30 days out…
At this point, we have spoken to many democrats and non democrats and many are not supporting either candidate included in the KERA Debate.
At this point, many Democrats are passionate about their candidates, but more so hopeful those candidates… far removed from “politics as usual” are willing to stand up against the status quo. The sentiment is pretty clear… politics should not be a career.
As we consider the democratic debates, KERA had political records to review in setting policy for the GOP debates, clearly KERA lacked similar criteria in selecting candidates for the democratic debates that they had to resort to the lowest common denominator…”who has an office and who is spending money on media.”
Obviously, the arduous task of assessing candidates should not be left to an organization that is more representative of those raking in the profits from political campaign spending and not the voting population. And where is the response from the TDP?
You have to wonder what the role of the TDP is in this instance and how much influence they had, if any in the final selection criteria. Some (a.k.a. the anointed) may feel $3750 is too low a fee for people wishing to run for office, but it sure is too high to pay for the privilege of being excluded from such an important Democratic event, one that would benefit all voters.
So let’s keep it real!
If we follow the lead of the corporation and choose according to who spends the most money then clearly, Democrats can go home and sit out the rest of the election, because no one is going to out spend Perry nor KBH! Even if they do, spending an obscene amount of money has not been proven to be a marker of success for statewide democratic candidates. If that were the case, Tony Sanchez would be our current governor and instead of having a breeding farm of young Hispanic political hopefuls, these same hopefuls would be running for statewide office today instead of waiting around for the numbers to favor their candidacy. Hispanic or non Hispanics, young or old, what we need are individuals that are concerned with the needs of the many and not the needs of the few.
Democrats should follow the GOP lead and insist that newcomers to the political scene be allowed to debate. This is where strong leadership must rise to the occasion. In true Texas tradition those at a disadvantage are conveniently ignored. This needs to change. We can do better!
Think about it, isn’t that what this whole election is about, inclusion? When we look at the issues, the GOP looks to protect its own interest and not the interest of all Texans.
The aim in 2010 is to nominate the most competent, most popular candidate, not the one with the most money spent, or the one with his hands in the pocket of supporters. Surely, we can see the effect of nominating and electing someone simply because of dollars collected and dollars spent.
Allowing KERA and its sponsors to limit debates to who spends the most money narrows the opportunity for voters to evaluate all the candidates.
In either case, the debate becomes nothing more than a strategic assault on the people of Texas forcing them to pick and choose between what the corporation (KERA is a PBS affiliate) assesses as viable candidates. Once again big business is dictating how Texas should be run. It makes no sense to spend millions of dollars for a losing effort.
“In all cases, KERA and the other sponsors will require a candidate to meet the legal requirements for eligibility for office imposed by the State of Texas to be included in a debate. For candidates who satisfy this eligibility standard, KERA will consider the candidates’ campaign activity and established, nonpartisan polling data to make a viewpoint neutral editorial judgment of the candidate’s newsworthiness.”
Where is the data suggesting that any one democratic candidate is ahead?
So we can conclude that the only requirement used for determining inclusion in the democratic debate was a candidate’s “newsworthiness.” according to a non-existent non-partisan poll.
Regardless, there are Democrats out there, although few in numbers that believe the party is, of the people and for the people. They invite candidates to come speak to their members, regardless of who they personally support, because after all the people must make informed decisions.
For the most part, the media does look at each candidate not so much for viability as for presentation.
The fact that candidate’s purchase much of their air time is not “newsworthiness.” So KERA is stating that a candidate’s credibility and competence is determined by the media profit and not the voter.
For KERA, a building and staff constitute campaign activity, yet in the case of democrats winning elections, or rather losing an election, a campaign office is not critical factor. In today’s technological and virtual world anything is possible including running a statewide campaign. . .
Again, clearly, the only driving force behind the democratic race is money being spent on corporate media, since relevant qualifications, integrity, and competence were not considered.
What goes on here??
First, the fact is there is no poll that shows that any democratic gubernatorial candidate is ahead. If there is one out there…it is time to release the results. The possibility of a runoff is extremely high. Second, what this debate does represent…is one person being elevated above everyone else for political purposes and the receipt of free statewide publicity.
Third, this is a political ambush of the candidate with the most money and the only democratic challenger with the monetary means to fund his own campaign.
Wrong is wrong no matter which way you paint it and this is wrong! This concerns all Texans. All gubernatorial candidates need to speak up on behalf of their constituents and demand inclusion of all democratic candidates willing to take part or have KERA cancel the Democratic debates.
Contact Ilon Goddard at KERA. His number is 214-740-9336, his email is igoddard@kera.org.
more to follow…
Alvarado Blog 
