UPDATE: It appears that Ron Paul may not be excluded, since the debate in question was reportedly cancelled weeks ago.
UPDATE 2: The article linked to above seems to be false. See this post on the Ron Paul Forums.
It would appear that Ron Paul is going to be excluded from an upcoming Republican Presidential Forum to be held on January 6. The forum is sponsored by the New Hampshire Republican Party and will be broadcast on FOX News.
Although I haven’t been able to confirm this to be the case, it would appear from posts I’ve read on dailypaul.com that FOX has taken the initiative in excluding Paul over the protests of the NH Republican Party.
I’m actually amazed at this point that Paul would be excluded. In the last few weeks, he’s consistently polled at just below Huckabee (or in one case as well as Huckabee), and in every case he’s polled as well as Thompson if not better. And … these are “real” polls, not the “internet polls” that Paul supporters have been falsely accused of “spamming” or “hacking” (I’m not saying that Paul supporters don’t organize themselves and vote in the polls, but organized voting does not equate to “spamming” or “hacking”).
Considering that Paul has raised around $18.9 million this quarter, an amount that has been widely reported to exceed any other GOP candidate (and I’m tempted to believe the reports since no other candidate has claimed a higher number thus far), it would seem that the contention of Paul supporters that the “real” polls don’t reflect his actual strength on the ground is correct. Sure, Paul’s supporters are more energetic, and I certainly believe that a higher percentage of them have been motivated to donate compared to the supporters of other candidates, but I don’t think that it would be a stretch to say that there are probably nine Paul supporters who didn’t donate for every one that did. In my case, I did donate on the last “money bomb” day, and I know of at least four Paul supporters who did not, and I haven’t even gone out and intentionally quizzed all the Paul supporters I know (and there are > 240 in our meetup group here in Chattanooga).
Since Paul is polling above at least one of the other candidates involved in this forum (Thompson) and has in two instances polled as well as another (Huckabee) … and a good argument can be made that his actual strength is better than reported … why is Paul being excluded? Hopefully we’ll find out soon.
In the mean time, Paul supporters are suggesting we boycott FOX News. As if I watch FOX News anyway. Puh-leese. Others have suggested picketing local FOX affiliates. Personally, I’m planning on writing to some FOX advertisers complaining.
Note: Since I initially posted this, I’ve posted the following additional articles about the FOX News exclusion, as well as the ABC News/WMUR exclusions:
“Ron Paul NOT Excluded After All?” (Was based on an erroneous article that was later retracted)
“Ron Paul & the FOX News Forum Exclusion - Part III“
“Further Clarification on the Ron Paul/FOX Forum Mess“
“More Debate Exclusion in New Hampshire“
“New Hampshire Debate Exclusion Update & My Open Letter to WMUR and ABC News“
“Senator John Sununu (R-NH) Weighs in on FOX Forum/ABC Debate Exclusions“
Here’s a great article I found on the subject: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_anthony__071229_fox_news_fascism__96_r.htm
As far as what to do, if you want to take action, hit them where it hurts - the broadcast license of your local Fox affiliate station. Without thousands of affiliate stations broadcasting across the country, Fox News isn’t worth crap.
Write a letter or send a fax to your local cable company (I believe Comcast holds the monopoly in Chattanooga) and tell them that Fox News is “not acting in the public interest” (that’s a trigger phrase, btw). Specifically, they are violating equal time laws which the FCC requires media outlets to respect with regards to election candidates. In your letter or fax, ask them to stop carrying the Fox News channel in your market. Also ask them to place your letter in their “FCC public file” (this is another trigger phrase). The FCC reviews these letters each year in considering whether to approve the station’s broadcast license.
Here’s a quick rundown of equal time rules so you know what you’re writing about: http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/E/htmlE/equaltimeru/equaltimeru.htm
I would emphasize that their debate should not be considered “on the spot news” and exempt from equal time requirements, since Fox News is acting as the hosts, and are excluding Ron Paul over the objection of the New Hampshire Republican party, the supposed sponsor of the event.
Next thing you can do is to complain directly to the FCC, saying pretty much the same thing. The FCC invites people to make specific complaints about individual providers by sending an email to fccinfo@fcc.gov or by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC. I recommend sending a complaint, again emphasizing the fact that Fox News is “not acting in the public interest”.
I truly believe that a concerted letter-writing, phone, fax, and email campaign could force Fox to either cancel the event or invite Dr Paul to speak at it. Five days from now, even if he doesn’t win it outright, I have no doubt that Ron Paul will place higher in the Iowa caucuses than McCain, Guiliani, and Thompson, making his exclusion, should it be allowed to stand, seem all the more absurd.