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| | The Truth Seekers Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Finally a little justice: Judge Orders MSNBC to Include Kucinich in Nevada Debate | Views: 629 | | Jan 15, 2008 3:40 am | | Finally a little justice: Judge Orders MSNBC to Include Kucinich in Nevada Debate | # | 
Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | Judge grants Kucinich entry to Nevada debate
If the candidate is excluded, judge threatens injunction stopping debate
The Associated Press
updated 6:55 p.m. MT, Mon., Jan. 14, 2008
LAS VEGAS - A Nevada judge said Monday that Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich must be included in Tuesday's candidates' debate in Nevada.
Senior Clark County District Court Judge Charles Thompson said if Kucinich is excluded, he'll issue an injunction stopping the televised debate.
The judge sided with a lawyer for the Ohio congressman, who says debate host MSNBC at first invited Kucinich to take part and then told him last week he couldn't.
A lawyer for the network said MSNBC decided to go with the top three candidates after the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.
The judge called it a matter of fairness and said Nevada voters will benefit if they hear from more than just Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.
NBC issued a statement saying, "We disagree with the judge's decision and are filing an appeal." (Msnbc.com is owned, in part, my NBC News.)
The cable network and the Democratic Party are calling the 9 p.m. EST debate a chance to hear issues from Nevada's minority communities. Tim Russert and Brian Williams are moderating.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22656153/
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http://truthseekers-network.ryze.com/Private Reply to Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | Jan 15, 2008 11:05 pm | | re: Finally a little justice: Judge Orders MSNBC to Include Kucinich in Nevada Debate | # |
Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | More:
anuary 15, 2008, 4:13 pm
NBC Fights to Keep Kucinich Out of Debate
By Brian Stelter
NBC Fights to Keep Kucinich Out of DebateDennis Kucinich last week in Cleveland. (Photo: John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer, via Associated Press)
MSNBC continues to promote tonight’s Democratic presidential candidate debate, while the cable news network’s parent company awaits a ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court that will determine whether the forum may proceed without Dennis Kucinich.
On Monday, prompted by Mr. Kucinich’s request for a temporary restraining order against NBC Universal, Nevada district court judge Charles Thompson issued an injunction stating that MSNBC could not proceed with the debate unless Mr. Kucinich was included.
In a petition to the state’s supreme court on Tuesday morning, NBC Universal requested an emergency hearing to review and vacate the judge’s injunction. Oral arguments were scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Eastern in Las Vegas. The hearing will last for 30 minutes.
The debate is scheduled to be shown on MSNBC at 9 p.m. Eastern. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are expected to attend.
In his ruling, Mr. Thompson found NBC to be in breach of contract because Mr. Kucinich was invited to the debate on Jan. 9, only to be disinvited shortly thereafter.
What changed? On Jan. 10, after two other Democratic candidates dropped out of the race, NBC revised its qualifying criteria for debate participants, requiring that invited candidates must have finished in the top three in either the Iowa caucus or the New Hampshire primary.
The revisions were “in no way designed to exclude any particular candidate based on his or her views,” wrote Chuck Todd, the political director for NBC News, in an affidavit to the Nevada Supreme Court. Instead, it represented “a good faith editorial choice of a privately-owned cable network to limit debate participants based on the status of their campaigns.”
Mr. Kucinich’s complaint argued that, without the inclusion of all “credible candidates,” the telecast would be “effectively an endorsement of the candidates selected by NBC” instead of an actual debate. He cited the public interest provisions of the Federal Communications Act of 1934.
Responding on Tuesday morning, attorneys for NBC Universal argued that state district courts lack the jurisdiction to decide complaints brought under the act “because exclusive jurisdiction resides with the Federal Communications Commission.” The attorneys also argued that because MSNBC is privately owned by General Electric the news network should be allowed to “proceed with tonight’s debate under the format chosen as part of its journalistic discretion.”
On MSNBC’s newscasts Tuesday, Mr. Kucinich’s complaints were referenced in passing.
