I remember when an instagreen Bachmann thread would get 50 responses in the first 10 minutes, and 20 of them would be from trolls.

/good times

A CBS spokeswoman did not apologize for the email.

"It was a candid exchange about the reality of the circumstances -- Bachmann remains at four percent in the polls," the spokeswoman told FOX News.

As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

It sounded like a matter of fact statement. The majority of time in the debates is always spent on the most popular candidates. The media needs ratings, which they get by having the big shots attacking each other and creating drama.

While there have always been absurd, goofy gaffes in every presidential campaign, I don't quite to recall their being this much this early. At this rate, somebody's going to be shiatting themselves on the podium by next Summer.

stiletto_the_wise: A CBS spokeswoman did not apologize for the email.

"It was a candid exchange about the reality of the circumstances -- Bachmann remains at four percent in the polls," the spokeswoman told FOX News.

As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

Why would anyone want to hear endless ramblings from someone with no chance of going anywhere in the race? Should we spend an hour listening to Thaddeus McCotter too?

Worst. Campaign. Ever.

stiletto_the_wise: A CBS spokeswoman did not apologize for the email.

"It was a candid exchange about the reality of the circumstances -- Bachmann remains at four percent in the polls," the spokeswoman told FOX News.

As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

The hosts of the debate?

Hollie Maea: Why would anyone want to hear endless ramblings from someone with no chance of going anywhere in the race? Should we spend an hour listening to Thaddeus McCotter too?

Circular logic. The media makes or breaks a candidate's chances based on how much coverage they get. But they claim to base their coverage on the candidate's chances? Which is which?

To be fair, if someone's announced their run, they should get equal time as anyone else who announced their run.

stiletto_the_wise: A CBS spokeswoman did not apologize for the email.

"It was a candid exchange about the reality of the circumstances -- Bachmann remains at four percent in the polls," the spokeswoman told FOX News.

As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

She's been heard. That's her problem.

stiletto_the_wise: A CBS spokeswoman did not apologize for the email.

"It was a candid exchange about the reality of the circumstances -- Bachmann remains at four percent in the polls," the spokeswoman told FOX News.

As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

They're a free market entity. They can do no wrong!

stiletto_the_wise
who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

CBS makes money displaying ads to viewers. More viewers means more money. They try to attract viewers by giving them what they think they want (they're usually pretty close). So, they give less coverage to unpopular candidates.. especially with the length of the primary season and the large number of competitors also holding GOP debates. Behold the free market movements that occur when consumers are uneducated and unaware.

Bachmann's campaign manager should be happy that his candidate had at least some novelty value. Maybe he should go complain to Roemer and Johnson about how unfair CBS is being.

stiletto_the_wise: Hollie Maea: Why would anyone want to hear endless ramblings from someone with no chance of going anywhere in the race? Should we spend an hour listening to Thaddeus McCotter too?

Circular logic. The media makes or breaks a candidate's chances based on how much coverage they get. But they claim to base their coverage on the candidate's chances? Which is which?

To be fair, if someone's announced their run, they should get equal time as anyone else who announced their run.

Anyone can file and run, and if anyone who was running got equal time, the whole thing would become meaningless--especially since hosts of crackpots would run just to get on TV. The media is just a reflection of what people want to hear. If you are a no name, you have to figure out some other way to get your name in the news rather than just have the news stations put it in there out of the goodness of their heart. Once you do get your name in the news, they will be more than happy to obsess endlessly about you as well (See also: Cain, Herman)

stiletto_the_wise: As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

You're right. Every single person who's running for President should get equal time. Even a homeless guy.

Satanic_Hamster: You're right. Every single person who's running for President should get equal time. Even a homeless guy.

Why not?

What differentiates a lunatic homeless guy from Michelle Bachmann? One has the money to buy media time and the other doesn't.

Satanic_Hamster: stiletto_the_wise: As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

You're right. Every single person who's running for President should get equal time. Even a homeless guy.

Hey...I'm only 4 points behind her and I haven't even been campaigning.

Jonathan Hohensee: While there have always been absurd, goofy gaffes in every presidential campaign, I don't quite to recall their being this much this early. At this rate, somebody's going to be shiatting themselves on the podium by next Summer.

And then Romney will suddenly start going by "Willard."

I saw her on FOX News the other night, being interviewed. She was blabbing about how Democrats are coming up to her on campaign stops and telling her that they're sick of the socialism from Obama, and that they'll be voting for her.

