NH GOP withdraws as sponsor from Fox News debate
The Manchester Union Leader is reporting and blogs are buzzing over the NH GOP party’s withdrawal as a sponsor from the Fox News debate tomorrow night. U-L:
12:15 p.m. UnionLeader.com has learned that the New Hampshire Republican Party has quit as a co-sponsor of tomorrow night’s nationally televised GOP forum on FOX News. The event had become controversial when FOX refused to include Ron Paul.
Boston Globe reporting:
The New Hampshire Republican Party dropped their affiliation with a Republican debate sponsored by Fox News tomorrow night because they have limited the number of candidates that can participate.
“The first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary serves a national purpose by giving all candidates an equal opportunity on a level playing field,” said Republican chair Fergus Cullen. “Only in New Hampshire do lesser known, lesser funded underdogs have a fighting chance to establish themselves as national figures.
Tonight’s ABC News back-to-back debates will include Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul at 7pm and Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Bill Richardson after the GOP event.
Denny K is going after Disney/ABC for the exclusion.
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Latest Rasmussen Poll has Paul in a strong 3rd place in NH
Rasmussen 1/4/2008
McCain 31%
Romney 26%
Paul 14%
Huckabee 11%
Giuliani 8%
Thompson 5%
I have yet to understand why Ron Paul is running as a Republican. It is a farce to have him in the debates anyway, IMO.
The Republican Party is in such a mess, it’s depressing. At such a critical time in our country’s history, it is sad that neither party can do better in its list of candidates for President.
Ron Paul? Who is he? Oh, yeah, he is that guy who thinks there is no GWOT and thugs crashed planes into the WTC and Pentagon. He is a “truther”. He is also the guy who is going to fix the IRS problem. Hold on I feel something coming on:
BWAAAHHHAAAAAHHHAAAAAHHHAAAA
/sarc We need a guy like that!
FOX does not want him as part of the debate? Good call.
Sorry, just had to copy that line. I rarely see those words strung together. So the NH GOP is going all “affirmative action” on FOX. Cool!
I just listened to a paulbot’s “reasoning” that claims most of America wants us out of Iraq and Afghanistan and will elect either Paul or Obambi/Edwards. Say it ain’t so. Seems the evil neocons have made rest of world hate us and Europe is a paradise of low taxes in comparison.
I personally don’t give a rat’s asp what the UN, George Soros, the Eurotrashweenies, Hollywood elite, Code Pink, moron.org et al want. I worry that our citizens are not bright enough to look beyond what the media vomits or really do want a nanny state and higher taxes and advancing dhimmitude and pc rules to encourage Islam. At least the Cheese-eating surrender monkeys in Paris are finally beginning to reject socialism.
Whatever happened to logic and commonsense? EDven though the vast majority of us want immigration law enforced, our pols want to cater to illegals and the people who hire them. Give us a break. And the likes of RINO Arnold Schwarzenegger running anything is not the answer either.
katieanne said (#2):
He’s a libertarian conservative who has never voted for a tax increase. He doesn’t America engaged in “nation building” around the world (didn’t Bush run on that?). He favors states’ rights.
So to the paulies if Ron Paul is a republican and he loses the nomination then he should back the current GOP winner in the General election ?
You say he’s a republican so if he loses he should back the nominee
FYI………..they also dumped Duncan Hunter : (
Fox news should allow ALL the candidates in the debate PERIOD. This is
doesn’t sound Fair and Balanced to me.
The whole reason we have primaries is to
hear what the candidates have to say, then we can choose.
I agree with madchef: anyone still in the race in a given party should be in the debate.
As for Ron Paul support, (a little OT), when I was home for Christmas in Central Florida, I was amazed at the number of Ron Paul signs being displayed all over my hometown. There is support for him.
As to why he is running as a Republican, I can’t say. He is Libertarian, so he should run on that ticket. (Even though he is technically Republican, he’s not really.)
The only type of madmen I can think of that would support madman Ron Paul would be Democrats posing as Republicans in primaries. The guy is insane. He thinks we flew airplanes by remote control into the World Trade Towers and still doesn’t understand jihad. Great call by Fox News.
