democrats cancel fox news debate

[david sumner]

Nevada Democratic Party officials said Friday they were canceling a presidential debate co-sponsored by the Fox News Channel, following a joke chairman Roger Ailes made about Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

In a letter sent to Fox News, Nevada State Democratic Party Chairman Tom Collins and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Ailes "went too far" with comments made the night before.

The letter makes no reference to a crusade by the liberal activist group MoveOn.org to boycott Fox, which it calls a "right-wing mouthpiece." Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards dropped out of the debate Thursday, citing in part Fox's participation.

The letter also does not specify which comments by Ailes lead to the decision, but a Democratic source told Reuters it was a joke Ailes made about Obama and President Bush during a speech Thursday night.

"We cannot, as good Democrats, put our party in a position to defend such comments," Collins and Reid said in the letter. "We take no pleasure in this, but it the only course of action." Fox News Vice President David Rhodes responded with a written statement criticizing the Democrats for caving in to MoveOn.org.

"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 Democratic Party," David Rhodes said in the statement.

"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," he said.

The joke by Ailes came during a speech to the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation First Amendment Dinner on Thursday night and -- while playing on similarity between Obama's name and Osama Bin Laden -- appears to be directed more at Bush than the senator.

"It's true that Barack Obama is on the move," Ailes said during the speech. "I don't know if it's true that President Bush called Musharraf and said 'Why can't we catch this guy?"'

During his remarks, Ailes also took indirect swipes at both MoveOn.org and Edwards, saying pressure groups were now urging candidates to "only appear on those networks and venues that give them favorable coverage."

Though he didn't refer to Edwards by name, Ailes said "any candidate of either party who cannot answer direct, simple, even tough questions from any journalist runs a real risk of losing the voters."

[Sankofa]

Ailes said "any candidate of either party who cannot answer direct, simple, even tough questions from any journalist runs a real risk of losing the voters."

Fox News has journalists? I thought they had a bunch of commentators.

[Garr]

Ailes said "any candidate of either party who cannot answer direct, simple, even tough questions from any journalist runs a real risk of losing the voters."

Fox News has journalists? I thought they had a bunch of commentators.

Read as "Spin Doctors."

[bassjones]

Ailes said "any candidate of either party who cannot answer direct, simple, even tough questions from any journalist runs a real risk of losing the voters."

The mainstream press has journalists? I thought they had a bunch of commentators.

fixed

[Garr]

::applause::

[QuiNSANiTy]

Was there a Orange terror alert before this annoucement by Fox News?

[subgenius88]

I'm no Fox News apologist, but that seemed more a rip on Bush than anything else, given his well documented proclivity for verbal mangling.

[bassjones]

I'm no Fox News apologist, but that seemed more a rip on Bush than anything else, given his well documented proclivity for verbal mangling.

exactly... These idiots are sealing their fate with their hypersensitivity and overreactions. First John Edwards (the breck girl) gets his panties in a knot over the Ann Coulter thing and now this... What a bunch of wheenie asses. This current crop of Dems makes Jimmy Carter look almost tough. Take it in context.

[WBOB]

I'd equate this to the Dem's shooting themselves in the
foot more than anything else.

Dissing the chance to state and debate their ideas and views to one
of the largest viewing audiences on cable news seems
like either "we hate Fox" or "short-sightedness".

Or possibility of the public knowing what they really have
planned and having the light shed on issues scares them.

I smell moveon.org!

[MrSpall]

I'm no Fox News apologist, but that seemed more a rip on Bush than anything else, given his well documented proclivity for verbal mangling.

I'm with you on this. I generally despise Fox News, but in this case they did nothing wrong. It's actually a funny dig at the president. The Dems are WAY overreacting, and that's exactly how they could lose touch with their voter base.

I will probably vote Dem in 2008, but this kinda crap just makes me question their common sense.

[bassjones]

I'm no Fox News apologist, but that seemed more a rip on Bush than anything else, given his well documented proclivity for verbal mangling.

I'm with you on this. I generally despise Fox News, but in this case they did nothing wrong. It's actually a funny dig at the president. The Dems are WAY overreacting, and that's exactly how they could lose touch with their voter base.

I will probably vote Dem in 2008, but this kinda crap just makes me question their common sense.

Neither party has any. The dems (except Obama) all think we're too stupid to remember that they were out there pushing the Iraq war too - especially Hillary. Then they pass this stupid non-binding resolution, hoping that we'll think they're "standing up to the President" and trying to end the war, when they have the constitutional authority to end it by defunding it, but they don't have the balls to do that because that would look like they weren't supporting the troops. Never mind that if they forced us to pull out and Iraq turned into Cambodia and Iran ended up taking over the whole region they'd really look like fools.

[flapjacks]

FOX news is responsible for everything bad that has ever happened.

[bassjones]

God, I hope you're kidding...

[jewlee138]

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards dropped out of the debate Thursday, citing in part Fox's participation.

The fact that he found out his wife has incurable cancer probably had a little to do with him dropping out of the debate, too.

[bassjones]

This thread is two weeks old. He just found out she has cancer... completely unrelated.