Jack Conway Agrees To Debate Rand Paul On Fox News, Challenges Him To 'Meet The Press' Debate

Kentucky Democrat Jack Conway, the man set to face Rand Paul in November for the open Senate seat of retiring Republican Senator Jim Bunning, has agreed to go head-to-head with Paul on Fox News on one condition -- if Paul also agrees to a match-up on NBC's "Meet the Press," the program Paul famously bailed on earlier this year.

At a press conference regarding the work he has done combating cyber-crimes over his two-year tenure as attorney general, Conway told reporters that he had been told that "Meet the Press" wanted to launch this election cycle's Senate candidate debate series with the contentious race between Conway and Paul in Kentucky.

"I've accepted that," Conway said Wednesday, according to the Times-Tribune of Corbin, Kentucky. "I'm willing to go on Fox News with Chris Wallace if he's willing to do Meet the Press."

Paul's campaign has not yet responded to Conway's proposal, but Paul has said before that he was interested in taking part in six debates with his opponent, with a single nationally televised meeting to take place on Fox News.

Rand Paul's last national, non-Fox News appearance took place in May, on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC program, when the then-recently victorious Tea Party-backed Republican created a national firestorm with controversial comments on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He later canceled an appearance on "Meet the Press," becoming only the third invitee to do so in the show's 62-year history. Since then, however, Paul has been a regular guest on Fox News's national programs, but notoriously dodged a local Fox affiliate earlier this month.

There has been more overlap in the candidates' political views over the past month, with Paul and Conway both coming to the conclusion that the proposed "Ground Zero Mosque" should be built elsewhere, and that the Bush Tax Cuts should be extended.

Paul currently leads Conway by between five and ten points in most polls.

Comments

[Eleanor Owen]

11:17 PM on 10/03/2010

As Congressman Grayson of Florida said: "You can't beat a Republican by being one."
You don't seem to me to be a Democrat. Why would you vote not to let the taxcuts expire.
Support your President if you want to be elected. If not, go to Alaska.I can't stand blue dog
Democrats.

[dislandgrl]

07:02 AM on 10/04/2010

Well said.

[SuperKK]

07:06 AM on 08/24/2010

I suspect it will make no difference in the outcome whether any debates are held, or where they are held. If Rand Paul is leading by five to ten points after the racist statements he has made in public, the debates won't change anyone's mind. The Kentucky electorate as constituted today want a far right wing stalwart in the Senate who will reflect their racist obstructionist views. They have two such representatives now, and they seem comfortable.

[Teadoff]

03:22 PM on 08/24/2010

super, you misunderstand his statements. Racist minds do.
1964 civil rights act not the only government action setting precedent that he references.
Commerce clause used to tell a farmer he grew too much wheat was another. Say What? FDR sumpreme court days.
These precedents have been used to erode individual freedoms, and have the government dictate to you and business acceptable behaviour.

[Design4you]

07:42 PM on 08/23/2010

yea... another Blue-Dog... Might as well be a Republican, that way at least we'll know which way he'll vote.

[TaniaAus]

08:11 AM on 08/23/2010

Am I the only one noticing Jack Conway is a total babe? Lol. I can't believe no one else is saying it.

Even though he's moderate/corporatist I just want him to win so he sticks around...

[rksnj67]

09:03 AM on 08/23/2010

You're naughty!!!!!! :-)

[tomholton1234]

12:01 AM on 08/25/2010

I'm a hard core Rand fan, and I must admit Jack Conway is sexy as hell!

[nbb]

06:21 AM on 08/23/2010

Will be interesting to see if Rand Paul does the stand-up thing or simply skulks away down the back halls, this latter being his likely way of doing business on Capitol Hill should he be elected.

[rksnj67]

09:04 AM on 08/23/2010

If it was just a debate on Fox, he'd do it. I don't think he's got the guts to appear on MTP.

[Teadoff]

03:02 PM on 08/24/2010

The one behind in polls trys to take advantage by calling for a debate that is believed will not be accepted. Happens throughout time. Not new.
Incumbents and poll leaders will accept debates on their grounds lest they look weak. Not new.
Your inability to see that is also not new.

[NeoConsAreFinished]

06:06 AM on 08/23/2010

Repubes/AmericanTaliban/Teahadists are cowards.
They dont want the voters to know their real agenda.
Which is:
Destroy the Fed Gov
Kill SS and Medicare
Stop all regulation of the corps
Destroy Unions and workers protections.
Some want the constitution to mimic the bible ( Huckster )

[StCyrlyMe2]

05:56 AM on 08/23/2010

If anything Jack Conway,should be the nervous one about going on FixNews knowing the debate will b fixed 2 favor Rand Paul but it was smart thinking on his part to challenge him & even out the stakes or as even as he can get with David Gregory who is not much better

[gcswift2]

04:40 AM on 08/23/2010

Yet another democrat that doesn't believe in the First and Fourteenth Amendment. Nevermind that the Bush Tax cuts are crippling the country and killing the overall economy.

Another Blue Dog Democrat, and they wonder why the base is apathetic about the upcoming elections.

[Grizzled1]

01:33 PM on 08/24/2010

So true! Maybe the only kind of "Democrat" electable in Kentucky is the Republicrat kind, but face it: anyone who is willing to gut the Constitution and wants to perpetuate the devastation of the US economy by unaffordable tax cuts that even the Repugnicans couldn't justify 10 years ago isn't just a sell-out, he's anti-American. That these guys are the "choices" available to Kentucky voters is a testament to generations of inbreeding.

