GOP bailing on Youtube Debate?

[DeadCanDance]

from Townhall.com:

Over the last few hours, I'd been hearing buzz that GOP candidates were going wobbly on the CNN/YouTube debate. ...snip

The Democrats are afraid to answer questions from Big Bad Fox News Anchors, and the Republicans are afraid to answer questions from regular people. Which is worse?

It's stuff like this that will set the GOP back an election cycle or more on the Internet. No matter the snazzy Web features and YouTube videos they may put up, if they're fundamentally uncomfortable with the idea of interacting with real people online, what's the point?

Having spent the better part of a decade working at the intersection of politics and the Web, I can't help but feel of a deep, deep sense of dismay that we're missing something so basic. This is EXACTLY why I am afraid that we will be outraised by $100 million or more in 2008.

Yes, some of the questions on Monday were trivial. Yes, they were partisan. (I expect many of the 9/17 questioners to be partisan Republicans.) Yes, they were messy. But so is democracy. And the fact that some place so much faith in the broken mainstream media over a benign format like this one says a lot about the difficult straits the Republicans are in right now.

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/58ec7731-bb85-4486-9f0b-d4ee0ba7052b

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[Gunny]

Well, here comes the nightly smattering of left-wingnut crap.

 

[DeadCanDance]

Well, here comes the nightly smattering of left-wingnut crap.

This is from a prominent rightwing website: townhall.

 

[Gunny]

This is from a prominent rightwing website: townhall.

Wouldn't know. I don't do right or left wing websites.

 

[Mr. P]

I think the GOP is above debate in a circus, unlike the DNC.

 

[Stephanie]

Who the hell wants to have be asked a question by.............a SNOWMAN..

And the Democrats won't go on FOX NEWS, because moveon and dailykos tells them not to..So....guess who isn't going on the Fox news debate.?........ALL OF THE DEMOCRATS.......Even thought Fox is the #1 news channel...

Myself...I think the Republican should go on....and when a stupid question is asked, like (what do you think about having Bill Clinton back in the white house)...

They should just laugh their asses off and then say, can we have a REAL QUESTION, PLEEEEEEEEEEEESE....

 

[hjmick]

Big deal. I'd say that having the GOP candidates skip the CNN/YouTube debacle...er...debate is a little less offensive than the DNC candidates skipping the Fox News/Congressional Black Caucus debate.

I watched the CNN/YouTube debate, it was a joke.

 

[Gem]

Other than to stave off any, "You don't value the opinions/questions of the American people," idiocy, I can't see any reason for any candidate to take place in a ludicrous debate like the CNN/YouTube debates.

The questions were pathetic - and CNN actually PICKED those...I shudder to think about what else was asked. And the forum meant that even if there was a somewhat interesting question - only one or two candidates answered it. (Hillary, for instance, got out of answering numerous questions that would have tied her down to positions she has been notoriously squishy on)

A talking snowman asking questions of a potential future president of this nation is not exactly where I want to see our democracy headed. And while I can't speak for everyone, I really don't need to waste my time listening to candidates critique each others fashion sense. I don't know anyone who watched the debates and thought - Yea! About time we could ask our presidential candidates questions in song form! In fact, the only people who seemed excited about this debate were the CNN/YouTube employees hyping it...and the Democratic Candidates who knew it was going to be an evening of softball questions.

Why the Republicans would put themselves up for this sort of idiocy for anything other than to avoid the predictable caterwauling that would ensue if they didn't is beyond me.

 

[Stephanie]

Here's the bigger joke of the CNN/youtube debate...
There were 3000 entries of questions....Guess WHO? went through and weeded out the questions that CNN wanted to be asked from...US REGULAR FOLK....

PT. Barnum was right......

 

[manu1959]

Other than to stave off any, "You don't value the opinions/questions of the American people," idiocy, I can't see any reason for any candidate to take place in a ludicrous debate like the CNN/YouTube debates.

The questions were pathetic - and CNN actually PICKED those...I shudder to think about what else was asked. And the forum meant that even if there was a somewhat interesting question - only one or two candidates answered it. (Hillary, for instance, got out of answering numerous questions that would have tied her down to positions she has been notoriously squishy on)

A talking snowman asking questions of a potential future president of this nation is not exactly where I want to see our democracy headed. And while I can't speak for everyone, I really don't need to waste my time listening to candidates critique each others fashion sense. I don't know anyone who watched the debates and thought - Yea! About time we could ask our presidential candidates questions in song form! In fact, the only people who seemed excited about this debate were the CNN/YouTube employees hyping it...and the Democratic Candidates who knew it was going to be an evening of softball questions.

