

Is there any way that Campaign for Liberty/Young Americans for Liberty could sponsor a debate?

[malkusm]

Is there any way that Campaign for Liberty/Young Americans for Liberty could sponsor a debate?

That would be awesome! :eek:

[PBrady]

...and a lot of money :-)

EDIT: But I would be all for seeing that happen

[djdellisanti4]

That would be awesome! :eek:

Haha. Half of the questions could be about the Federal Reserve. Mitt, Palin and Newt will be speechless.

[Inkblots]

This is an excellent idea. Of course, it would need to be sponsored by a coalition of groups much larger than just C4L to put sufficient pressure on the candidates to participate and the GOP to partner with it. We would need all the big Tea Party umbrella groups - especially some of the more astro-turfy ones with deep pockets - in on it to have a hope of success. That means that we'd need to partner with Tea Party Patriots, Tea Party Express, FreedomWorks, and a whole host of regional organizations to pull this off.

And organizing for it would need to start almost immediately after the November elections if there's to be any hope of our getting all the necessary ducks in a row by late 2011. The folks who are active in C4L would be the best ones to talk to on this - if C4L could be the kingpin that recruits and organizes the other groups for something like this, we could hopefully avoid diluting the number of really substantial, Liberty-focused questions that would make it into any debate.

[BULBASAUR!]

I think Ron should just go balls out during every debate. He should call out each candidate and go on about how liberal and big government they are. He needs to consitently bring up Mitt Romney on health care, call out Palin on supporting the bail outs, and Hucakbee on immigration. I'm not sure how he should handle Newt, since he appears to be percieved as the most conservative one. The good doctor needs to let everyone know that he is the ultimate tea party candidate. Hell, I think he ought to gloat about his voting record.

[jake]

Ron needs a debate coach :) he should come out with some snappy liberty one-liners that will go down in the history books, like below:

Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy. (Prolonged shouts and applause.) What has to be done in a situation like that is to call in the —

Woodruff: (Admonishing applauders) Please, please, once again you are only taking time away from your own candidate.

Quayle: That was really uncalled for, Senator. (Shouts and applause.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senator,_you%27re_no_Jack_Kennedy

[SamuraisWisdom]

Giving this a self serving bump. Anybody out there know how to go about organizing a debate with other Tea Party factions?

[libertybrewcity]

I bet there will be some liberty/Tea Party debate. Of course, it would probably be funded by the Tea Party Express because the Tea Party is very decentralized as far as organization, and they wouldn't have enough funds. I could see a larger organization holding a debate in the name of the Tea Party.

Excellent idea though. I would like to see a debate where candidates that agree with a set of tea party beliefs are the only ones invited. It would narrow it down a bit.

[Fozz]

I'm not sure how he should handle Newt, since he appears to be percieved as the most conservative one. The good doctor needs to let everyone know that he is the ultimate tea party candidate. Hell, I think he ought to gloat about his voting record.

He should call out Newt for cheating on his wife and for supporting the bailouts, doing an environmental ad with Nancy Pelosi, and others.

[james1906]

He should call out Newt for cheating on his wife and for supporting the bailouts, doing an environmental ad with Nancy Pelosi, and others.

"Congressman Gingrich, while you were chumming up to Speaker Pelosi and helping push her agenda, I was actively campaigning for her Republican opponent, John Dennis. Mr. Dennis is in the crowd tonight, stand up sir, ladies and gentleman, this man and I are fighting for conservative values everywhere while Gingrich turned his back on them many years ago. I ask that you join us in making America great again."

[libertybrewcity]

He should call out Newt for cheating on his wife and for supporting the bailouts, doing an environmental ad with Nancy Pelosi, and others.

YouTube - Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich Commercial on Climate Change (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6n_-wB154)

:)

[AuH2O]

Or call him out on the slew of lousy RINOs he's endorsed in the last year.

[ronpaulhawaii]

Anyone know who these guys are?

http://teapartydebates.com/