As Christine reported on CNN last night reassessed much-maligned rules regarding participation thresholds for the upcoming Republican presidential debate. As a result, Carly Fiorina will likely qualify for the “main stage” forum; had it not been for the change, the rising candidate would likely have been on the outside looking in. Disadvantages of the previous standard were clearly observableHow National Review editor Rich Lowry explains:
In May, CNN made a concerted effort to develop fair and lucid standards for determining who would occupy the ten prime-time debate slots. It’s just that in the real world they make no sense. Consider the perversity of CNN’s criteria. They will almost certainly exclude Fiorina, even though she ranks seventh in the current RealClearPolitics national average of polls, ahead of, among others, John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul and Chris Christie; even though it was ranked seventh in a national CNN poll in mid-August; and even though her popularity rose in the early states, she finished third in the latest polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, ahead of Jeb Bush and Scott Walker… What happened? CNN decided to utilize the polls all the way back to July 16, weeks before Fox’s first debate on August 6. This goes back to when Fiorina routinely polled at one or zero. Moreover, CNN only takes into account surveys conducted by selected organizations. Some of these election agencies or news organizations do not conduct national polls on the Republican race; one of them – McClatchy-Marist – did not conduct a poll because it said it did not want its polls to be used to determine debate eligibility; and others will likely wait until after the CNN debate to conduct another poll. All this means, perversely, that in the CNN formula there will probably be more polls before the first debate than after the debate. As a result, Fiorina’s performance in the first debate is ruined.
Was erased, i.e. This unjust formula was rightly rejected in favor of a more reasonable one: namely, ten (and probably more) strongest Republicans according to current, Cleveland’s post-game polls will be held Sept. 16 in Simi Valley. Kudos to CNN for doing the right thing and righting an egregious, correctable wrong. An even bigger scam is due to Fiorina’s campaign, which effectively heated up the atmosphere and forced a change. When her voting standing didn’t earn her a spot on the Fox News debate in Ohio, Carly’s team didn’t complain about the decision. They said she didn’t deserve it and would do everything in her power to stand out in the so-called “undercard” debate. Fiorina did just that, earning universal acclaim as the clear winner of the stock market. He then shot at national AND early country polls, Fiorina’s campaign acknowledged that CNN’s predetermined regulations were based on forward-looking polling that did not reflect the changing landscape. Taking a fresh tack, they went on the attack, alleging that CNN and the Republican National Committee conspired to protect flawed and dated laws. Their ruthless, targeted and deliberate strategy pushed all the right anti-establishment buttons, leading to the culmination yesterday’s petition signed by
250 outstanding supporters demanding change. Within hours CNN announced his renewed system. Fiorina’s deputy campaign manager declared victory on Twitter:
We can’t wait to watch @CarlyFiorina debate other leading candidates at the Reagan Library. (3/3)
— Sarah Isgur Flores (@whignewtons) September 1, 2015
The campaign emailed them a statement from Fiorina herself Town hall readers who helped push for this change: “We are so grateful for your support Town hall readers for helping us challenge the political establishment and spread the message of grassroots activists across the country,” said the former CEO. And this is how he sums up the political masterpiece: Fiorina avoided minor complaints before the first debate, coped brilliantly on a smaller stage, gained height, framed and a fight ensued as a battle against the entrenched establishment, cultivating and mobilizing allies – and she won. The rest of the GOP community could learn a lot from Carly’s example. Now that she has achieved this goal (which may come at a cost Rand Paul or Chris Christie), there is now pressure on her to perform in glowing lithe. Fiorina – whose uninterruptedHillary Clinton’s focused criticism won praise among conservatives and also sparked one of the harsher criticisms of Republican Party leader Donald Trump in Cleveland. He replied in characteristically ad hominem fashion:
I just realized that if you listen to Carly Fiorina for more than ten minutes straight, you get a huge headache. She doesn’t stand a chance!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2015
Now the two will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face, and Carly will have a platform from which she can introduce herself to a much wider audience. This month’s CNN forum co-sponsor is: Town hall parent company, Salem Media Group. Conservative radio presenter Hugh Hewitt will join the CNN team ask questions to the gathered candidates.
