Topic: The Revolution
Third-party debate Oct. 19 With almost 9,500 pledges in just two weeks for its third-party presidential money bomb, Break the Matrix announces a date and time for the first Internet Presidential debate. UPDATE Oct. 18 -- the Oct. 19 debate has been cancelled.by George Dance
(libertarian)
Monday, October 13, 2008
On October 12, ThirdPartyTicket.com (TPT) announced the date and time of its first Internet Presidential Debate: Sunday, October 19, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST.
The Internet debate is planned as a forum for the four third-party candidates for President who are on enough state ballots to win, but who were excluded from the televised debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD): Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney, independent candidate Ralph Nader, and Libertarian Party Candidate: Bob Barr.
(Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama and Republican Party candidate John McCain, who were in the CPD debates, have also been invited, but the expectation is that they will not participate.)
While the debate will be hosted from New York City, the candidates will not be physically present at the venue, but will be connected via conference.
In conjunction with the debate, BtM and TPT have also organized a money bomb for the participating candidates. The principals of BtM organized the multi-million dollar Ron Paul money bombs in November and December, 2007, which gave Paul an incredible boost in mainstream media coverage; the hope is that a high total for the third-party candidates will do the same.
TPT's goal was to have 10,000 pledges to the third-party money bomb. Since the site went live September 24, over 40,000 people have visited their website, and over 9,400 people have pledged.
In addition, I would ask supporters of the debate to continue to promote it using the methods outlined in my September 27 article.
The campaign of Ralph Nader, who has always previously refused to debate other third-party contenders, endorsed the event (also on September 27), e-mailing its supporters:
So, we all need to support Lyman's push for an alternative debate now....
As well, the Baldwin campaign endorsed the debate on Sep. 30, telling its supporters:
If you're like millions of Americans who realize 'the fix is in' on limiting the debates to the 2 evils we're told we have to choose between ... well, now's your chance to force the issue and tell mainstream media: 'Your monopoly has just been broken ... our candidate will get to debate and here's how: [link edited for length]!
Please visit this site and sign up to support a debate where the other candidates will get to have their say...
The internet is the 'musket of the 21st century' and we're taking aim at censorship!
UPDATE, OCT. 14: The McClatchy Newspapers reported that the debate will be hosted from Columbia U., New York, on Oct. 19, but gave the start time as 8:00 pm. (The TPT website still says 7:00). Nader, Baldwin, and McKinney are confirmed. C-SPAN will be televising. An official announcement will be made tomorrow. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/53922.html
UPDATE, OCT. 15:
First, the good news. On Oct. 15, FreeandEqual.org posted on its website:
The Free and Equal Elections Coalition (FREE) and the Columbia Political Union are pleased to announce that a Presidential debate will be held this coming Sunday, October 19th, 2008, on the campus of Columbia University....
The Columbia Political Union will present the debate from 8:00pm to 10:00pm in the Altschul Auditorium, located at 417 International Affairs Building. The debate will be moderated by Pacifica Radio's Amy Goodman, the host of "Democracy Now!". CSPAN will cover the debate, and live radio broadcasts are expected....
Certified letters officially inviting each candidate have been sent to the respective campaigns. The Free and Equal Elections Coalition and the Columbia Political Union await the response from the candidates.
Now the bad news: No mention of TPT, the money bomb, BtM, or internet streaming. Richard Winger of Ballot Access News, reporting on the FREE debate, added a postscript that "The thirdpartyticket.com debate idea is not happening."
The TPT website has been updated, but is still advertising a debate to be streamed on the Internet, and a money bomb, from 7:00-9:00 pm Sunday. (Money bomb pledges have topped 9,500). One significant change, though, is that FREE is no longer listed as a sponsor.
My first impression is that FREE has seized control of, or "hijacked," the debate from TPT, which is now out of the loop. The organizers now appear to be FREE, the Columbia Political Union and (possibly) the Nader campaign. An Oct. 15 report in 'The Caucus', the political blog of the New York Times, on the debate interviewed "Christina M. Tobin, an event organizer and a Nader campaign staffer."
According to the 'Caucus' report, "exactly who will be there is still murky, since certified letters have just gone out to all candidates, say event organizers." However, the 'Caucus' adds that "Mr. Barr has made it clear that he will only debate Mr. Nader and no one else." Ms. Tobin (the Nader staffer) challenged Barr to attend: "Let him show that he is a true Libertarian.... For him not to show up would be denying his Libertarian principles."
Which is already being spun as a refusal by the Barr campaign. Independent Political Report (IPR) reported Oct. 16 that, "according to the New York Times, Barr is refusing to join the scheduled "third party" debate unless it is limited to himself and Mr. Nader." Both IPR and Third Party Watch ran letters from libertarian activist Chuck Moulton, and others, denouncing Barr for refusing to debate.
In a further p.s. to its story on the FREE debate, Ballot Access News reports that "Barr’s campaign says he is holding a fund-raising event on Sunday evening."
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UPDATE, Oct. 18: As of Friday, Oct. 17, the Oct. 19 Columbia debate, and the Oct. 19 Internet debate, have both been cancelled. Details to follow in another article.
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