Thompson Refuses To Debate At Historically Black College

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson has become the fourth leading GOP presidential candidate to shun the PBS debate this month at a historically black college in Baltimore, the Huffington Post has learned.

The debates, moderated by Tavis Smiley, will go on as planned, despite the absence of Thompson, former mayor Rudy Giuliani, former governor Mitt Romney, and Sen. John McCain. Each campaign cited scheduling issues as the reason for their absence. Nevertheless, the rejections underscore the consistent absence of GOP candidates at minority voter forums.

"There is a pattern here," Smiley told the Huffington Post. "When you tell every black and brown request that you get throughout the primary process that 'no, there's a scheduling problem.' That's a pattern... Are we really supposed to believe that all four of these guys couldn't make it because of scheduling?"

The Republican frontrunners' snubbing of Smiley and PBS comes on the heels of their rejection of a debate sponsored by the Spanish-language network Univision (McCain was the only GOP candidate to accept that invitation). This past June, only one Republican presidential candidate, California Rep. Duncan Hunter, showed up at the convention of the National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials.

"It's not just that they are not coming. It's that some of them are visibly insulting us," Cecilia Munoz, vice president of NCLR, told the Politico.

According to Smiley, the Thompson campaign knew about the debate - taking place at 9 pm on September 27 at Morgan State University- well before he declared his candidacy. Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman chose the date because it worked best for all the potential candidates, Smiley said.

An official on Thompson's staff called up the PBS host on Monday to deliver the message.

"I told them I thought they were making a grave mistake and I thought they should reconsider," said Smiley. The Thompson campaign did not respond for a request for comment by the time of print.

The five other Republican candidates for president have all committed to the PBS debate and Smiley plans to proceed with the plans - albeit with four empty lecterns on stage.

"Unlike Univision which cancelled their debate, unlike CNN, which changed their date [of the YouTube debate] we are going live," said Smiley. "We are delighted the other five are coming and appreciate their courage for showing up. The beat goes on."

Comments

[Libertysconscience]

Oops, I forgot Thompson. Hey, young wives, babies, and the Vpill has its side affects which at his age may be a blessing. He's a good old boy, the GOP savior.

Seriously, he like other candidates other than Hunter are telling nonwhite citizens despite the Civil Rights Act, the need to end housing and employment discrimination replete with enclosing those little 2by2 photos of yourself with your college application least your name didn't identify your race, the cottage industry that make law firms millions instructing firms how to legally discriminate, the White panels in the American flag stands exacting for the European descendants, not US.
Afterall, no one has ever struck from the Bill of Rights the passage that validated slavery by making blacks sub-human, remember 3/5th's human.
Even then and now , people of color should have had a head's up of where they stood in America such that for weeks the media went crazy incessantly fanning a racist diatribe aimed to split the African Americans voters about whether Obama was black enough--- in a nation when 50 yrs ago one drop of black blood made you black; where in Utah and other red states share a common believe that blacks are children of Cain, vile and to be shunned.
What a wonderful thing for every child in America to discover, memorize as part of their mandatory Constitutional test.

[Libertysconscience]

Surprised? The GOP nationally suppressed the historical 2000 African American voter turnout leaving little brother to bring home the bacon using a crony like Ohio but a Wonder Woman in bad drag, the state voter registrar, replete with posting police officers conducting unconstitutional identity documentation dragnet of voters Pres Carter, an international elections fraud participant, would affirm as blatant intimidation equal to Mugabe's re-election!

Guiliani would have to explain his curbing crime methodology regarding using toliet plungers as rectal interrogation methods or shooting a black immigrant reaching for his papers about 100 times.

McCain the war vet of Vietnam would have really have to explain since he fought along side of valiant African American soldiers, pilots and POW's. Is he afraid that GOP voters remember that Bush campaign smear defeated him saying he fathered a black baby?

