There is a lot of talk going around the blogs right now about the Republican debate on September 17th that will be hosted by YouTube and CNN. Should they participate or shouldn’t they? Now, I will be the first to admit that the Dems. debate……

Ed Morrisey, su Captain’s Quarters, ha un’idea per uscire dallo stallo in cui si è infilata la discussione. Dan Riehl, poi, si chiede se è davvero necessario il filtro dei mainstream media per organizzare un video-dibattito online. E Jimmie, su Sun…

The question by the snowman was a sample question which did not make it into the actual debate. It was an example highlighted as some of would not be accepted. If you’re gonna cite facts, make sure they apply.

The Race Card on July 28, 2007 at 5:00 PM

You are a fool if you think the snowman was not used during the debates. Before you start accusing people of not checking facts, perhaps you should do a little research yourself.

The truth is, this is the town hall meeting of the internet age. The technology changes the forum from a room of 300 to a room of 300 million. The candidates still have to stand up in front of those whose votes they desire and answer all comers. There have always been narcissistic snarks who ask questions so they can get a “gotcha” moment. And the candidates have always had to answer those questions in a way that increased their stock in the mind of the public. The only thing new is the technology.

Will there be a bunch of idiotic questions with no value to the public debate? Yes. Will CNN cherry pick from the hundreds of questions to get those leftist ones which are most likely to damage the Republican candidates? Guaranteed. Will this be a minefield that can reap countless OMG moments? You betcha.

In spite of those hazards, I believe we should ask ourselves, “What would Reagan do?” He would go into this fracas with guns blazing and a twinkle in his eye. He blow them all away and come out looking like the genius he was.

If our candidates can do that, they have nothing to fear from the youtubers. If they can’t, then maybe they just aren’t good enough.

Aren’t we smarter than this? Are people on our side actually serious when they say the YouTube song and dance routine would be a “debate”? By what rational standards? And by refusing to participate in the silly spectacle, one is “running away”? Come on!!!

Are we so afraid of Democrats that we have to try and be like them – and be liked by them – at the expense of integrity?

The GOP has a natural inclination for creating and utilizing alternative media. We ARE alternative media! Ask Rush. Pandering to CNN in a desperate attempt to be hip smells too much like the ill-fated “compassionate” qualifier placed before the word conservative: it ultimately cedes too much ground to the enemy. There’s nothing I’d like to see more than the GOP taking the reins of New Media and riding it into the White House, but that can only be done on our terms, not theirs. Stupid sound-bite infotainment shows are beneath us – especially in wartime – whether they include YouTubes or not.

Rudy and Mitt and a few of the others are more than capable of having an actual in-depth, moderated debate, and there just has to be a large audience thirsting for such an actual debate, and this could be easily accomplished in the spirit of New Media by having it exclusively aired on the internet, with or without questions submitted by email or on video clips.

Letting Dems define the parameters of what constitutes “with it”-ness in terms of raising both campaign funds and consciousness is to fall into the old trap they always set for us (getting us, through guilt, to cede the moral high ground). The question we should rather be asking is – why is there so little talk on our side about actual debates, and so much fretting about the buzzers and whistles?

OTOH, I do like the idea of the GOP avoiding this on the grounds that it’s done by CNN. Let them do the same thing. Actually, even if they don’t boycott it, the fact that Giuliani and Romney will be away, Thompson won’t be in – will give the other candidates – Tancredo, Hunter opportunities, while hopefully, McCain – the man who claims to walk the middle and work with both Republicans and Dems – can be pilloried from the Left for supporting the surge, and from the Right for his stands on the Gitmo detainees. I happen to believe that his response at the Fox News debate – where he said that even in a hypothetical situation where nukes go off in major cities, he wouldn’t approve the use of torture – did him in. I want to see this traitor’s numbers go down to single figures.

The other thing about an YouTube debate – questions can be asked by common citizens of the media that the MSM ain’t willing to ask – such as what are they going to do to prevent the Islamization of the US, such as footbasins, jailtime for flushing Qurans, cabs refusing to service customers with alcohol and dogs, Islamberg, et al. But I don’t trust CNN to allow such questions through, even of GOP candidates. The only hope is that they might allow them just to embarrass the GOP, but it could potentially end up with more pandering by the GOP to Mohammedans.

So the Dems don’t want to go on Fox. You can not compare a Fox venue debate to the simpleton YouTube. Also know that they’re owned by the very Liberal Google, who also has a main Diretor: Al Gore. Did you hear Hugh Hewitts show Friday? He had a number of the submissions and they are even worse than what the Dems had. I mean they are really arseholes. It is a average IQ equal to a beer can.

