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Why is Rick Perry Invited to the CNN Debate, But Not Buddy Roemer?
EDITOR’S UPDATE: Turns out according to CNN and the joys of rounding, Perry does indeed make the cut:
Perry was at seven percent in two national polls, but a third poll, from CBS News, asked the same question twice, one of which had him at seven percent, and the other at six percent. Even if it was only six percent, Feist said Perry would have qualified:
“If you average 7, 7 and 6, you get 6.67. And across the board, in polling methodology, you round up to get to the next digit. And so even if you were to insist – even if someone were to insist that we use CBS’s non-traditional methodology, in which case Governor Perry gets a 6, with the other two polls in which he is listed as 7, average to 6.67, yielding a 7.”
Previous Updates
CNN has not wavered in either direction to correct their egregious bending of their own debate rules. As Brandon wrote a few days ago, the Texas Governor Rick Perry has been invited to participate in next week’s debate even though he fails to meet the stated criteria. The latest polling available at Real Clear Politics shows Perry is woefully short of the 7% polling rule required given his finishing places in Iowa and New Hampshire.
If CNN is going to persist in bending the rules, why not let former Governor Buddy Roemer participate? Certainly it isn’t because the debate would suffer, in fact a fresh perspective may be just what the GOP debates need. There is real value in Buddy participating to express his ideas so people may formulate additional questions they want other candidates to weigh in on. What’s the downside?
Part of the reason CNN is so seemingly pro-Perry but anti-Roemer in this case may be simply because of all the money that has spent for Perry in South Carolina. It seems that Rick Perry and his Super PAC, Make Us Great Again, have already spent $9.3 million on TV ads, second only to Romney’s $11.5 million. Nobody knows exactly how much money Perry has left on-hand but he’s sure to spend it in Florida, and he assuredly will be buying more spots than Roemer could, so I just have to wonder how much of that will find its way into the coffers of CNN’s friends in Florida.
The great irony in all of this is Rick Perry may be in the debate because of his prolific fundraising and ability to make larger media buys. That is the antithesis of one of Buddy Roemer’s primary talking points: campaign finance reform and the elimination of “big bucks” in politics.
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13 Comments
I’m not sure CNN bent the rules:
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/rick-perry-qualifies-for-cnn-south-carolina-debate-barely_b106566
If they’re not bent they certainly are contorted and Perry still made it by manipulation of the numbers, you do NOT routinely round up in a poll, you report to one decimal point, so he fails again. CNN just wants Perry in the debate and they’re degrading themselves but playing these numbers games.
In either case, though, Roemer didn’t even come close in any of the criteria. So he’s got no cause for inclusion I would think
On the contrived merits I agree that Roemer doesn’t come close but once the horse is out of the barn and you resort to numbers manipulation, why not just say we’re going to hold a debate where all reasonable candidates have a right to be heard. Buddy Roemer has the standing as a valid campaigner so I’m not suggesting a free-for-all, he just hasn’t been given an opportunity to be heard.
I don’t have a problem with them massaging their standards to include Perry in the debate. The problem is that debate requirements were also manipulated to keep Buddy Roemer out of an earlier debate. He was polling high enough, so they put a requirement that he needed to have raised a certain amount of money.
So its almost like whoever they want to get in gets in, and whoever they want to stay out stays out, and the requirements on paper are a lie.
Gov. Roemer clearly was victim of manipulation in early debates and especially in New Hampshire. I’d just like them to give the man a chance to speak, that’s all.
[...] Why is Rick Perry Invited to the CNN Debate, But Not Buddy Roemer? Posted by Tom Dougherty in Blog, Politics on January 15, 2012 8:30 am / 6 comments [...]
[...] 2012-01-05 Why is Rick Perry Invited to the CNN Debate, But Not Buddy Roemer? [...]
Buddy was also not even listed as an option on those same polls. How can you poll at 7%, if your name isn’t even listed? Explain that fuzzy logic Doug!
It wold be pretty hard for Buddy Roemer to pull any votes in the CNN poll when they don’t even mention his name as an option. Not offered on ABC poll. Not offered on NBC poll…just sayin
An open letter to CNN:
By allowing Governor Perry onto the debate stage without meeting the necessary requirements only one question comes to mind. Why bother? What more could we learn from Governor Perry that we haven’t already? More stammering and dead-on-arrival one liners is not what this country desperately needs. America has been subjected to enough empty rhetoric, patriotic posturing, half-hearted zingers and less-than-cleaver marketing ploys for far too long. CNN, you have the opportunity to set yourself apart from those whose only discernible purpose is to water down the public dialogue into something indistinguishable from reality TV.
All debate organizers have, up to this point, excluded Governor Roemer from the debate stage at a great disservice to the American people. His qualifications for the nomination of his party are many yet he is known by close to none; Governor, Congressman, Entrepreneur, a Masters Degree from Harvard – a full life of service to this country. One could make the argument that he is undeserving of a post on the stage because of low poll numbers. But how can he raise his poll numbers without the opportunity to debate on national television, to become known?
My plea to CNN is this. Please live up to your highest levels of journalistic integrity; stop selling America the lowest common denominator. If you cannot do this then at the very least reach for your overwhelming desire for ratings. Let Governor Roemer take the stage on the January 19th debate. Bill it as a spectacle not to be missed; it will be. Sensationalize it as if it was a Championship boxing match. Let the American public know about the candidate “they don’t want you to hear from”; you’d be telling the truth. If you let Buddy debate it’s a win-win for you as a network and the public at large. You’ve made the exception for Governor Perry, you can do the same for Governor Roemer.
If the other candidates complain over his inclusion you can tell them this, and say it’s from me, a concerned citizen. “Candidate (insert name here), if you think you have what it takes to occupy the highest office in the land then you should have the courage to debate all other qualified candidates. If you are the best person for the job then prove it.”
Thank you for your time.
All the best,
David Pauli
If Buddy Roemer had been given a chance at the first 3 debates, he would have been polling at the top and been able to gain more campaign contributions (his maximum contribution is $100). And I agree, if he’s not included in the polls, how can you vote for him? It is a TRAVESTY that he has not been invited to ONE SINGLE DEBATE. But Herman Cain has been there…..the pizza guy….Buddy Roemer, 4-term congressman, governor of LA, and bank owner is excluded. Real democracy in action. It’s pathetic.
I think Buddy Roemer should be in the debates. This is just plain stupidity on CNN’s part. He still is in the race. He has not suspended his campaign. The only person else in the running that knew about business was Herman Cain. Roemer is the only candidate that has been a congressman and a governor. He is the founder, CEO, and owner of a bank. If hes was in the debates, he would be at least be in double digits in the polls.