OK … Hunter and Tancredo were left out … respectively they got totals of 524 and 5 votes in Iowa … the reaction to their being left off from NH just further emphasizes my belief that we need a national primary day so that all candidates are available to vote for in every state’s primary …
On the Dem side DK being left out is even stranger since he didn’t even run in Iowa … so I guess he is being penalized in a sense for that …
Shows that 332,000 Iowans (less than 0.0011 % of the US population) are determining who is left for the rest of us to choose from … and that to me is total BS …
I’m not real clear on how Iowa voters choosing their delegates determines how anyone else chooses theirs.
Fox made the decision to exclude candidates and that is also their right to do so. The NH GOP pulled out of sponsoring the debate and that is their right. You can still choose to support anyone you please….really….no BS
I’m for any candidate who is sincere about States’ Rights. Anything to downsize the gov’t. But, as far as debates on tv goes, I’ll skip them. Too much of a circus, and the same old….same old. I’m waiting until September.
I think that Rudy (not my favorite) was pretty smart in avoiding the early primaries… just wait till the mega states come into play.
It’s a big country.
I’m in a state that will never be red in my lifetime.So, when the viable candidates are in a debate to be televised nationally I don’t want to hear the unrealistic,continual mantra from a candidate that has no chance nationally. Don’t talk about states rights and individual rights and then castigate Fox about it’s right to produce a useful debate.
To all ya’ll wanting to kick Paul out of the GOP, understand that this move might just trump ALL of the newspaper endorsements of McCain and give Paul the momentum to win. If there can only be 5, it should be the top 5 of the Iowa caucuses, not some made up reasons to exclude one or the other.
LIVE FREE OR DIE – it’s not just a slogan, it’s a way of life.
Man I do love New Hampshire!
Nonsense like this gives Paul and his supporters credibility. There’s enough real things about Ron Paul to criticize that we don’t need to make stuff up.
madchef said (#9):
Clue for the clueless.
I would rather listen to a good discussion from candidates that have an actual chance of being elected by the majority than to waste time listening to a tin foil hat wearing nutcase like Ron Paul. They have to start whittling down the number of candidates sometime. In all reality, Paul doesn’t stand a chance. IMO, he’s mentally unbalanced. He and Rosie O’Donnell would get along just fine.
For those of you cheering the decision by FoxNews and ABC to exclude candidates in this debate, I have a question for you.
Do you think the MSM has a right to select the candidates you will vote for in the primaries.
I thought that was our job.
This is the primaries and we have a right to hear the voices of all the candidates without the MSM deciding who will be allowed to debate.
IMHO The MSM already has too much influence in our elections by excluding coverage for one candidate over another.
Do you really want them to set a precedent where they decide who is a viable candidate.
I think Fox would conduct the “debates” with or without a “sponsor”. Might we then say the NHGOP smells like the ACLU and what ever union is undermining American workers. Ron Paul is also very odorous and stick my finger in your eye type of guy. I also wonder who his financial benefactor in the name of the Paul horde might be. Much better this Mighty Nothing not appear in any public “debate”. And now that we have taken care of grandpa what are we going to do about John.
scooter56
And just how are those that were supporting a candidate that has now dropped out before their state primary going to be able to support and vote for that person? … that was my point … candidates dropping out and 49 states to go … so no matter how you want to parse my statement the facts are that the outcome in Iowa has a bearing on who is still in the races … so I stand by my statement that a miniscule number of people have an inordinate effect on the rest of the primaries … and the same thing will happen after NH and then again after SoCar …
As long as any individual has not withdrawn from the primary race they should be included … even though I personally feel it significantly dilutes the debate as far as sufficient time for responses …
Once again, You get to vote not the media. They get to select who to have on their broadcast networks….. (their network). Kinda like “They (decide what to) Report” and “You Decide” who to vote for. Sorry if you buy into that “Fair/Balanced” BS, and I know it is a catchy slogan, but that’s all it is. And they have the right to broadcast what they want (their company).
If Fox doesn’t want Ron Paul on they can do that. Why do you think Rudy frequently dresses in a blond wig and a skirt (to get on FOX like every other bimbo).
However Fox doesn’t get to vote. You do! (unless maybe your in Florida).
