FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1/2/08
SUNUNU STATEMENT ON UPCOMING NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DEBATES
SUNUNU STATEMENT ON UPCOMING NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DEBATES
WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) today (1/2) issued the following statement regarding the organization of upcoming debates in New Hampshire prior to the January 8th Presidential Primary.
“Through the years, New Hampshire presidential primary debates have provided the opportunity for voters to hear from all the major candidates. Unfortunately, ABC and FOX are using unusual participation criteria to limit who will appear on debate stages this weekend. That may serve them well, but does little to serve the electorate. Our first in the nation presidential primary has historically given Democrats and Republicans a fair shot at a free and open debate – a tradition that should continue.”
FOX, ABC, and WMUR are going to end up looking really foolish before this is all said and done, I think. So far, the only statement I’ve seen that even remotely supports on of them is the statement from the arrogant, pompous John Edwards, who “didn’t want to get into that.”
Hat Tip: Daily Paul
I would agree with you if Ron Paul polls well in NH but if he is a distant in the polls then they can say “Look we set out a criteria and obviously it was the right one because Paul didn’t do well” One news commentator today said that McCain should be worried by Barack Obama’s surge because independents in NH can vote in either primary and McCain polls well with independents. The person he should be worried about is Ron Paul on the Republican side because everything I know about NH voter’s they love mavericks and they like what Ron Paul is saying. He may poll better there than many expect for that reason. But I still agree that the best ticket for Republicans to win in ‘08 would be a McCain/Huckabee ticket.
Well, remember that my stance on the whole debate exclusion issue is that they should allow all the candidates access as long as the candidates are in the race. I don’t care how they are polling. I want the media to stay out of helping us choose we’ll vote for by telling us who is and who isn’t viable (outside of trying as much as is humanly possible to provide unbiased coverage of them). For goodness sakes, while I will acknowledge people who say that voting for so-and-so in the actual presidential election is throwing away your vote (as much as I hate and disagree with that argument), I don’t think you can possibly say you’re throwing away your vote in the primary.
Obviously, though, providing unbiased coverage is difficult. The networks are run by executives who have political preferences and the reporters certainly have their own leanings.
Just a couple of months ago, people thought that Huckabee’s campaign was dead. Look at where he is now … his poll numbers are slipping, but he’s still doing well, especially given his performance in Iowa. He is a strong candidate.
Who is to say that something couldn’t happen that would result in, say, Duncan Hunter doing well on Super Tuesday? That would give him momentum that would prove difficult to stop.
Granted … the media are private corporations. They can choose to do whatever they want to do … they can exclude who they want. I just think it’s a poor choice, and I think that’s what Sununu is saying here, as well as the other NH reps, the NH GOP, and the NH Democratic Party, who have all condemned this.
Now, if we’re talking just about Paul in NH … for the last month or so he’s been consistently polling above Thompson, who was included in the FOX forum. So, I don’t see using his poll numbers as a reason for exclusion as being legitimate.
However, as much as I wanted to see Paul there, I also wanted to see Hunter and Keyes there. Yes, their campaigns may be non-starters, but I honestly think they bring a lot to the table.
As far as a McCain/Huckabee ticket … that is an interesting idea I hadn’t considered. It would probably work well. Both aren’t on the “inside” and I think it would play across the country well. I find both of them likeable (outside of McCain’s idiotic attempt to slander Paul at one of the recent debates just after Thanksgiving).
As I see it, the problem the Republicans have is picking up votes from people in their party who don’t support the current foreign policy, and I believe that is a more significant number than most people realize. The big question … in a two-party race, is that enough of a reason for those R rank-and-file folks to jump ship and vote for Obama or Clinton (or whoever gets the D nomination)? Given that the Democrats are just playing at being anti-war (I know that’s a generalization, but I honestly believe that the major Democratic candidates are only on the anti-Iraq bandwagon because it’s politically expedient) … and the fact that they are Democrats, it might not be enough of a reason for them to jump ship and give the D side a resounding victory.
One way or the other, this election is going to be an interesting one.