“It won’t stop the debate. They’ll let Kucinich go on if they have to,” the host Joe Scarborough stated, before positioning the debate as a “fight night” in Las Vegas.
David Damore, an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, noted that the state’s previous Democratic debate, hosted by CNN on Nov. 15, included every candidate except for Mike Gravel.
“These situations create a real catch 22 for the candidates,” Mr. Damore said. “They don’t have much support, and they say they can’t get the support because the media won’t cover them. It creates a nasty circle for them.”
Mr. Kucinich has received 3 to 4 percent support in recent polls of likely Nevada caucus voters.
The flap was also the subject of discussion on the ABC daytime talk show “The View” Tuesday morning.
“What’s more surprising to me is that no one is screaming about the fact that people are trying to keep candidates out of these television debates,” the co-host Whoopi Goldberg said. “I thought it wasn’t until you had the nominee did everybody not have a shot.”
Co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck agreed, saying: “We deserve as the citizens here to hear everyone. If someone thinks he’s going to stir the pot and cause problems, we should see how these candidates deal with that. I want to see them dealing with Kucinich and his questions and ideas. I think that’s fair.”
Mr. Kucinich, widely considered a long-shot candidate, was also excluded from an ABC debate in New Hampshire earlier in the month.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/nbc-appeals-ruling-on-adding-kucinich-to-debate/?hp
I've been watching MSNBC, and they are advertising the debate without mentioning Kucinich at all. It's so very sad and frustrating.
Dani
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http://truthseekers-network.ryze.com/Private Reply to Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | Jan 15, 2008 11:11 pm | | re: re: Finally a little justice: Judge Orders MSNBC to Include Kucinich in Nevada Debate | # |
Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | I gotta say, I'm quite pissed now.
They just did a commentary about the status of this "problem". the NBC commentator said it wasn't in the best interest of the voters to have Kucinich as part of the debate, because they aren't going to be interested in what he has to say because he's not ahead.
Um, HELLO??? Gee, I can't imagine why this could be?
Fuck, that makes me SO angry!!!!
Oh you guys are in for it tonight... because I'm going to be blogging the debate tonight and screaming and yelling...
DaniPrivate Reply to Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | Jan 15, 2008 11:12 pm | | re: re: re: Finally a little justice: Judge Orders MSNBC to Include Kucinich in Nevada Debate | # |
L J | | Is the debate online? Private Reply to L J | | Jan 16, 2008 1:56 am | | re: re: re: re: Finally a little justice: Judge Orders MSNBC to Include Kucinich in Nevada Debate | # |
Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | I think so, at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
This just in: Nevada Supreme Court says NBC in their rights to exclude Kucinich:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080116/ap_on_el_pr/democratic_rdp
What a disappointment. Private Reply to Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | Jan 16, 2008 4:57 am | | If you agree Kucinich shouldn't have been excluded, will you write MSNBC? | # |
Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | I did:
from Dani Cutler
to letters@msnbc.com,
date Jan 15, 2008 9:53 PM
subject Tonights Exclusions in Nevada debate
mailed-by gmail.com
I just had to write and express my extreme disappointment in your exclusion of all but three candidates running for president. It is not for the media to decide for the American people who they should vote for. The media's job (which I should not have to tell you, but apparently you need a refresher) is to show us all of our options.
Kucinich never should have had to take it to the courts. The Supreme Court ruling in your favor is a separate issue, but it also saddens me. It never should have been an issue, because if you (the media) truly believed in the first amendment, Kucinich would have been on that stage tonight.
How can you call yourselves true journalists, when you have no interest in upholding all that should make us proud to be Americans? Thank you for killing a little more of my faith in America. I thought President Bush took it all, but you managed to take even more away. Your move is more damaging however, because the media will still be here, and the President will change.
Change to exactly who you want to be there. You are not for the American people in the slightest.
You should be ashamed.
Dani Cutler
Arizona
Private Reply to Danielle (Dani) Cutler | | Jan 16, 2008 5:05 am | | Vote for American President Now | # | 
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