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16th February 2012, 05:41 PM
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Republicans pull plug on CNN debate
http://images.politico.com/global/2012/02/120216_cnn_debate_ap_328.jpg CNN decided to cancel the debate after being left with a single confirmation. | AP Photo
By MAGGIE HABERMAN (http://www.politico.com/reporters/MaggieHaberman.html) | 2/16/12 6:37 PM EST
The Republican presidential candidates are finally drawing a line on debates.
Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum decided to skip the March 1debate that was to be co-hosted by CNN and the Georgia and Ohio state Republican parties, their campaigns confirmed Thursday.
Continue Reading (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73003.html#continue)
CNN decided to cancel the debate after being left with a single confirmation, Newt Gingrich, who would have been left to square off solo with moderator John King. Gingrich’s camp is unlikely to be happy with the turn of events as the former House speaker has used the nationally televised spectacles to savage the media and twice revive his lagging campaign.
Oregon Public Broadcasting spokeswoman Carol Howard confirmed to POLITICO that the network and its partners still intend to go ahead with a GOP debate scheduled for March 19 in Portland, Ore. OPB will co-host that debate with PBS, NPR and The Washington Times.
The CNN faceoff was the last debate on the campaign calendar before nearly a dozen states head to the polls for Super Tuesday on March 6, a date with fresh urgency for Romney as he tries to regain momentum in what has been an extremely volatile primary.
“Gov. Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday,” spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. “With eight other states voting on March 6, we will be campaigning in other parts of the country and unable to schedule the CNN Georgia debate. We have participated in 20 debates, including 8 from CNN.”
A source familiar with what happened said that a Paul campaign official approached Romney’s team last week about not participating in the CNN forum. A Romney spokeswoman didn’t respond to a request for comment about any talks, as well as questions about whether the campaign had discussions with Santorum’s team about skipping the event.
Romney wasn’t the only candidate to beg off as a result of a busy campaign schedule. Santorum’s spokesman said the former Pennsylvania senator isn’t expected to attend the March 1 forum, and Paul’s camp gave a firm “no.”
Santorum communications director Hogan Gidley said: “He’s not planning on being there.” Paul spokesman Gary Howard said Paul will be in another state to focus on retail campaigning.
That left CNN with Gingrich as its only confirmed “yes,” and the network decided against moving ahead.
“Mitt Romney and Ron Paul told the Georgia Republican Party, Ohio Republican Party and CNN Thursday that they will not participate in the March 1 Republican presidential primary debate,” CNN said in a statement, which was reported on the cable network’s website shortly after Romney’s decision was announced.
“Without full participation of all four candidates, CNN will not move forward with the Super Tuesday debate. However, next week, CNN and the Arizona Republican Party will host all four leading contenders for the GOP nomination. That debate will be held in Mesa, Ariz. on February 22 and will be moderated by CNN’s John King.”
The move deprives Gingrich of one of his most tested methods for making himself relevant — thundering against moderators to the joy of the GOP debate audience — and the move makes it harder for him to reassert himself in a race that’s increasingly seen as a two-man dogfight between Romney and Santorum.
There are pluses for both Romney and Santorum in quashing yet another in what has been a glut of debates that began last May.
It also raises the stakes for next week’s Arizona debate for all four hopefuls at a time when both Romney and Santorum are looking to score points to tip the scales of the Michigan Primary in their favor.
Listen
Before the debate cancellation, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond tweeted his displeasure with Romney’s move: “@MittRomney spits in Georgia’s face and cancels Atlanta debate appearence.”
And later: “If @MittRomney won’t stand up and debate his GOP competitors how will he face President Obama?”
Yet an adviser to one of the candidates who didn’t commit to the March 1 event summed up the logic for skipping it this way: “At what point does anybody benefit from candidates beating up on the media?”
Indeed, that has become the sentiment among many of the GOP campaigns, which have for months bemoaned a process they think has gone off the rails because of the sheer number of debates.
For much of the cycle, the debates played a disproportionate part in driving the narrative — and were, for the most part, forums in which both Romney and Gingrich thrived. When Rick Perry stumbled virtually out of the gate, Romney pollster Neil Newhouse put out a memo that said, succinctly, “Debates matter.” The debates have effectively killed two candidacies — Perry’s and Tim Pawlenty’s — while allowing Gingrich a chance to twice revive his candidacy.
But the nature of the primary contest has now changed, with local issues and the collection of delegates taking precedence as Super Tuesday draws near.
And with Romney fighting to avoid a loss in his home state of Michigan, the campaign is clearly looking to seize control of its destiny. Team Romney had also considered skipping one of the debates before the Florida primary on Jan. 31 but opted to take part in both after pushback from the press and some of the candidate’s own supporters.
The move is less risky for Romney now, with other candidates taking the same approach.
At the same time, many of the campaigns, including those of candidates who have since left the race, have long bemoaned the volume of debates, given the intense prep required and the amount of time spent traveling between primary states and debate locations.
“The endless series of debates has gotten a bit out of control, and the first days of March are crunch time,” said GOP strategist Phil Musser, who worked with Pawlenty and is now supporting Romney. “The decisions make sense mostly due to [the] large amount of real estate in play. Campaigns can’t afford a day of prep in Georgia — currently a favorite son state for Newt — when local touch elsewhere matters more.”
