Current lineup for SC debate; Ron Paul, Gingrich, Pawlenty, Santorum, Roemer

[sailingaway]

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/b669224991a54e4db81b075e4880cbef/SC--Republican-Debates/

Get this:


Candidates can't participate unless they form an exploratory committee and file paperwork and pay a $25,000 fee to get on South Carolina's ballot. They also have to meet polling criteria.

[eduardo89]

Ron is going to completely destroy them.

I'd love Rand to be in a debate with Gingrich though, especially if they got asked a question on their position(s) on the Libya war!

[MRoCkEd]

No Gary Johnson?

[eduardo89]

No Gary Johnson?

Probably doesn't meet the polling criteria restriction.


Let's get real Gary Johnson isn't going to win and he should pull out sooner rather than later and run for Senate.

[Kotin]

Let's get real Gary Johnson isn't going to win and he should pull out sooner rather than later and run for Senate.

agreed

[Nathan Hale]

The best strategy for the liberty movement is to have Johnson on that stage, stay until the last debate before the Ames straw poll, and then drop out and endorse Ron Paul (possibly in a closing argument on-air at a debate).

Ames is important because after Ames the fundraising part of the primary kicks into high air so eliminating the weaker candidate helps to traffic our donation strength in a single direction.

[low preference guy]

The best strategy for the liberty movement is to have Johnson on that stage

Johnson has not confirmed participation so far. That to me suggests three possibilities:

1. He decided to not run at all if Ron runs, and is just waiting out a bit to see if Ron jumps in.
2. He will confirm his participation later.
3. He wasn't invited and hasn't decided what to do about that.

[Nathan Hale]

Johnson has not confirmed participation so far. That to me suggests three possibilities:

1. He decided to not run at all if Ron runs, and is just waiting out a bit to see if Ron jumps in.
2. He will confirm his participation later.
3. He wasn't invited and hasn't decided what to do about that.

There weren't invitations, only qualifications. Whether or not the Johnson campaign meets them is another thing. It would be nice to hear two liberty voices on that stage for the early part of the primary season.

[rp08orbust]

Probably doesn't meet the polling criteria restriction.

Does anyone know if they had the same criteria in May 2007? How did Ron Paul meet the criteria in the early days?


Let's get real Gary Johnson isn't going to win and he should pull out sooner rather than later and run for Senate.

I wonder how late is too late for Gary to jump in the Senate race.

[Nathan Hale]

I wonder how late is too late for Gary to jump in the Senate race.

He's got time. The filing deadline is 1/1/12

http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=483303

[eduardo89]

He's got time. The filing deadline is 1/1/12

http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=483303

If he's got that long he should stay for the first couple of debates. But he needs to make his intentions of running for Senate soon!

[bwlibertyman]

If it was based on criteria and not invite, why was Mitt Romney not on there? Unless you are assuming that he made it but has stated that he will not go.

[Aratus]

thah more than $100,ooo+ collected up from the four or five leading
candidates helps lil ole S.C put the shindig on this MAY FIFTH...???
cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooool!

[Michael Landon]

We need Rand and Gary to join in this debate otherwise there'll be four interventionists ganging up on one non-interventionist thus making him look like he's the odd one out. Trust me on this, I see it all the time with the mindless Hannity/Limbaugh sheep at my work and if those four agree on something like bombing Libya the sheep will automatically agree with them and disagree with Ron. The more balanced the views are the more likely we'll see people switch to our side.

With only Ron debating:
Mindless DittoHead: "Hey, T-Paw and Newt say we should nuke Iran so I say let's do it, everyone except that KOOK Ron Paul agrees with them so I say BOMBS AWAY!!"

With Ron, Rand and Gary debating:
Mindless DittoHead: "Hey, three of the seven think interferring in the affairs of foreign nations that we aren't at war with is wrong thing to do so maybe we SHOULDN'T bomb Iran if they aren't a threat to us. Maybe we should let the Middle East deal with themselves."

