IN, OR OUT? Fox News Debate Field Set
Let the circus begin!
PREPARE YOURSELVES, READERS—for debate season is nigh, and Fox News has just released the names of the ten lucky men who will be participating in the first Republican primary debate of the 2016 cycle.
My use of the word “men” is justifiable here—Carly Fiorina didn’t make the cut. Here’s the field:
- Donald Trump
- Jeb Bush
- Scott Walker
- Mike Huckabee
- Ben Carson
- Ted Cruz
- Marco Rubio
- Rand Paul
- John Kasich
- Chris Christie
Questions? Concerns? Let loose in the comments! This is going to be one barn burner of a debate.
Fox used a selection of national polls to help narrow the field:
Fox used Bloomberg, CBS News, Fox News, Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University polls. (Not NBC/WSJ) http://t.co/kykuVH63B2
— Alex Pappas (@AlexPappas) August 4, 2015
As for Perry, Fiorina, and the rest of the candidates, they’ll be featured in a pre-debate forum before the prime time event. More from USA Today:
Perry finished 11th in the aggregate of polls Fox used to determine the field. That relegated the former Texas governor to a 5 p.m. debate on Thursday with other candidates outside the top 10: Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorina, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Jim Gilmore.
Perry’s absence from the prime time debate eliminates one of the party’s most outspoken critics of Trump, the brash billionaire who is leading Republican preference polls.
“Regardless of where we are on the debate, whether it’s the 5:00 or the 9:00 debate, it’s going to be with some very substantial people,” Perry told Fox Business Network before the final lineups were announced.
Twitter is having a field day with the selection:
Think candidate selection and debate format is awful. Some just need to be told "your time is up".
— Brad Cundiff (@bradcundiff) August 4, 2015
For what it's worth, the "kids table" debate will probably be far more substantive and intelligent without a frontrunner to target.
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) August 4, 2015
Not like Kirk v. Picard. That's evergreen. RT @JonahNRO It's funny how this debate will seem so much less important 3 months from now.
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) August 4, 2015
Perry's spent 3 years to prepare for the first debate, studying issues, traveling, doing tough interviews. Has to be deeply disappointing.
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) August 4, 2015
I'm interested in watching "2nd tier" GOP debate as well as main event. I think out of group, Perry, Jindal, and Fiorina all have potential.
— David Ray (@DavidARay) August 4, 2015
Though Trump has appeared to be made of teflon the pressure of a prime time debate may make him implode, possibly taking out others on stage
— Aaron Gardner (@Aaron_RS) August 4, 2015
I regret that @CarlyFiorina will not be in the primetime debate Thursday night. She is dynamite. More to come.
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) August 4, 2015
Jonah Goldberg may have had a good idea about how to whittle down the field even further…
Debate format idea: Every candidate puts one hand on pickup truck, can't stop answering questions until they let go.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) August 4, 2015
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Comments
Getting my comfy chair and popcorn ready!
Hucksterbeeee, Christie, Kasick…!?!?
And they bumped Fiorina and Perry?
I won’t be watching.
Seems as though the low-level insurgency supporting the Patakabee 2016 power ticket has been thwarted.
lol 🙂
Whatever Thursday’s night spectacle turns out to be, I guarantee it won’t be a “debate”.
Democracy has not given us the best or brightest for the last few cycles. We cannot even defund a business that butchers and sells babies.
We need to go old school. Aragorn/Arwen, monarchy’s time has come again. ;>)
We have a monarchy. It is called the Ivy League. If you are not a graduate of Haahvahd, Yale, or Princeton, you are pretty much frozen out.
I would like to know what the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire say. I’m sure there is polling there.
This garbage of national polls, for our system, is pure garbage. This far out, most people aren’t paying any attention, except maybe to Trump.