I think Ron Paul should show them all and switch parties.
Ron Paul, Crazy Dennis and the rest of the third tier so called candidates do not have snowball’s chance in Tehran. Why waste valuable broadcast time?
Katieanne is correct. If the GOP ever needed a strong figure as candidate, it is now and all we have is a mishmash of partials. Where is the leader? I’m afraid the Dems will walk away with this one and the US is in deep trouble. Anyone but Hillary the Hag though!
This process will produce a leader. The quality of all the candidates is very good and will force all of them to clearly define their positions.
Good night nurse I’m sick of Paulmania.
He isn’t offering anything that hasn’t been offered before. (Perot anyone??)He keeps mesmorizing teenagers & the obviously un- (or under) employed with “gitchy” little soundbytes about the constitution and states rights.
The overwhelming majority of us conservative Republicans want a lot of the things he espouses. Smaller govt, less spending, states rights, pro-life etc. but…..
The disingenuous portion of his platform is that he knows full well he couldn’t deliver on even 1% of what he wants if by some fluke he ever got elected. He’s either deluding his followers or himself or probably both.
It’s that anti- “THE MAN” image that makes him so popular with young males. (most of whom will end up not voting anyway because they’ll be in class that day or they’ll oversleep after that frat kegger or they’ll have to clean the basement for their parents that day.)
We don’t need RP in a debate, we need him to go home and STFU.
I still don’t think anyone who’s running should be excluded, even if he is a nutjob. Fair and balanced? I don’t think so.
I’m amazed at the ignorance of some on this forum who continue to connect Ron Paul to some of his supporters: On-my-soap-box #3; Gabe #11; katieanne #20.
It’s easy to criticize the supporters of a candidate, but your ignorance shows when you can’t debate on the issues that Paul supports. Why?
Because you don’t know a thing about the difference between what the “Old Republican Party” stood for and what the “New Republican Party” platform espouses.
Ron Paul stands for the Old Republican Party. The Party that stood for less government and no entanglement with other nations. The Party that got us out of Vietnam and Korea.
Ron Paul left the Republican party to run as a Libertarian in 88 because he saw the Party changing. He went back to being a Republican because he realized that to get anything done, he had to fight for what the Old Republican party stood for.
In 2004, the New Republican party did him a favor that opened the door. The New Republican parties mantra of war mongering and Islamofacism has caused its demise. Ron Paul represents what was and he hopes, will be again.
America voted in 2006 and this was a sign that the New Republican party was losing its grip. If 70% of Americans don’t want war, does anyone on the right really believe this attitude will change come November?
The last thing I want is a socialist in office, but this is where we’re headed unless Ron Paul is elected…and this is just my humble opinion.
I also think that Ron Paul will run as a 3rd party candidate if he doesn’t win the nomination. This will give him 10 more months to get his message to the masses.
Either way, the New Republican Party is screwed. But there is hope in bringing back that what was.
Fed Up
LGM do all the other ABC stations seem fair and balanced? If they were Fox probably would not be on the air. As you say Paul is a Liberterian and not a true GOP. I know it rankles demos and libs that they don’t have all the media in their grasp.
FoxNews made an absolutely tragic mistake by not including Paul and Hunter. Since the Republican party has strayed so far adrift of its old success formula, there needs to be more open debate about the party’s future direction. I have long regarded FoxNews as an island of wisdom in a sea of left-wing stupidity, but it doesn’t help for them to start dividing Republicans against ourselves. Let Paul and Hunter have their say, and if the voters don’t want them, we’ll all know soon enough.
After seeing Ron Paul tonight, he’s a nutjob and deserves to be exculded for being a gullible moron on Foreign Policy.
And to “Fed Up” I’ve been a Republican for deacdes. You’re off your nut.
Don’t be.