Romney really would have the biggest problem only beating Guili by a nose. Romney would have to explain his Mormon faith's dogma that declares Blacks as slovenly and to be avoided code word segregationist though they marry at 14 legally and each other's sisters etc. Seriously, I actually wrote Sen Hatch about Utah and where were safe places African Americans could visit and which had a history of confrontation because I was taking the family on a road trip and would like to see Utah. NEver got a reply. So that would let one know what the Mormons think of Blacks.
Confusingly I thought the point of the GOP allowing the human trafficking from Mexico was to surpass the African American population thus affecting Congressional districts and voter affiliation since it's widely known that it takes several generations before an immigrant group granted entry via a political party defects to the other party, besides the GOP wanted 'their very own minority' who wanted to be like Ike not Mike as in Jordan.
Their base is mad and GOP candidates are ducking anyone not white, but non Chinese Asians are cool and forget the Muslim population ever provided the magic carpet for Bush in 2000.

[hourglass]

who cares? blacks, hispanics, native americans and other dem voting districts are all on caging lists anyway ...

[mari2JJ]

No surprise that few Republicans want to face any minority audience. Guiliani would, no doubt, be asked about N.Y. police brutality he condoned, Romney about why his church denied the priesthood to blacks for years, Brownback about his singing the hateful little ditty about orientals during the Clinton investigation. Folks who behave that way usually choose to stay clear of the confrontation they should get for their racist behavior.

[rrw458]

oh btw, didn't want to limit it to gender. it applies to "she" also. just look at Condi, (one confused woman) nothing more needs to be said.

[rrw458]

show me an african american citizen that claims he's a republican and i'll show you a confused individual. no further comment necessary.

[MikeMidCity]

Some wag said, "Bush don't like black people." just because he wouldn't rush around like the people of the 9th ward were as important as the Bin Loudens.

Now people will say that, "Republicans don't like black/brown people." just because the top tier of Republicans will not attend debates that will directly address 10-35% of the population.

Where do people get these ideas from?

If GAY REPUBLICANS are the Log Cabin Club (ironic name considering the location of Senator Crag's recent troubles). What are the BLACK REPUBLICANS called? Rich/delusional?

[Naithom]

Politicians that don't recognize that they can't win with just the WASP vote are in serious denial. And it will come back to bite them come 2008.

[only1Demvoter]

Naithom : Yep. -ralph

[nightingale]

So they skipped the CNN debates, and made them move it...and then the Spanish ones, and the gay one, and now this...so it really is just an OLD WHITE man party after All....how about if the Klan decided to hold one? would they show for that? I mean sorry, but at this rate I gotta wonder....

[FdeBear]

Wonder about what? nightingale? Wonder whether Black citizens in this country have a stake in its future? wonder whether we are capable or worthy enough to evaluate who our national leaders should be? who will represent our best interest? Wonder about those candidates who self-selected themselves out of our consideration. Their message is we don't want your vote. We don't need your vote! Wonder about those arrogant sonsobitches,not Black students, not CNN, not Gays, not the "Spanish" as you call them? AND WHY WOULD YOU EQUATE THE HOPES AND DESIRES OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY WITH THE KU KLUX KLAN?? From the way these "candidates" are acting, they'd probably feel right at home at a Klan sponsored debate. They're showing me that they share similar values.

[WOLFWARRIOR]

Palestine: democracy not Zionism

Indeed, Israelis have placed themselves in a virtually impossible situation. To taste its bitter essence, Americans might try to imagine what life in their country would be like if the European settlers had not virtually exterminated the indigenous population and if almost half of today's American population were Indians, without basic human rights, impoverished, smoldering with resentment, and visible every day as the inescapable living evidence of the injustice inflicted on their ancestors.

This would not be a pleasant society in which to live. Both colonizers and colonized would be progressively degraded and dehumanized. The colonizers could, rationally, conclude that they could never be forgiven by those they had dispossessed and that no "solution" was imaginable. So it has been, and continues to be, in the lands under Israeli rule.

Perhaps the coming "meeting" or "conference" will be the last gasp of the fruitless pursuit of a separation-based solution. Perhaps those who care about justice and peace and believe in democracy can then find ways to stimulate Israelis to move beyond Zionist ideology toward a more humane, hopeful, and democratic view of present realities and future possibilities.

