WHEREAS, Democrats granting Fox News the illusion of credibility would allow Fox to more easily “swiftboat” our 2008 candidates by pushing false Republican attacks into the mainstream media; and
WHEREAS, everyone supports reaching out to new people, but 1 day of Fox coverage is not worth legitimizing Fox’s misinformation the other 364 days a year; and
WHEREAS, plenty of better alternatives exist to Fox News – in Nevada, MSNBC plus its NBC affiliates, for example, get approximately double the viewers of Fox cable plus its local affiliates; and
WHEREAS, we believe that Democrats need to fight back against Fox News and the right-wing smear machine in the 2008 election cycle—not enable it.
BE IT RESOLVED, the Carson City Democratic Central Committee opposes the proposal to let Fox News host a Democratic presidential debate and strongly urges the Nevada Democratic Party to drop that proposal.
Kos shares these thoughts on the different candidates... with phone numbers.
John Edwards: Already announced he won't attend debate. You can reward good behavior by contributing to his campaign.
Barack Obama: His campaign will make a decision within the next several days. His campaign's phone number is (866) 675-2008. Those of you who are Obama supporters should lean on your guy to do the right thing. Given that Obama has already frozen out Fox News for its b.s. attacks on his church and on his childhood education, this should theoretically be an easy sell.
Of course, Obama has already skipped one Nevada forum (the AFSCME event a week or two ago), so there are probably political considerations that are forcing them to think about this one hard.
Hillary Clinton: Her campaign says they aren't close to making a decision on whether to attend. If Edwards and Obama drop out, she has less impetus to attend. Does she really want to be on a stage "debating" a bunch of second- and third-tier candidates? Her campaign's phone number is (202) 263-0180. She clearly won't lead on this issue, but if enough other people drop out, she might not need to make a decision at all.
Bill Richardson: Sigh. Here I was hoping that Richardson would make the leap to the top tier. I'd love to see a Latino finally make a race out of it, and there's no denying his solid resume. He was threatening to be my favorite in the race. It's also clear that Richardson sees Nevada (in his backyard) as his ticket to competitiveness during the primaries. But by being the first to agree to this debate, it shows his utter lack of understanding of the right wing propaganda machine and tone deafness to party activists in the trenches fighting the VRWC. Instead, he apparently thinks appeasing right-wing operations is his path to victory. His campaign phone number is (505) 982-2291.
Chris Dodd: He's got little money and is probably desperate for any attention he can get. He thinks he's an insurgent candidate, but is running a painfully safe, conventional campaign. Rather than take a bold, aggressive stance on the matter to earn some kudos, his staff is indecisive and confused. It probably matters little, since his appearance or lack thereof won't affect the debate one way or another, but what its worth, his campaign phone number is (202) 737-3633.
Joe Biden: I think his people have realized they have little to gain from the netroots and didn't even bother to reply to my email asking their intentions. They've apparently decided to depend on their core supporters, which are credit card company executives. And those guys watch Fox News, so all's peachy in his world. And in all honesty, does anyone really think Biden would pass up an opportunity to stick his mug on TV? For shits and giggles, his campaign phone number is (202) 547-2221.
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