Jan 01 2008
Always room for one more
FOX News has decided to not invite Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter to a circle jerk forum with Chris Wallace in New Hampshire this coming Sunday. Granted that neither has much more chance than I of winning the Republican nomination, but still… Mr. Paul did raise $19 million in one quarter (and he has delivered over 4,000 babies in his lifetime).
Needless to say, the Paulistas are not happy. They are nothing if not fervent (though somewhat misdirected) in their support and free with their money.
TV cuts candidates from debates, angering Paul backers
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC and Fox News Channel are narrowing the field of presidential candidates invited to debates this weekend just before the New Hampshire primary, in Fox’s case infuriating supporters of Republican Rep. Ron Paul.
Ron PaulThe roster of participants for ABC’s back-to-back, prime-time Republican and Democratic debates Saturday in New Hampshire will be determined after results of Thursday’s Iowa caucus become clear.
Fox, meanwhile, has invited five GOP candidates to a forum with Chris Wallace scheduled for its mobile studio in New Hampshire on Sunday. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee received invites, leaving Paul of Texas and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California on the sidelines.
The network said it had limited space in its studio — a souped-up bus — and that it invited candidates who had received double-digit support in recent polls.
In a nationwide poll conducted December 14-20 by The Associated Press and Yahoo, Thompson had the support of 11 percent of GOP voters and Paul was at 3 percent. Paul’s support is at 6 percent in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted in early December…
Jesse Benton, Paul’s spokesman, said it was a “big mistake” not to include Paul, especially given Paul’s recent success in fundraising. He said the campaign has been trying to reach Fox News to get an explanation for the decision, but its calls had not been returned.
“There very well might be some bias,” Benton said. “Ron brings up some topics that aren’t very popular with Fox News, as in fiscal responsibility and withdrawing from the war in Iraq … that does leave us scratching our heads a little bit about whether it was deliberate. Based on metrics, I don’t see how you can possibly exclude Dr. Paul.”
Some livid Paul supporters are distributing e-mails calling for a boycott of Fox advertisers.
I am really hoping that Mr. Paul’s ego and his supporters can convince him to mount a third party campaign. That would be too delicious — and just what those uppity Republicans deserve.