No one would suggest that the moral, ethical, and intellectual transformation necessary to achieve a decent one-state solution will be easy. However, more and more people now recognize that a decent two-state solution has become impossible.

It is surely time for concerned people everywhere – and particularly for Americans – to imagine a better way, to encourage Israelis to imagine a better way, and to help both Israelis and Palestinians to achieve it. It is surely time to seriously consider democracy and to give it a chance.

• John V. Whitbeck, an international lawyer who has advised the Palestinian negotiating team in negotiations with Israel, is author of "The World According to Whitbeck."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070914/cm_csm/ywhitbeck;_ylt=AqRGXSaPPABrQOBOj37DS279wxIF

[godlessclif]

"Indeed, Israelis have placed themselves in a virtually impossible situation.­"...Wolf war.

Lord Balfour placed them in that impossible situation at the end of WWII, and I am sure
the old British racist was deeply disappointed
that the Arabs were not tricked into finishing
the Holocaust for the British empire by doing his dirty work for him.

[MasterfullyInept]

Why waste time on the voters you want to "cage" anyway?

[JGatsby]

"At a cross roads"?!? Give me a f*ing break, where have you been the last decade professor? Get out of your ivory tower and wake up, the Republicans don't give a damn about people of color and they haven't for a long time, unless that is they are sell out intellectuals or capitalists like Rice, Thomas, and Gonzo.

And frankly I'm a little tired of hearing people whine about how patronizing the Dems are. I agree that they are but if you don't like it don't sit back and whine, do what the right wing fundamentalists did to the republicans, get active, start throwing your weight around and change the direction of the democratic party.

[WOLFWARRIOR]

WEll Greenspan supported the WAR OF LIES - He Supported
the sub-prime loans that ripped off American's - Tax
cuts for the rich-greedy - ON the money they stole ...

Yhuppp we can honestly say Alan Greenspan - Is another
one of those Bath-Room republicans ...

They did one hell-of-a-job to secure world oil supplies
- Have they not ???

So basically what Alan Greenspan is saying to secure the
dream of KING of OIL - IT was okay to steal American HOme Equity
- And steal whats belongs to the people of the middle-east ...

So what other brilliant suggestions does Greenspan have now ???

"""You can file a commercial lien on property in another state or on property
you’ve never seen. With a commercial lien, you can attack the personal property
of your adversary at long range rather than merely fighting to defend your own
property in your own back yard. This offensive capability makes the commercial
lien a powerful legal weapon. With the commercial lien, you can literally take
the fight to their back yards.

The Helplessness of Judges
The commercial lien, which is authorized both by the common law and by Title
15 of the United States Code (USC), is reportedly the same lien the IRS uses
to take Americans’ homes and cars. However, some pro se litigants do not depend
upon Title 15, but upon the common law of negotiable instruments
(a.k.a. Commercial Law) .... """




""" Greenspan clarifies Iraq war, oil link

Clarifying a controversial comment in his new memoir,
former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he
told the White House before the Iraq war that removing
Saddam Hussein was "essential" to secure world oil supplies
according to an interview published on Monday. """

[Ginzaman]

I wonder if Armstrong Williams was moderating, would these idiots suddenly find time in their "busy" schedules to debate? Yes you are being set up Tavis...

[godlessclif]

Moderators acceptable to Republicans would be the Wayans brothers as Tom and Tom.

The Brothers Brothers (Damon and Keenen Ivory Wayans) - Two brothers both named Tom Brothers sang just like the Smothers Brothers (who actually lent their uncredited singing voices) and apparently don't realize they are black.

Some episodes included their double dating, or applying for a country club, failing to see it has a clandestine white only policy. (However, they are admitted as the club hierarchy feels the Brothers Brothers actually fit in well and could get the discrimination suit dropped against the club)

[batmanindy]

Why does Thompson seemingly always campaign with his daughter? Where's the guy's wife?

BWHAHAHAHA

[JamesR.]

Junior high

[batmanindy]

In junior high?

About right.

What a loser. He can't even, on a personal level, interact successfully with women his own age.

The guy is gross.

PS -- He looks sickly too.