So far, according to the Barr campaign’s website, the following candidate have qualified for the debate on C-SPAN tonight…. Bob Barr, Mike Gravel, Michael Jingozian, Steve Kubby, George Phillies, Wayne Allyn Root, and Mary Ruwart.
The following eight candidates have also received enough delegate tokens (30) for a nominating speech tomorrow: Bob Barr, Mike Gravel, Michael Jingozian, Steve Kubby, George Phillies, Wayne Allyn Root, Mary Ruwart, Christine Smith.
I’m a little surprise Jingozian has gained enough to meet both requirements. Is there some legitimate support out there for him?
While I think Smith is a more able speaker than Jingozian, I do not think she should have been up on that stage. Each candidate had the same opportunity to gather enough tokens to show they had sufficient support to be up there (and on C-Span cameras). Smith was not able to do that. I do assume, however, that Smith is able to make her case to the delegates privately if she so wishes. In fact, she probably is doing just that.
That said, I do not believe the duopoly will take notice of any candidate’s exclusion from a Libertarian debate. Perhaps they will if the party expands to the point where they become competitive – but until then, I’m afraid only very few are even aware of the situation.
It is a shame Christine Smith was not given an opportunity to debate. The Democrats and Republicans can use that kind of exclusion as ammo against us in the fall. Initial support doesn’t always predict how someone will fare once people get to hear them! In the interest of fairness, she should be allowed, in front of the convention, before the nominations start, to answer the same questions the debaters were asked.
Ditto!
I’d love to see some pictures of the hospitality suites!
Jingo’s a nice guy, a good speaker, and he has an awesome hospitality suite.