THE PRAIRIE EDITOR: Let Carly Debate In Prime Time (SEE UPDATE BELOW)

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and most of the
17 announced GOP candidates for president face an imminent
choice for the next presidential debate at the Reagan Library
in California in mid-September.

This debate will be broadcast by CNN, and the network has
indicated it might determine who will be in the debate by some
questionable standards. Instead of a larger number of polls that
was the standard for the first debate broadcast by Fox News in
Cleveland, CNN will “cherry pick” fewer polls --- with the
result that businesswoman Carly Fiorina might be excluded
again. In Cleveland, Mrs. Fiorina was the clear winner and
standout of the “also-ran” debate (her poll numbers then
were too low to qualify for the main debate). Since that time,
her numbers have risen significantly. Her performance on
the campaign trail, and not just the fact that she is the only
woman in the GOP campaign, makes it obvious and
mandatory that she should be included in the next prime
time debate.

CNN, in previous years of presidential debates showed an
obvious bias to the liberal (Democratic) candidates, and if the
network succeeds in excluding Mrs. Fiorina from prime time
this year, it will have succeeded so again. Should the network
insist on keeping her from participating with nine other (male)
candidates, the RNC and the candidates have a remedy that is
not only just, but could work to he distinct advantage of the
GOP. (It also would be in the spirit of the late President Reagan.)

That remedy would be for the individual candidates, all rivals
of Mrs. Fiorina, to refuse to show up for the CNN debate. It
would be not only a grand gesture, but one that would be
well-received by voters of all parties. (The RNC could then
reschedule the debate with another network.)

Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Ben
Carson and Chris Christie, I think, would be especially
well-served by coming to the defense of Mrs. Fiorina, as
would the RNC.

Let’s see if any or all of them have come to the same conclusion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Shortly after my post of yesterday, CNN informed the Republican
candidates for president that it had changed its rules for inclusion
in the primary debate at the Reagan Library. The new rules state that
any candidate who is in the top ten of the major polls either before
the first debate in Cleveland or in the period after that debate, will be
invited to participate in the CNN primary debate. In effect, this
probably insures that Carly Fiorina will be in the debate, as will
Chris Christie who, in recent polls, no longer is in the top ten, but
was a debater in Cleveland.

This means that there will probably now be 11 candidates in the
California debate. The CNN decision, which came after widespread
pressure from numerous sources, has been well-received, and will
bring a new and aggressive voice in the GOP debate. Mrs. Fiorina,
whose poll numbers have recently risen sharply, will probably now
rival Donald Trump in pre-debate interest, as will Ben Carson who
has pulled even with Mr Trump in recent Iowa polls.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2015 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.