Why the Republicans would put themselves up for this sort of idiocy for anything other than to avoid the predictable caterwauling that would ensue if they didn't is beyond me.

a talking snow man?!...it was a sock puppet...god only knows what it was up to earlier...........

 

[Stephanie]

My absolute favorite.....

Was the dude with the BIG GUN he named....MY BABY..

 

[DeadCanDance]

I agree with y'all.

The GOP should bail on the Youtube debate.

 

[mattskramer]

I knew that things are practically the same with respect to the Democrat and Republican political parties. They are practically equal in corruption, opportunism, cowardice, etc. This is just another example. You can basically say the same about Democrats shying away from FOX as you can say about Republicans shying away from CNN/YouTube. What goes around comes around and what comes around goes around. There is no significant difference between the parties on stuff like this. Dems have resorted to name-calling. Republicans resorted to name-callings. You have kooks in each party. There is liberal bias and there is conservative bias. There are web sites that expose liberal bias. There are web sites that expose conservative bias. It is all the same contrary to what RSR would want you to believe.

 

[mattskramer]

I agree with y'all.

The GOP should bail on the Youtube debate.

Why should the Repubs bail. Are they afraid of the questions that they might be asked?

 

[hjmick]

I knew that things are practically the same with respect to the Democrat and Republican political parties. They are practically equal in corruption, opportunism, cowardice, etc. This is just another example. You can basically say the same about Democrats shying away from FOX as you can say about Republicans shying away from CNN/YouTube. What goes around comes around and what comes around goes around. There is no significant difference between the parties on stuff like this. Dems have resorted to name-calling. Republicans resorted to name-callings. You have kooks in each party. There is liberal bias and there is conservative bias. There are web sites that expose liberal bias. There are web sites that expose conservative bias. It is all the same contrary to what RSR would want you to believe.

You are correct, but you must admit, after having watched the YouTube debate, the Congressional Black Caucus is just a bit more credible.

And for the record, nothing RSR has ever posted has helped to shape my opinions.

 

[Stephanie]

I knew that things are practically the same with respect to the Democrat and Republican political parties. They are practically equal in corruption, opportunism, cowardice, etc. This is just another example. You can basically say the same about Democrats shying away from FOX as you can say about Republicans shying away from CNN/YouTube. What goes around comes around and what comes around goes around. There is no significant difference between the parties on stuff like this. Dems have resorted to name-calling. Republicans resorted to name-callings. You have kooks in each party. There is liberal bias and there is conservative bias. There are web sites that expose liberal bias. There are web sites that expose conservative bias. It is all the same contrary to what RSR would want you to believe.

I will agree with everything you say here...
We the People put these assholes in office to represent Us...But, we have become so nonchalant, they believe the are there to rule over us...
I hope both..... Democrats and Republicans wake up...
I'm really beginning to like term limits more and more...
When we have a 99 yr old Senator in office.....???????

 

[maineman]

Who the hell wants to have be asked a question by.............a SNOWMAN..

And the Democrats won't go on FOX NEWS, because moveon and dailykos tells them not to..So....guess who isn't going on the Fox news debate.?........ALL OF THE DEMOCRATS.......Even thought Fox is the #1 news channel...

Myself...I think the Republican should go on....and when a stupid question is asked, like (what do you think about having Bill Clinton back in the white house)...

They should just laugh their asses off and then say, can we have a REAL QUESTION, PLEEEEEEEEEEEESE....

actually... the reason democrats don't debate on Faux during the primaries is that the committed democratic primary voting base does not watch Faux News.

If I was trying to sell bowling shoes, I wouldn't buy commercial airtime on the golf channel. If I wanted to televise the NFL draft, I wouldn't do it on Lifetime. duh.

 

[Annie]

actually... the reason democrats don't debate on Faux during the primaries is that the committed democratic primary voting base does not watch Faux News.

If I was trying to sell bowling shoes, I wouldn't buy commercial airtime on the golf channel. If I wanted to televise the NFL draft, I wouldn't do it on Lifetime. duh.

Now there's a talking point, problem is, no legs.

 

[maineman]

too cryptic for me. please explain.

 

[hjmick]

actually... the reason democrats don't debate on Faux during the primaries is that the committed democratic primary voting base does not watch Faux News.

If I was trying to sell bowling shoes, I wouldn't buy commercial airtime on the golf channel. If I wanted to televise the NFL draft, I wouldn't do it on Lifetime. duh.

But if you wanted to watch the NFL draft, and it was being broadcast on Lifetime, would you not watch it anyway?

I have been tuning in to the debates regardless of the network airing them. As a currently undecide voter, my vote is up for grabs by which ever party can convince me that they will do the best job. A smarter candidate would be the one who recognized that there may be many people out whose vote, like mine, is in limbo. Unfortunately, some of these people might not be as willing to change their news channel to see the debates.