Dems Drop Fox Debate

Big news out of late last week and this weekend is that Democratic presidential candidates will not participate in the Aug. 14 debate held in Reno and which was sponsored by Fox News.

FNC’s official statement, from VP David Rhodes:

News organizations will want to think twice before getting involved in the Nevada Democratic Caucus which appears to be controlled by radical fringe out-of-state interest groups, not the Nevada Democratic Party. In the past, Moveon.org has said they ‘own’ the Democratic party — while most Democrats don’t agree with that, it’s clearly the case in Nevada.

From the Politico:

The Nevada State Democratic Party is pulling out of a controversial presidential debate scheduled for Aug. 14 in Reno and co-hosted by Fox News, according to a letter released late Friday from state party chairman Tom Collins and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev).

The letter said Nevada Democrats had entered into the agreement with Fox, despite strong opposition from Democratic activist groups such as MoveOn.org, as a way of finding “new ways to talk to new people.”

But Collins and Reid wrote that comments on Thursday by FOX News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, when he jokingly compared Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, to Osama bin Laden, “went too far,” and prompted Nevada Democrats to end the partnership.

“We cannot, as good Democrats, put our party in a position to defend such comments,” the letter said. “In light of his comments, we have concluded that it is not possible to hold a presidential debate that will focus on our candidates and are therefore cancelling our August debate. We take no pleasure in this, but it is the only course of action.”

For his part, Obama said he wasn’t offended by Ailes comments. And Dennis Kucinich said that “Cancelled Presidential debates smack of manipulation by ‘run and hide’ candidates.”

Tons more coverage of this can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

In related debate news, CNN, Hearst Argyle’s WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader have moved their back-to-back Republican and Democratic debates from the first week of April to the first week of June.

More details from the release when you click below…

The change was made to accommodate candidates’ schedules and offer the public the best possible debates. New Hampshire plays a pivotal role in presidential elections, and CNN, WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader are committed to providing voters with this important opportunity to evaluate candidates.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will moderate the debates with questions from WMUR-TV Political Director Scott Spradling and New Hampshire Union Leader Senior Political Reporter John DiStaso. The debates will take place at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Both debates will be broadcast live throughout New Hampshire on WMUR and nationally on CNN, CNN Radio, CNN.com, WMUR.com and UnionLeader.com. Additionally, WMUR and CNN Pipeline will create multiple real-time web components including off-air camera angles and additional real-time analysis in an unprecedented effort to enhance the on-line experience for the people of New Hampshire and the country.

These debates will provide candidates an important opportunity to introduce themselves and answer direct questions on the many challenges facing New Hampshire and the nation.

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