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Today Thomas Friedman in the New York Times called for
Michael Bloomberg to mount an independent Presidential
challenge to "give our two party system the shock it needs":
... neither party... is talking... seriously about
the taxes that will have to be raised or the
entitlement spending that will have to be cut
to put us on sustainable footing, let alone
offering an inspired vision of American
renewal that might motivate such sacrifice.
The leading third party candidate for president, though, isn't
Michael Bloomberg, it's Buddy Roemer, who at the moment
holds the lead in the Americans Elects on-line primary.
Buddy Roemer didn't set out to be a third party candidate. He tried to
run for the Republican nomination, but a funny thing happened. The
party blocked him from taking part in the debates, virtually barring
him from running.
At first glance, it's difficult to see why the GOP would stop his
candidacy. He was as qualified as anyone in the race, having both
executive experience as Governor of Louisiana and national
experience as a multi-term member of the United States House
of Representatives. Many of the candidates allowed in barely showed
up in the polls at the time the decision was taken to keep him out of
the Iowa debates, so it couldn't have been his relatively low profile.
He is a fiscal conservative who believes in a strong defense, main
stream Republican positions. How could the Republicans let Herman
Cain, a pizza executive in, but keep Louisiana's former chief executive out?
I think the answer lies in Roemer's refusal to accept contributions
of larger than a $100 to his campaign. Many candidates talk about
campaign finance reform or keeping big business out of politics
but continue to deal with lobbyists and take money in any way they can.
Buddy Roemer not only talked the talk, he walked the walk.
His presence on the primary stage would have been a
living rebuke to every other candidate, except perhaps Ron
Paul, and most especially to Mitt Romney who financed his
campaign almost exclusively with contributions from the wealthy;
but it's not just Romney, he would have embarrassed all the
candidates and by extension his party by comparison. Of
course the Democrats can't really claim to be any better,
especially since President Obama decided to renege on
his vow not to allow a Super-Pac to be set up for him; but
still the Republicans, with their many corporate donors, must
have felt vulnerable on the issue and decided Buddy Roemer's
example was just too dangerous to allow him into the primaries.
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8 comments:
I wonder why they let in Ron Paul? Except that Paul has run before and also was too goofy to be taken very seriously.
This post simply assumes that what Buddy Roemer says is true. It is false.
Buddy fabricates a conspiracy theory as to why he was not invited to any debate. He claims the Republican party excluded him. Not true. The debates were run by the networks and they set the rules, not the Republican party. Since the 1960's the networks have set a minimum qualification standard for the debate participants. This is necessary to make the debates relevant and meaningful. They have not allowed candidates who are not serious contenders to crowd the podium and detract from the real contenders.
The networks announced that the candidates must have received only 1% at least on several national polls (as the debates went on, they increased the thresholds). Buddy claims he had 4% or 5% on national polls and they still would not let him on. The truth is that he never received anything close to 1% on any national poll. He claims that they allowed other candidates to participate who had lower national poll rates than he did. Not true. He is making false statements. He was not in any debates because he did not meet the reasonable minimum standards. If he had 4%, as he falsely claims, he would have been on all the debates.
The debates were run by the networks and they set the rules, not the Republican party. The networks announced that the candidates must have received only 1% at least on several national polls (as the debates went on, they increased the thresholds). Buddy claims he had 4% or 5% on national polls and they still would not let him on. The truth is that he never received anything close to 1% on any national poll. He did not meet the minimum reasonable standards. If he had 4%, he would have been on all the debates.
Thank you for your blog entry.
People can join other fed-up Americans by joining Americans Elect and supporting Buddy Roemer for president.
http://AmericansElect.org
Buddy Roemer has MANY times pointed out that it was the networks that excluded him When he discusses it he relays calling network after network. The GOP WAS duplicit in keeping him out in that the could have stood up for a fellow LOYAL Republican and publically taken a position that he should be included, but of course they didn't want him in the debates taking about the money
But what is left out by No Body Asked Me But is the fact that the same media companies who controled the debates also control many of the polls and guess what? Buddy Roemer's name was left off of most of then. PPP included him a couple times but most of the others never offered his name. Neat trick to register in polls that don't offer your name.
He also doesn't share that other candidates who were polling behind Buddy and the air time of some of the debates still got include.
THe motivation is clear. The MSM makes a ton of money off of political campaigns. They have no interest in getting the money out. Quite the opposite
I wouldn't pay much attention to comments from "NobodyAskedMe...But" (or "SayAmen"). He/she is just a one person (paid?) Troll with over 7,000 comments on the Internet attempting to turn people away from Buddy Roemer with his self-manufactured, misleading "facts" at his own websites/OpEds/Blog pages. I wonder why? Perhaps there is concern that Buddy Roemer poses a real threat to his/her party.
Do your own research. Buddy Roemer is genuine. He absolutely does WALK the TALK. He accepts no PAC contributions, no corporate donors/sponsors; only individual contributions of $100 or less. Roemer has served as a congressman, a governor, and a successful business man. He has the experience we need and he is free to lead. Learn more about his platform here: http://www.youtube.com/user/buddyroemer
SERIOUSLY!!! to nobody asked me... but, are you that comic of a man wearing a suit with your head in the sand that i have seen on face book? did you really read this article and then researched out the facts from more than 1,2,3,4,5,6,7... and more articles? interviews? commentary's? blogs? from tv, radio, print, and the internet? do you really think for a moment that the gop or main stream media has no responsibility for the disenfranchizement of our american voters? are you familiar with the definition of assume? do you not believe in democracy? and what about just being fair? PLEASE remember to read this time next year what will be written about this historical 2012 presidential election and remember your contribution! really! you said "to make the debates relevant and meaningful" and of the 23 national gop debates which one would that have been? buddy roemer is not bought by special interest like ALL of the other candidates making him the candidate that they don't want you to know! be responsible! study up!
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