“All kinds of people today call themselves ‘libertarians,’ especially something calling itself the New Right, which consists of hippies, except that they’re anarchists instead of collectivists. But of course, anarchists are collectivists. Capitalism is the one system that requires absolute objective law, yet they want to combine capitalism and anarchism. That is worse than anything the New Left has proposed. It’s a mockery of philosophy and ideology. They sling slogans and try to ride on two bandwagons. They want to be hippies, but don’t want to preach collectivism, because those jobs are already taken. But anarchism is a logical outgrowth of the anti-intellectual side of collectivism. I could deal with a Marxist with a greater chance of reaching some kind of understanding, and with much greater respect. The anarchist is the scum of the intellectual world of the left, which has given them up. So the right picks up another leftist discard. That’s the Libertarian movement.”
“They are not defenders of capitalism. They’re a group of publicity seekers who rush into politics prematurely, because they allegedly want to educate people through a political campaign, which can’t be done. Further, their leadership consists of men of every of persuasion, from religious conservatives to anarchists. Moreover, most of them are my enemies: they spend their time denouncing me, while plagiarizing my ideas. Now, I think it’s a bad beginning for an allegedly pro-capitalist party to start by stealing ideas.”
-Ayn Rand-
After tonight’s debate it is clear (and has been clear) that Ron Paul differs from the rest of the candidates on foreign policy. HOWEVER, the rest of his positions are as conservative as they come.
Ron Paul sees everything in government the way a family would see budget and expenditures. He sees war mongers say ‘we have to fight a war on terror’, but he hears, this is going to cost a LOT of money and we are going to get it from borrowing money from our kids.
NOTE: While I disagree with Ron Paul’s ideas on foreign policy, I sympathize with his concept that WASHINGTON, with all their rhetoric, does very little to protect us even though they claim to. If Paul agreed that we need interventionist policies, he’d probably recognize that Washington and the Pentagon are least able to wage it competently. We have botched Pakistan, and Iraq (until we finally were able to get rid of Brownie – er I mean Rumsfeld).
Other than that, Paul sees the GOVERNMENT as the problem. He doesn’t ‘blame America first’, but he does see the government as the problem and not the solution. The only way to keep Washington from spending money is to keep them from getting it. Tax cuts are great, but cutting expenses is more important.
Ron Paul is totally dead on with the immigration debate – moreso than most of the other candidates in the R party. He sees the drain on the economy of the illegals and understands that every illegal costs the government and taxpayers money. So he’s more for ending illegal aliens than any of the other candidates.
To dismiss Paul as ‘fringe’ or ‘loon’ or ‘left’ or ‘Democrat’ because of his ONE position on the War on Terror (which none of the other candidates who have a foreign policy I agree with can guarantee that what they are doing will actually protect America from attack and harm), you miss the rest of his small government, individual liberty, traditional GOP values message. Missing this message is where the rest of the GOP candidates go wrong.
On a last note, NH has a lot of independents. Playing a hand in this debate against the war and being isolationist might help him win many more of those votes and actually carry the NH republican delegates.
Sorry for being long winded. I’m not a Paul supporter, but I think a lot of his ideas are needed in the GOP.
Everybody…join the Ron Paul REVOLution!!!!
Yeah…I see those posters and the first, last, and only thing I think is Conservative Right-Wing Republican!!!
Yup, I think I am going to change my vote. They have woooed me
I can’t believe that Duncan Hunter wasn’t ‘invited’ to the NH Debate. He’s still in the race, and to drop any real candidate based on screwed up caucas numbers is ridiculous. Hunter has done well in some of the straw polls in other states. Of course, I can see why the media doesn’t want to give him an opportunity, he the only true republican running.
What really burns my biscuit is that FOX isn’t inviting him either.
Jerks!
I am not a fan of Ron Paul. He is too far left on a lot of issues for me. But, Fox News deciding to exclude him from the forum in NH was wrong.
Paul tied Thompson at 9% in the Iowa Republican Caucus and beat Giuliani by 4 percentage points.
In all fairness, he should have had a spot at the table in the Fox News forum, as much or more so than some others.
Besides, he makes for good comic relief for me, when he gets on one of his tears.
Interesting that your Ron Paul “comic relief” is my passion in life!
Fed Up
He should have been included. I have no intention of voting for him but I don’t like the media constantly promoting 2-3 candidates they think are ratings-grabbers out of a field of 6 or more. It’s bad enough that all we get these days are soundbytes. Now they won’t even let some of the candidates have those soundbytes.