In Iowa, Perry and Santorum are in 9th and 10th place (3.5% and 2.8% respectively) instead of Christie and Kasich (2.3% and 1.8% in Iowa)
Actually, Christie and Kasich are in 13th and 14th place in Iowa, with Carly Fiorina and Bobby JIndal tied for 11th at 2.5%.
Also, Donald Trump and Scott Walker pretty much switch places.
A strong showing at the Happy Hour debate could still vault a candidate toe the main show next time, replacing those that flounder.
I am kind of surprised Kasich got in there. (but then Ohio has around 4% of the U.S. population, and he gets 1% or so anyway.)
Kasich and Huckabee………both.
Looking at some of those guys, I have to wonder if they are thinking that anyone can be elected president. No wait…..
Texas is a bigger state, but there’s Cruz.
I’m going to an oyster roast Thursday night, it’s been on my calendar since May. Oh well! Lucky I have LI to cover all the highlights — and lowlights — for me!
Apparently the GOPe is afraid of an articulate and accomplished woman like Fiorina. I won’t be watching this charade.
Mrs. Fiorina has more accomplishments than 9 of the 10 men on the stage. Certainly can’t have the Professional Politicians be beaten by a woman, it would make them have hissy fits.
Accomplishments? Cratering multiple American technology companies, destroying thousands of American careers & shipping those jobs overseas, all the while lining her own personal pockets. Some “accomplishments.”
Ah, so Hillary’s “team” did have a Fiorina backstabbing, backbiting crew at work; the fruits of its labor now appearing.
Is it a coincidence that today’s song of the day is “Boulevard of Broken Dreams?”
He’s saving “Send In The Clowns” for the Democrat debates 😉
Christie in place of Fiorina and Kasich instead of Perry. Well, I won’t be watching this expanded press conference and Write In Votes are still counted so Mrs. Fiorina gets my vote even in the General Election.
4 of them have no business being there, leavin Carly out is a major mistake. Chrisite(washedup),Kaisich(a has been), Huckabee(a democrat insheeps clothing)Carson( nice but viable) Paul(getting tiresome like Ron) Need young fiesty people like Trump and Fiorina, Cruz. No more Bushes or BVush light(Rubio)
Some on FNC finally got it right, that the show this Thursday isn’t a “debate!” It’s a dog and pony show, one where each candidate can strut his stuff one minute at a time, maybe with some banter back and forth between a candidate and a moderator. Between the candidates? We’ll find out.
OTOH: this format can work for the audience’s advantage in that we get to see how each, of those on stage, respond. Otherwise, the format has issues and generally sucks, big time.
They shouldn’t be using MSM polling or university polling. Period. They are biased, and weighted to get the results they want. (Does anyone really thing Jeb!(tm) is polling so high among likely Republican voters?!)
They should do a “bracket system” to make these REAL debates:
-Have them draw names – starting with a NEUTRAL PARTY (let’s say…..Sean Hannity) taking the first name out to start the choosing – to see who they will each debate first (if odd number, like now, the last in will have to debate in the next round with the loser of the person in just prior to him/her). Eight one-on-one debates.
(For example: Ted Cruz draws Carly Fiorina; Jeb Bush draws Scott Walker)
These rounds are NOT broadcast, except on C-SPAN.
-Next – Round 2: the 8 WINNERS select their debate opposition from the other winners. These will then be randomly grouped (in pairs) to have 2 debates with 4 people each. These debates WILL be broadcast, if cable/networks so choose.
-Then, the 1st and 2nd place “winners” of each debate will be selected. These 4 will have a debate. That debate is broadcast as well, just as above.
-Finally, the 1st and 2nd place “winners” will DEBATE EACH OTHER.
ONE WINNER WILL EMERGE.
Now, there can be other “side” debates between the non-winners, the still money-drenched candidates…..if they so choose. But this whole 10 on the panel, 1 minute to argue an issue, 30 sec. to respond….?!?! That is CRAZY STUPID. No one can make a valid point, answer a pithy, crucial issue in such a short SOUND BITE.