Repubs:stay away. Let them complain and make fun all they want. It sucks, its an ambush and don’t walk into it.

For example, think of the Democrats’ YouTube debate. Remember the question from the Michigan gun owner? Biden, who responded, started making fun of the questioner — to the laughter of the other candidates. It was important for Democrats to see the gaffe, so their handlers can remind the candidates that many Democrats in the south and west can really get hurt by such vociferous anti-gun feelings. It’s important for us, too, so we can see how our candidates respond in slightly uncomfortable or unorthodox situations. For example, if Giuliani gets another ferret-guy question, we need to make sure he can come up with a witty come-back without appearing unpresidential. More broadly, if our candidates have tin ears or lack judgment, better we know now rather than when our guy has a “Dean scream” moment at a very bad time for us.

The YouTube/CNN silliness is merely an opportunity for the incurably adolescent a chance to re-live the Junior High School hallway environment. In its present form, it contributes absolutely nothing to the national debate.

The only circumstances under which Republicans should attend is if they (1) demand that all candidates be asked the same question and get equal time to respond to each question and (2) demand that candidates be allowed to spend their time any way they see fit if they feel the question is stupid.

Guardian on July 27, 2007 at 11:57 PM

The question by the snowman was a sample question which did not make it into the actual debate. It was an example highlighted as some of would not be accepted. If you’re gonna cite facts, make sure they apply.

It sounds like many of the dissenters are going on hearsay and second hand information. That type of reasoning is just as uninformed as the youtubers they so quickly dismiss.

As far as ignoring the younger demographic. Suit yourself. Just don’t come whining when we get blown out of the water again. If we take another congressional hit, we will skew the political landscape for the next 20 years. But since a lot of the old schoolers won’t be with us….I guess that doesn’t matter to them.

From the Wired article in the HotAir headline lineup:

Ratings data show that the CNN/YouTube debate received the highest viewership level for the demographic between 18 and 34 since measurement level began in 1992 for a cable news debate.

Research released earlier this year by Harvard’s Institute for Politics found that — galvanized by the war — this age group showed up at the polls in 2004 at extremely high levels.

As Carl Cannon, a writer for the inside-the-Beltway publication National Journal noted in a May edition of the magazine, “These young people are so little understood that many of the 2006 congressional campaigns ignored them utterly, although the candidates who did paid a price for their inattention.”

These arguments against adapting to technology are going to start to make us seem totally illogical. Do you understand that the same user driven interactivity is what made HotAir a success?

Accept it or not, Republicans have the uphill battle of public perception. The longer we choose to act deaf, dumb and blind to that reality…the longer we will twist in the wind.

Again so what if the republicans dont show up ? If they do does that mean the dems will go to Fox news ? Highly unlikely.

We seeem to be worried that huff and puff or Kos will be crowing about the republican debates. Ultimately who CARES what those idiots think ? I am not going to die because Kos is having an orgasm about some political non event.

Republicans standing up to the MSM is as much a message as republicans doing every single event that the MSM throws at them. We dont acheive our goals by pandering to CNN or MSNBC or any of the other networks.

Have the democrats been hurt by turning down the fox news debate ? Not one bit. Will the republicans be hurt by turning down youtube ? not one bit.

I would urge every candidate to come on conservative blogs and let us here ask them questions and invite the media to cover that.

That achieves several purposes. It give us here in the base more of a direct line to our candidate. Two it weeds out the kos nutters who want to pull a “Macaca” moment on our candidates. Three it gives conservative blogs more of a mainstream exposure. And 4 it forces the MSM to respond to the candidates rather than the other way around.

I suggest to Charles or LGF, Michelle , and most other serious bloggers to set up such a debate forum. Lets get Laura Ingrahm or Micheal Yon or Michelle herself to moderate debates and set up an interactive forum where Republican candidates can come answer our questions.

We have the power to do something like this. Lets push for it rather than bow down to whatever gimmic the MSM wants to throw at us.

In this case, bag it. After the Fox snub it’s tit for tat. It will drive them to fury.

Later (when it starts to count) have a real video to video interchange hosted by Fox. That will be the icing on the cake that puts them on the funny farm.

Even then the dems still have the advantage due to the uTube leftist demographics.

Michelle Malkin had a post about how the Republicans should not run away from the CNN/YouTube debates and instead should call them on their crap. I think she is right. Running away from a debate like this will send a message that Republicans are som…