CONCORD, N.H. (Jan. 5) — Do not pay attention to these presidential candidates.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Former Sen. Mike Gravel, D-Alaska. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.
They do not have a chance of winning their party’s nomination for president. At least that’s the view of the sponsors of the New Hampshire debates this weekend. The first is on Saturday sponsored by ABC New, Facebook and WMUR-TV. The second round is on Sunday, sponsored by Fox News.
David Chalian, the ABC News political director has defended the exclusion. The debate’s focus, he told The New York Times, was to give viewers the “best conversation and debate between the candidates who really have a chance to become the nominee.”
The ABC News-Facebook-WMUR sponsors disqualified Kucinich, Gravel and Hunter from their debate on Saturday at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. ABC required candidates to have placed in the top four spots in their party in Iowa or have a poll percentage of at least 5 percent in the last four New Hampshire or national polls. Kucinich, Gravel and Duncan did not meet any of these requirements.
Fox News excluded Ron Paul, R-Texas, from its debate on Sunday.
But the decision to exclude the candidates is sharply criticized by some voters and the candidates’ supporters.
“It’s too early in the elections and it’s going to keep out anybody who doesn’t have high visibility and lots of money from being able to be heard,” said Christine Kuhlman of Concord, N.H. She is going to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton. But, she said, “I think every candidate who is honestly trying to make a change in this country should have a chance to be heard, or else we’re not a democracy.”
Kucinich filed a complaint with the FCC on Friday morning, arguing that ABC was violating federal provisions that require broadcasters to give candidates equal time on the airwaves.
Tom Staudter, the national press officer for the Kucinich campaign, expressed optimism that his candidate will get into the debate on Saturday. But Staudter is looking past the decision.
“We’re going to keep moving forward and things like this, while although very disappointing, are not going to deter the congressman from trying to reach the voters anyway he can,” said Staudter.
Tom Plevet, a Ron Paul supporter and campaign volunteer, did not dwell too much on the decision, saying that the campaign may get more exposure as a result of all the news. But he argued that Paul deserved to be included. Paul, he said, was the only Republican candidate other than Mitt Romney R-Mass., and Mike Huckabee R-Ark., to win a county in the Iowa Republican caucuses.
“The people want to see everybody,” said Plevet. “There’s no people, voters, who say ‘We don’t need to see this guy, he’s wasting my time.’ I think a majority of people want to hear all the views and make up their own mind especially here in New Hampshire.”
Democrat Bill Richardson, who’s also trailing behind the frontrunners, will be in the Saturday debates sponsored by ABC, Facebook and WMUR. But to at least one Richardson supporter, the other left-out candidates also deserve to be on the debate stage.
“Democracy,” said Kevin Kopplin, as he campaigned for Richardson on Saturday, “works better when you have more voices in the conversation.”
(Bryan Young is a sophomore magazine major.)
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