Republicans pull plug on CNN debate
http://images.politico.com/global/2012/02/120216_cnn_debate_ap_328.jpg CNN decided to cancel the debate after being left with a single confirmation. | AP Photo
By MAGGIE HABERMAN (http://www.politico.com/reporters/MaggieHaberman.html) | 2/16/12 6:37 PM EST
The Republican presidential candidates are finally drawing a line on debates.
Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum decided to skip the March 1debate that was to be co-hosted by CNN and the Georgia and Ohio state Republican parties, their campaigns confirmed Thursday.
Continue Reading (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73003.html#continue)
CNN decided to cancel the debate after being left with a single confirmation, Newt Gingrich, who would have been left to square off solo with moderator John King. Gingrich’s camp is unlikely to be happy with the turn of events as the former House speaker has used the nationally televised spectacles to savage the media and twice revive his lagging campaign.
Oregon Public Broadcasting spokeswoman Carol Howard confirmed to POLITICO that the network and its partners still intend to go ahead with a GOP debate scheduled for March 19 in Portland, Ore. OPB will co-host that debate with PBS, NPR and The Washington Times.
The CNN faceoff was the last debate on the campaign calendar before nearly a dozen states head to the polls for Super Tuesday on March 6, a date with fresh urgency for Romney as he tries to regain momentum in what has been an extremely volatile primary.
“Gov. Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday,” spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. “With eight other states voting on March 6, we will be campaigning in other parts of the country and unable to schedule the CNN Georgia debate. We have participated in 20 debates, including 8 from CNN.”
A source familiar with what happened said that a Paul campaign official approached Romney’s team last week about not participating in the CNN forum. A Romney spokeswoman didn’t respond to a request for comment about any talks, as well as questions about whether the campaign had discussions with Santorum’s team about skipping the event.
Romney wasn’t the only candidate to beg off as a result of a busy campaign schedule. Santorum’s spokesman said the former Pennsylvania senator isn’t expected to attend the March 1 forum, and Paul’s camp gave a firm “no.”
Santorum communications director Hogan Gidley said: “He’s not planning on being there.” Paul spokesman Gary Howard said Paul will be in another state to focus on retail campaigning.
That left CNN with Gingrich as its only confirmed “yes,” and the network decided against moving ahead.
“Mitt Romney and Ron Paul told the Georgia Republican Party, Ohio Republican Party and CNN Thursday that they will not participate in the March 1 Republican presidential primary debate,” CNN said in a statement, which was reported on the cable network’s website shortly after Romney’s decision was announced.
“Without full participation of all four candidates, CNN will not move forward with the Super Tuesday debate. However, next week, CNN and the Arizona Republican Party will host all four leading contenders for the GOP nomination. That debate will be held in Mesa, Ariz. on February 22 and will be moderated by CNN’s John King.”
The move deprives Gingrich of one of his most tested methods for making himself relevant — thundering against moderators to the joy of the GOP debate audience — and the move makes it harder for him to reassert himself in a race that’s increasingly seen as a two-man dogfight between Romney and Santorum.
There are pluses for both Romney and Santorum in quashing yet another in what has been a glut of debates that began last May.
It also raises the stakes for next week’s Arizona debate for all four hopefuls at a time when both Romney and Santorum are looking to score points to tip the scales of the Michigan Primary in their favor.
Listen
Before the debate cancellation, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond tweeted his displeasure with Romney’s move: “@MittRomney spits in Georgia’s face and cancels Atlanta debate appearence.”
And later: “If @MittRomney won’t stand up and debate his GOP competitors how will he face President Obama?”
Yet an adviser to one of the candidates who didn’t commit to the March 1 event summed up the logic for skipping it this way: “At what point does anybody benefit from candidates beating up on the media?”
Indeed, that has become the sentiment among many of the GOP campaigns, which have for months bemoaned a process they think has gone off the rails because of the sheer number of debates.
For much of the cycle, the debates played a disproportionate part in driving the narrative — and were, for the most part, forums in which both Romney and Gingrich thrived. When Rick Perry stumbled virtually out of the gate, Romney pollster Neil Newhouse put out a memo that said, succinctly, “Debates matter.” The debates have effectively killed two candidacies — Perry’s and Tim Pawlenty’s — while allowing Gingrich a chance to twice revive his candidacy.
But the nature of the primary contest has now changed, with local issues and the collection of delegates taking precedence as Super Tuesday draws near.
And with Romney fighting to avoid a loss in his home state of Michigan, the campaign is clearly looking to seize control of its destiny. Team Romney had also considered skipping one of the debates before the Florida primary on Jan. 31 but opted to take part in both after pushback from the press and some of the candidate’s own supporters.
The move is less risky for Romney now, with other candidates taking the same approach.
At the same time, many of the campaigns, including those of candidates who have since left the race, have long bemoaned the volume of debates, given the intense prep required and the amount of time spent traveling between primary states and debate locations.
“The endless series of debates has gotten a bit out of control, and the first days of March are crunch time,” said GOP strategist Phil Musser, who worked with Pawlenty and is now supporting Romney. “The decisions make sense mostly due to [the] large amount of real estate in play. Campaigns can’t afford a day of prep in Georgia — currently a favorite son state for Newt — when local touch elsewhere matters more.”