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Bill USA

(6,436 posts)
Thu Oct 11, 2012, 04:44 PM Oct 2012

League of Women Voters exited hostg debates so's not to: “perpetrate a fraud on the American voters"

[font size="+1"]Romney’s Psychopathic Debate Strategy: Past, Present and Future[/font]

http://www.nationofchange.org/romney-s-psychopathic-debate-strategy-past-present-and-future-1349962060

[font size="+1"]Mitt Romney helped design a debate environment that would accommodate dishonesty. He exploited it by escalating a campaign strategy of false accusations and outright lies, knowing he was unlikely to be caught.[/font] For those who see American politics as sports entertainment, Romney crafted the rules and called off the refs, before cheating. Romney “won” the debate like Lance Armstrong “won” seven Tour de France races or the Cincinnati Reds “won” the 1919 World Series. But more than a gilded trophy is at stake. Now it’s America’s future.

The presidential debates weren’t always a ridiculous spectacle of “mini-speeches” and zingers. For several debates prior to 1988, the League of Women Voters invited and grilled two or three candidates. Then the major party candidates presented the League with stifling new rules, prompting League President Nancy M. Neuman to refuse to “perpetrate a fraud on the American voter” by adding debates to the list of “campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions.” Thus the Commission on Presidential Debates was born. It uses secret rules to hamstring the moderator, making calling candidates on their lies more difficult, and the questions easier. Third party candidates could play an important role in fact-checking and promoting alternate strategies like relying more on taxes and debt. Yet these parties are banned unless they poll over 15 percent in five national polls.


[font size="+1"]Thus Romney was left with only one fully capable presidential candidate or moderator. So he predicted President Obama would lie, implying he himself would personify integrity and the two should take the moral high road.[/font]

That left the media. As expected, it chose instantaneous and assertive coverage over accurate and comprehensive analysis. The lead in should have been, “Romney thoroughly misrepresented himself and the president’s policies. His statements contradicted his earlier positions on education, Medicare, health care and taxes. He flat-out lied about Obama’s record on employment, energy, financial regulation and health care. Every hour for the next week we’ll come back an updated, detailed list because voters need to know.” Instead, they applauded Romney energetic albeit awkward acting. The media has since followed the Romney’s speeches and “pre-gamed” the vice presidential debate, rather than effectively communicating debate lies and misleading statements. Not surprisingly, more voters now see the man who cheated six ways to Sunday as a fuzzy Democrat in Republican’s clothing.
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