And as to “debate moderators” – they should NOT be media types, unless they have been vetted to NOT FAVOR DEMOCRATS or ANY ONE OF THE NOMINEES – in the past OR in the present. In fact, they should not be able to moderate if they donated to any of the candidates, period, since that is one of the journalists’ credibility criteria for “integrity” supposedly….. Megyn Kelly is pretty neutral, I believe. Bret Baier, perhaps. But no MSLSD/NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, PBS folks. They are all-in for the Democrats ( Can you say Candy Crowley?)
I am nobody. And my idea mean nothing.
But it’s kinda like Bret Baier is doing on his “brackets.”
Why re-create the wheel, and make this into a circus?!?! Or nation is on life support – and we have to make this a bread-and-circuses media spectacle?!?!?! “Welcome to the 74th annual Huuuuungggggerrrrrr Gaaaaaaaaaammmmmes!”
Why not use what works, instead of this nonsense?!
They should have had 3 debates, with 2 of the top 6 in each group. Then do a second round of polling with the top six in one debate.
My mom is so excited… I’m going to arrive from my 1400 mile drive just in time to watch the debate with her. I am so… not looking forward to this.
Fox’s talking heads have overstepped their bounds. They’ve, in effect, selected the field of candidates for us based on suspect data. The logical thing would have been a random drawing by the candidates themselves to be placed in one of two to four debate pools. In this way, all of the GOP prospectives would have had a chance to be heard.
Huckabee but not Fiorina? Kasich? Christie? Insane. The terms of the debate are even more ridiculous. I hope somebody blows up the whole silly format, wrests control of the program from the two Fox blowhards, and brings on the rest of the gang.
A debate format is not very useful as a demonstration of a candidate’s suitability for an executive position.
It has a useful function so far as TV is concerned; it’s a reasonable excuse to get a crowd of the candidates up on stage at the same time. And showing them all clustered at the starting gate is certainly consistent with the media’s fascination with horseraces. But just because it’s useful for TV doesn’t mean that it’s useful for the voters.
I’ll likely be watching just to see Trump implode because someone else gets attention when he should be getting it all. The second tier debate is the one I’m truly interested in. ALL of the best candidates are there and each of them will have insightful policy positions I’d like to hear more about. All three of MY top tier (Perry/Jindal/Fiona)candidates are going to be debating each other. Fantastic.
Hopefully Trump will be the cudgel with which to beat Jeb!, Christie and Kasich out of the competition.
I would actually like Huckabee to stick around for a while if only because I think he will help push the “FairTax” debate (he has supported it as a tax system in the past).
Maybe we can finally have an adult conversation on tax reform, rather than letting the Progressives falsely use the narrative “you’re making the tax system regressive.”
Newsflash, you Progressive MORONS ~ The tax system is ALREADY regressive, you just don’t KNOW it yet, because the taxes you pay are “hidden” taxes subsumed into the “price” of the item.
Perry is getting more publicity from not making the cut, than he did before the cut.
Now the question is whether he can capitalize on being the center of the second tier more than on the fringe of the main show.
Most people polled probably would have prefered not to name a first choice. And half of them or more probably didn’t even recognize the name of more than three or four candidates. The “support” is not even inch-deep.
Pataki does so badly, even though he comes from New York, because there’s also Donald Trump (somewhat more locally famous) and Christie. Carly Fiorina does so badly, because she never was elected, and probably isn’t very well known even in California. It’s also because defeated candidtes like Santorum and Perry, don’t come out as first thoughts, even when there’s a multiple choice list.
Kasich does so well, even though he never campaigned, or got into the news recently, because Ohio has about 4% of the nation’s population – and that’s enough to get into tenth place.
Rubio actually may be getting most of the ‘favorite son’ Florida support.
The ones with significant “support” outside their home state are Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Donald Trump. Also Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee.
Really disappointed that Carly didn’t make it.