There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not there will be a GOP Gubernatorial debate at the upcoming California Republican Party Convention. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that there has been a lot of debate about whether the CRP should formally invite the candidates to debate at the convention. I think, based on the posturing of Meg Whitman’s campaign, that she is unlikely to accept a CRP debate invitation — but, hey, stranger things have happened.
That said, it is worthy of note that there is a potential GOP Gubernatorial debate taking place a couple of days later in front of the New Majority, a major GOP donor group ($10k/year to join). Meg Whitman has already and long ago agreed to participate in a debate at that event — but like with all events, I suppose the devil is in the details.
Apparently the Poizner campaign is worried about the details of that event, as Poizner’s Campaign Manager, Jim Bognet, has fired off a letter to the leadership of the New Majority going to into the details of the debate format.
To excerpt part of the letter where they start by calling for a high-profile, non-biased moderator for the event…
• Juan Williams, Fox News and National Public Radio
• Mark Halperin, Time Magazine and Author of “Game Change”
We feel strongly that this debate should be viewed by as many Californians as possible and involving either of these journalists would greatly increase the likelihood of national cable news coverage or statewide coverage from network affiliates. Having this debate widely televised is key to giving Republican voters across the state the opportunity to learn about the candidates.
Furthermore, we would suggest the format follow established guidelines from the Commission on Presidential Debates. No candidate, campaign member, or New Majority member should have access to the final questions prior to the event in order to protect the integrity of the debate. If voter questions are submitted beforehand, those questions should be delivered directly to the moderator and usage of those questions should be at the sole discretion of the moderator.
The letter from Bognet is attached below.
These are all very important points to consider — is is critical to a successful and educational debate that the candidates do not know the questions ahead of time in order to help us gauge their responses in a more dynamic environment.
I would add one more request, and that would be that the New Majority make arrangements from live video streaming of the debate through their website (or better yet, through the FlashReport) so that those who cannot attend can watch the event live, or at their convenience.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:00 am
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