- ML

[JoshLowry]

We need Rand and Gary to join in this debate otherwise there'll be four interventionists ganging up on one non-interventionist thus making him look like he's the odd one out. Trust me on this, I see it all the time with the mindless Hannity/Limbaugh sheep at my work and if those four agree on something like bombing Libya the sheep will automatically agree with them and disagree with Ron. The more balanced the views are the more likely we'll see people switch to our side.

With only Ron debating:
Mindless DittoHead: "Hey, T-Paw and Newt say we should nuke Iran so I say let's do it, everyone except that KOOK Ron Paul agrees with them so I say BOMBS AWAY!!"

With Ron, Rand and Gary debating:
Mindless DittoHead: "Hey, three of the seven think interferring in the affairs of foreign nations that we aren't at war with is wrong thing to do so maybe we SHOULDN'T bomb Iran if they aren't a threat to us. Maybe we should let the Middle East deal with themselves."

- ML

It can be argued that Rand and Gary Johnson have both spoken in favor of interventionist policies.

/purist

:D

[Billay]

Probably doesn't meet the polling criteria restriction.


Let's get real Gary Johnson isn't going to win and he should pull out sooner rather than later and run for Senate.

What an idiotic comment you sound like those neo-con assholes who talked about Ron Paul 4 years ago. FYI Ron Paul won't win the Republican nomination either maybe he should drop out :rolleyes:

[Nathan Hale]

If it was based on criteria and not invite, why was Mitt Romney not on there? Unless you are assuming that he made it but has stated that he will not go.

Because he's holding out. That wasn't a list of candidates able to go, it was a list on candidates who agreed to go.

[acptulsa]

What an idiotic comment you sound like those neo-con assholes who talked about Ron Paul 4 years ago. FYI Ron Paul won't win the Republican nomination either maybe he should drop out :rolleyes:

He paid to be in the debate and he's going to go there and pwn them. Then we shall see what we shall see.

But, hey, thanks for sharing. :rolleyes:

[Nathan Hale]

He paid to be in the debate and he's going to go there and pwn them. Then we shall see what we shall see.

But, hey, thanks for sharing. :rolleyes:

He wasn't being literal. He was referring to the fact that this movement sometimes forgets its roots and underestimates people because they appear weak, as Ron Paul appeared back in early 07.

[eduardo89]

What an idiotic comment you sound like those neo-con assholes who talked about Ron Paul 4 years ago. FYI Ron Paul won't win the Republican nomination either maybe he should drop out :rolleyes:

Gary Johnson won't win, no matter how idiotic you think the truth may be. He's got a real chance of getting elected to the Senate and that would be the best for the liberty movement. Him staying might fracture our vote between him and RP.

[Aratus]

romney is not being a major arrival inside the debate
despite his hat now being in the ring as of yesterday???
south carolina as a primary tends to frame the GOP debate.

[sailingaway]

He could still say he's attending. He just hadn't as of that time.

[tsai3904]

Looks like Newt Gingrich is going to skip the first debate:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52997.html

[acptulsa]

Newt's going to skip more than that. I think it's safe to say that both he and Palin got their trial balloons shot down.

[Nathan Hale]

Gary Johnson won't win, no matter how idiotic you think the truth may be. He's got a real chance of getting elected to the Senate and that would be the best for the liberty movement. Him staying might fracture our vote between him and RP.

He's right though, "he won't win" has been the refrain issued before every comeuppance in electoral politics. When Johnson won his primary (against an ex governor and GOP insider) when he first ran for office he was told the same thing. I'm not saying that it's likely he'll win, Ron is certainly better positioned at this point, but it's harmless for both men to be in the primary for the early months. Check out my thread in the Ames Straw Poll sub-forum called "The Ames Accord" - in which both men run up to the Ames poll and agree that at time the weaker of the two would drop and endorse.