The Title Should be:
Not All Gubernatorial candidates debate on Primary Day
By GLEN JOHNSON AP Political Writer
Published: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 11:53 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 11:53 a.m.
Bay State Future started spending $650,000 this week on an ad criticizing Baker for developing a key Big Dig financing plan while serving as budget chief in the Weld and Cellucci administrations.
Tonight, WBZ Radio Dan Rea is hosting a debate between the three of the four candidates for governor. The three men were invited, the one woman was not. Dr Jill Stein is being excluded, and so far, the folks at WBZ Radio have declined to provide any reason why, nevermind a valid reason.
http://wbz.cbslocal.com/2010/09/14/baker-cahill-patrick-debate-tonight-on-wbz/
Baker, Cahill, Patrick debate tonight on WBZ
Staff
Politics,WBZ News
9/14/2010
9:03 am
Charles Baker, Timothy Cahill, Deval Patrick (AP)
Candidates for Massachusetts governor will be competing today, but only in a debate on WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Democrat Deval Patrick, Republican Charles Baker and independent candidate Timothy Cahill aren’t facing primary election challenges and will face off in the November second general election.
Tonight’s debate on WBZ’s Nightside with Dan Rea is set to begin just as polls are closing at 8 o’clock.
Jill Stein (WBZ-TV)
Stein allowed into Sept. 21 debate
A consortium of media outlets has decided to allow Green Rainbow candidate Jill Stein to participate in a Sept. 21 televised gubernatorial debate.
Stein’s campaign had received a letter Friday informing her that she hadn’t met the criteria set by The Boston Globe, WCVB-TV, WHDH-TV, WGBH-TV, New England Cable News and WBUR.
That includes having raised at least $100,000 by Oct. 1 and reaching at least 5 percent in an independent poll.
The consortium issued a statement Monday saying its has reviewed Stein’s qualifications and that she’s met all except raising the $100,000. Since Oct. 1 falls after the debate, the consortium agreed to allow her in.
Today we heard that the Media Consortium, The Boston Globe, WCVB-TV, WHDH-TV, WGBH-TV, New England Cable News and WBUR, had agreed to include her in their next debate, only because it came before Oct 1, their deadline for Candidates to have raised $100,000. Now, I must say that I have a problem with this, called conflict of interest. Since the media has a duty to we the people, and they stand to benifit from campaign finance funds, it would seem that they are saying that if a candidate does not purchase campaign advertising with the media they will not be invited to the debates. How very crass.
It should be no surprise to anyone, after the historic vote two years ago, to elect a president, and change we can believe in. Instead, the majority of Americans polled believe we got more of the same, and they also believe there is little difference between Republicans and Democrats. Both Republicans pols and democrat Pols are pushing back this perception, each claiming they hace the solutions to the very real and serious challenges we the people are facing. But do they? Does anyone believe that jobs will be created if Republicans are elected? If democrats can create jobs, what are they waiting for?
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/do_not_pity_the_democrats_20100913/
Do Not Pity the Democrats
By Chris Hedges
There are no longer any major institutions in American society, including the press, the educational system, the financial sector, labor unions, the arts, religious institutions and our dysfunctional political parties, which can be considered democratic. The intent, design and function of these institutions, controlled by corporate money, are to bolster the hierarchical and anti-democratic power of the corporate state. These institutions, often mouthing liberal values, abet and perpetuate mounting inequality. They operate increasingly in secrecy. They ignore suffering or sacrifice human lives for profit. They control and manipulate all levers of power and mass communication. They have muzzled the voices and concerns of citizens. They use entertainment, celebrity gossip and emotionally laden public-relations lies to seduce us into believing in a Disneyworld fantasy of democracy.
So, here you have it, both Republicans and Democrats are focused on getting elected, or re-elected, and in order to win a job for themselves they are going after campaign contributions big time. The "lobbiests," read front men for the corporations, control the candidate selection process by giving or not giving campaign contributions. Now, in "progressive" MA, the so called media is trying to keep the one truely independent from the system of campaign finance corruption from the debates. You see, Corporate America has the MSM in a stranglehold.
