The debate debacle

by | Apr 10, 2014 | 2014 Elections, Editor's Blog, NC Politics, US Senate | 10 comments

In a field with eight candidates running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, the news organizations holding debates need some way to reduce the number of participants. Otherwise, the debates would take hours and much of that time would be spent listening to candidates who don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. So, WRAL set a threshold: The only candidates invited would be ones that received 10% or more in a poll taken in early April.

Well, Rev. Mark Harris, considered one of the leading candidates by most observers, didn’t reach reach the threshold. Suddenly, WRAL had a problem. Social conservatives saw it as a conspiracy to silence the “values” candidate in race, because, you know, fundamentalist Christians are such an oppressed group in this country.

An organization called North Carolina Values Coalition urged supporters to contact WRAL and demand Harris be included in the debate. Harris supporters lit up social media calling for his inclusion. It worked. WRAL cited a slew of other polls that showed Harris meeting the threshold and invited him to the debate.

Harris should certainly be included. While he may or may not have 10% support now, he almost certainly will by the April 21 debate. Harris reported that he will be starting TV ads soon and that will put him in contention for a July runoff, most likely with frontrunner Thom Tillis.

While the incident points to the folly of using only primary polling to determine debate participants, it also highlights the mistrust of the media by the fringe. Right-wingers immediately saw a conspiracy to silence their candidate. The mainstream media, or MSM if you speak twitter, was out to control the GOP primary. It’s preposterous but a whole lot of people only want news that reinforces their point view and WRAL doesn’t toe the party line.

As a political consultant, I’ve done battle with the press, er, mainstream media, lots of times. They are occasionally less than competent but most reporters and traditional outlets aren’t trying to drive the political agenda. They’re just trying to survive in a changing and highly competitive environment. The conspiracy theories say far more about the conspiracists than it does about the media.

In the future, debate organizers need to use more than just polling to identify viable candidates. But the right-wing needs to get a grip. Nobody is targeting them. They did a great job of organizing to make sure Mark Harris was included in the debate. They should be proud of their effort, but they should also shelve their tin foil hats.

10 Comments

  1. Unaffiliated Voter

    We need Greg Brannon in the US Senate…a doctor, NOT a preacher!

  2. Jimmy Rouse

    Gay bashing is even out of style in North Carolina.

    • geek49203

      We can hope so. I have some serious reservations about the arguments being presented by the radicals, but that doesn’t mean I want ’em dead. I’m not sure the feeling is reciprocated.

  3. Thomas Ricks

    Reality has a liberal bias. Conservatives have a bias of lying.

  4. dennisberwyn

    “But the right-wing needs to get a grip. Nobody is targeting them.” I’m guessing you don’t see your own bias here either. Sigh…

  5. geek49203

    “They are occasionally less than competent but most reporters and traditional outlets aren’t trying to drive the political agenda.”

    But as you no doubt know, their editors are not of like mind. And of course, you see who is still hired in those places.

    • geek49203

      For the record, as they taught me back in 7th and 8th grades — every media outlet has a bias. Every. Last. One.

      In the sports pages, that is okay. Like you’d expect the Ann Arbor paper to favor Michigan, and the Columbus paper to favor Ohio State, right? We accept that.

      But every media outlet has its POLITICAL biases too, and that’s where we either run into trouble, or assure ourselves that everyone’s ox gets gored, depending on your point of view.
      Yes, even YOUR favorite has its slants and biases.

      And no, it’s not like I “need to get out of my Fox” world — I’ll challenge most here with a list of what I read on a daily basis with your list. For the record, I do watch FOX on occasion. And CNN. And Bloomburg. Can’t stand MSNBC, it’s liberal slant is done more poorly than the old Air America and deserves its low rankings. I watch CNBC every morning. Read a bit of NYTimes and WaPost every day too.

      • Thomas Ricks

        If a conservative is speaking, a conservative is lying.

        • Paleotek Tek

          You know, you’re getting really tedious. Thomas Ricks.I get you’re pissed and partisan. Now let’s move on. Say something interesting. Or not.
          If you have nothing to say , shut up and stop being an asshole. I have conservative friends who engage without lying. Just sayin.

          • Thomas Ricks

            The fundamental nature of truth is that it does not require the spin of a news agency to justify it. It just is. Around the world, conservative elements of every society, Islamic, Asian, Latin, European or American, all lie. Social conservatives lie more than fiscal, but fiscal do it to. Progressives certainly lie, but if you define ‘conservative’ as the faction in society most resistant to change, then then the soviet union was quite conservative right before it imploded.

            Everyone lies. Conservatives by definition place nostalgia that does not exist on the past and deceive themselves to do it.

            Stating the fact that conservatives lie is not to persuade the unpersuadable that they are wrong but to convince the people who live in reality to stop wasting their time dealing with liars and work together to get something useful accomplished. Telling people to stop wasting their time is something useful.

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