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Boycotting debates and "rogue" airtime


RoseGoesToYale

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RoseGoesToYale

I just signed this petition calling for Joe Rogan to moderate the 2020 presidential debate after I listened to his podcast interviewing Bernie Sanders (here, skip to 8:45 to get past the sponsorship blah blah). It was the first time I was able to hear Bernie explain himself how he intends to accomplish the proposals of his campaign. The whole thing's an hour long, giving him plenty of time to provide reasoning.

 

First off, Joe does a really great job. I'd never even heard of the guy until last night. Second, the first thing he asked Bernie was if he gets frustrated by the time constraints of the debates, to which he said "Absolutely. You shouldn't even call them a debate. What they are is a reality TV show in which you have to come up with a sound byte... It's demeaning to the candidates and it's demeaning to the American people." He goes on to explain that in other countries political candidates get a certain allotment of TV hours, for free, do what they please with it. Here if a candidate wants their own airtime, they have to pay for it.

 

And it's double ridiculous because the very same people who don't watch the debates because they know they're a crock either can't or don't want to take the time to read each candidate's platform, nor are they arsed to do anything constructive about the problem. Just stay resigned to the misery of it all. What does this result in? Completely uninformed voters! That is not democracy!

 

Voters have the right to detailed, meaningful information about who they can vote for and candidates have the right not to be treated like lowlife comedy fodder. I'm officially boycotting all debates broadcast on live television that are moderated by news anchors and talk show hosts, and encourage everyone else to do the same.

 

In the podcast, Bernie said the only solution to the "reality TV debates" is to pass legislation, but I think that's entirely too pessimistic. We're not helpless, hapless cogs in a dictatorship. We have the right to free press, the right to peaceful protest, and we also have Twisted Sister. What do you need to have a debate? A small handful of candidates, a moderator, a device to record audio, and an audience. Get some candidates to walk out on those sorry flamethrowers at MSNBC. Boom. Get Joe Rogan and/or any other respectable person to moderate. Double boom. Get anything from a single smartphone to a band of undergrad film majors with cameras looking for work experience to film it. Triple Boom. Get a local library, town hall, or university lecture hall to be the venue, or hell, hold it at a backyard barbecue. Quadruple boom. Live stream it on YouTube, home to billions of viewers, including ones like me who don't even own a tv. The bombs bursting in air quintuple BOOM!

 

As for getting people to pay for it, ask voters for donations. I'd donate for real debates. Get voter awareness groups, charities, local ice cream shops, whatever to help sponsor it. No need to waste climate-destroying resources like running extra colored lights, mega speakers with music, or fancy graphics. Keep it cheap, keep it simple.

 

Is this such a far-fetched idea? Why are we allowing tv moguls take control of our politics by granting them endless authority they have neither earned nor wielded responsibly?

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InDefenseOfPOMO
4 hours ago, RoseGoesToYale said:

I just signed this petition calling for Joe Rogan to moderate the 2020 presidential debate after I listened to his podcast interviewing Bernie Sanders (here, skip to 8:45 to get past the sponsorship blah blah). It was the first time I was able to hear Bernie explain himself how he intends to accomplish the proposals of his campaign. The whole thing's an hour long, giving him plenty of time to provide reasoning.

 

First off, Joe does a really great job. I'd never even heard of the guy until last night. Second, the first thing he asked Bernie was if he gets frustrated by the time constraints of the debates, to which he said "Absolutely. You shouldn't even call them a debate. What they are is a reality TV show in which you have to come up with a sound byte... It's demeaning to the candidates and it's demeaning to the American people." He goes on to explain that in other countries political candidates get a certain allotment of TV hours, for free, do what they please with it. Here if a candidate wants their own airtime, they have to pay for it.

 

And it's double ridiculous because the very same people who don't watch the debates because they know they're a crock either can't or don't want to take the time to read each candidate's platform, nor are they arsed to do anything constructive about the problem. Just stay resigned to the misery of it all. What does this result in? Completely uninformed voters! That is not democracy!

 

Voters have the right to detailed, meaningful information about who they can vote for and candidates have the right not to be treated like lowlife comedy fodder. I'm officially boycotting all debates broadcast on live television that are moderated by news anchors and talk show hosts, and encourage everyone else to do the same.

 

In the podcast, Bernie said the only solution to the "reality TV debates" is to pass legislation, but I think that's entirely too pessimistic. We're not helpless, hapless cogs in a dictatorship. We have the right to free press, the right to peaceful protest, and we also have Twisted Sister. What do you need to have a debate? A small handful of candidates, a moderator, a device to record audio, and an audience. Get some candidates to walk out on those sorry flamethrowers at MSNBC. Boom. Get Joe Rogan and/or any other respectable person to moderate. Double boom. Get anything from a single smartphone to a band of undergrad film majors with cameras looking for work experience to film it. Triple Boom. Get a local library, town hall, or university lecture hall to be the venue, or hell, hold it at a backyard barbecue. Quadruple boom. Live stream it on YouTube, home to billions of viewers, including ones like me who don't even own a tv. The bombs bursting in air quintuple BOOM!

 

As for getting people to pay for it, ask voters for donations. I'd donate for real debates. Get voter awareness groups, charities, local ice cream shops, whatever to help sponsor it. No need to waste climate-destroying resources like running extra colored lights, mega speakers with music, or fancy graphics. Keep it cheap, keep it simple.

 

Is this such a far-fetched idea? Why are we allowing tv moguls take control of our politics by granting them endless authority they have neither earned nor wielded responsibly?

 

Nobody's constitutional rights are being violated.

 

The Democratic party primary debates this year have been some of the most watched ever. The First Amendment is alive and well.

 

Voters are not entitled to debates, let alone a particular format, a particular moderator, etc. Candidates have skipped debates, refused to have debates, etc., and there was nothing unconstitutional about it.

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No candidate is going to do this, when they can have the attention of the whole country in the traditional TV debates.   

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I dunno...I could see youtube debates being a thing in the future. People are turning away from traditional television-I don't even have cable. Many shows I watch today are on YouTube. I think it is the future. 

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FindingTheta

Let C-SPAN host and moderate the debates instead of CNN, MSNBC, Fox, Joe Rogan YouTube, etc.

 

Oh, and no audience.

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