[Teadoff]

03:12 PM on 08/24/2010

The constitution was 'gutted' when it was amendended with the 16th.
Or was it?

Repeal it. fairtax.org

[msgirlintn]

01:25 PM on 08/22/2010

Rand Paul should take Conway up on his offer. Everybody knows that David Gregory is a mouthpiece for the Republicans on Meet the Press.

[mariusvinchi]

11:34 PM on 08/22/2010

I seriously doubt Paul will take Conway up on the offer. Paul puts his foot in his mouth when he's in his element, can you imagine what would happen without someone (Faux News mouthpieces) feeding him the answers? It's unlikely his handlers will let him get into a situation that will expose him for what he is and what he stands for.

[Teadoff]

03:14 PM on 08/24/2010

Really? David Gergen type?

[msgirlintn]

03:53 PM on 08/24/2010

teadoff,

Worse tan David Gergen.

[msgirlintn]

03:54 PM on 08/24/2010

teadoff,

That should have said "worse than David Gergen".

[IntelligentDiscussion]

11:10 AM on 08/22/2010

I'm just glad he acknowledged that MSNBC is a voice for his side.

[gilbskg]

12:31 PM on 08/22/2010

Where in the article did Conway say that MSNBC was a voice for "his side?"

[rksnj67]

09:07 AM on 08/23/2010

I think some people watch a rebroadcast of MTP on MSNBC. But yes, I didn't read anywhere where he said it is a voice for his side.

[SolarArray]

01:39 AM on 08/22/2010

Paul says " I'll do MSNBC if you smoke this bong."

[rksnj67]

09:07 AM on 08/23/2010

Dude!

[wa-st-concerned]

12:41 AM on 08/22/2010

Somehow ;this will all fall through........Fox doesn't want it's viewers to be exposed to any other ideas nor possiblities OTHER than what they themselves spoon feeds to their waiting ears. Conway sounds like he could hold his own and it seems most of the repubs kind of disintegrate when confronted with facts.

[Steve249]

02:29 AM on 08/22/2010

I don't know about that. Conway would actually fit in pretty well with Fox News and their viewers, especially on the foreign policy stuff. He's a neocon drug warrior at heart, running as a Dem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Hbp_LjKq4

[miles120]

10:56 AM on 08/22/2010

Well, it IS Kentucky. Anyone running in a general election is going to be conservative, even a Democrat. That said, there is a lot of daylight between Conway and Paul. As well as the fact that Conway will caucus as a Democrat.

[Takebackourmoney]

09:02 PM on 08/21/2010

Calling Rand Paul, hello, when will you answer the phone

[darcdante]

07:52 PM on 08/21/2010

The Left likes to criticize Rand Paul as a coward for pulling back from the media, but they do this as a catch 22. Rand went on Maddow, which took a lot of guts for a GOP candidate. Paul considered the Civil Rights Act's impact on state's rights to be debatable, at least as a general principle. The Left then simply called him a racist for daring to consider it to be even a matter worth pondering. Why go back on a liberal news program when, no matter what you say, you will be called a racist? Disagree with Affirmative Action? Racist. Disagree with parts of Medicare? Racist. Disagree with federal funding for PBS? Racist. It's ridiculous what gets you called a "racist" in this day an age; I don't blame Dr. Paul for wanting to stay out of the spotlight. It's the smart thing to do given how the media spins anything he says.

Not that Fox News is any different, but that's why so few Democrats go on it. We should either ask for transparency from all our media, or accept the fact that there's a lot of bias across the board, and that politicians will largely go on programs with hosts who already agree with them. I remember when I heard Bill O'Reilly get interviewed on NPR lol.

Maybe now that Franken is a senator, he'll go on the O'Reilly Factor. That'd definitely be uh..."interesting." I'm betting the mic gets cut withing 3 minutes.

[Takebackourmoney]

09:02 PM on 08/21/2010

Rachael did not do anything to Rand Paul. The things he said got him in trouble. Everytime he open his mouth he say outlandish things.

[darcdante]

02:47 AM on 08/22/2010

I didn't say Rachael did anything to Rand. I said the media did, and the media is much larger than just Maddow's show.

[NeoConsAreFinished]

06:10 AM on 08/23/2010

darc the left did not do anything to Rand. He accidently let us know who he really is. And I believe him.
You would be a fool to ignore it.
He is a delusional libertarian who lives in a fantasy world where everyone takes care of themselves, corps have no regulations and the Fed gov has no power.
If it is left up to the repubes this country will be a 3rd rate power.

[darcdante]

02:57 PM on 08/23/2010

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." This is not a fantasy world; it is the land of our Founders. If you think that Dr. Paul is delusional, then so were Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Washington, Hancock, Paine, and all the rest.

Your name is "NeoConsAreFinished." I wonder if you realize how much the Left has in common with them. Big Government, Small Citizens, you're all the same.

[Marrymeplease]

05:24 PM on 08/21/2010

I would pay to see this. Let's see if Rand Paul have the gutts. What kind of name is Rand?

[Teadoff]

03:32 PM on 08/24/2010

What kind of name is Barrack?
Rham
Rush
Common