She went on to talk about how socialized medicine is the most evil thing in the world, and it's the reason the country's falling apart right now. She was certain the sky was falling, that everything's terrible and everyone is an inch away from disaster and ruin, and that it's all the fault of the socialists taking over.

I walked out of the room worried that she really believes that horseshiat, and yet not caring one way or the other because I know she's just a cartoon character unleashed upon the public to keep people entertained until the election.

Bread and circuses, people. The corporations have control, and whether it's a D or an R after someone's name, they're still just a pawn of the real lords of the nation (and the world). The corporations own us all. Bachmann's a manic wind-up toy. She keeps people glued to the TV set, buying magazines, and talking.

She, like every other politician, exists to keep you in the mood to be a consumer.

FOX News is just Buster f♥cking Friendly and His Friendly Friends. Keep consuming. Keep believing. Keep watching.

And if you think Obama-- or anyone else we "elect"-- is actually running this country, you're living in a quaint, funny little world where everything floats.

stiletto_the_wise: Hollie Maea: Why would anyone want to hear endless ramblings from someone with no chance of going anywhere in the race? Should we spend an hour listening to Thaddeus McCotter too?

Circular logic. The media makes or breaks a candidate's chances based on how much coverage they get. But they claim to base their coverage on the candidate's chances? Which is which?

To be fair, if someone's announced their run, they should get equal time as anyone else who announced their run.

That would be fair. Hell, Buddy Roemer announced months ago, and he can't even get a podium. That's not right. I think they totally should have included that crazy pastor from Florida who periodically threats to burn the Koran. He announced he's running. By my count, there ought to be at least 20 podiums up there, maybe even more!

stiletto_the_wise: A CBS spokeswoman did not apologize for the email.

"It was a candid exchange about the reality of the circumstances -- Bachmann remains at four percent in the polls," the spokeswoman told FOX News.

As much as I can's stand Bachmann, hate each of her political views with the heat of a thousand suns, and would kill myself if she got elected, who the fark is the CBS to think they should decide for everyone who should get to be heard??

Bachmann rants about crazy shiat like communists, scary vaccines, random gossip she heard from a diner, just crazy shiat that is completely out of the mainstream. Which is why her popularity has dropped. The moderators focus on the frontrunners, they're the most popular. It's just how it's done. You can't give the same attention to 7 or 8 people, not in a 2 hour debate.

Who? Michelle Who?

I think someone's 15 minutes are not only up, there's extra charges for unauthorized usage...

Notabunny: I remember when an instagreen Bachmann thread would get 50 responses in the first 10 minutes, and 20 of them would be from trolls.

/good times

You're just afraid of a strong, conservative woman.

/just doing my job

Seems to me the internet has provided the means to give each of the candidates equal time. Take every candidate who's broken 2% or so, set them down in front of a camera, and ask each candidate all of the questions. Give them the same time to react/respond like you would in a live debate, and put all the recordings up on a website. That way, people can go to the site, and say "I want to know what Cain and Bachmann think about the economy," or "What do all the candidates think about Iran?" and get it. Hell, combine it with a system like the White House petition site for extra audience interaction.

The only disadvantage would be that the candidates wouldn't be able to rebut or riff on one another. But given that there are around eight hundred fifty thousand normal-style debates, I think we'd be able to spare a couple for a more comprehensive web-style one.

Important caveat: absolutely no do-overs or censored responses.

Tusz: Seems to me the internet has provided the means to give each of the candidates equal time. Take every candidate who's broken 2% or so, set them down in front of a camera, and ask each candidate all of the questions. Give them the same time to react/respond like you would in a live debate, and put all the recordings up on a website. That way, people can go to the site, and say "I want to know what Cain and Bachmann think about the economy," or "What do all the candidates think about Iran?" and get it. Hell, combine it with a system like the White House petition site for extra audience interaction.

The only disadvantage would be that the candidates wouldn't be able to rebut or riff on one another. But given that there are around eight hundred fifty thousand normal-style debates, I think we'd be able to spare a couple for a more comprehensive web-style one.

Important caveat: absolutely no do-overs or censored responses.

Time for you to start a website. You could do it all over skype and have links to local elections too, following that format. I like this idea.

Michele Bachmann suggests we adopt China's social safety net:

What would I cut? I think, really, what I would want to do is be able to go back and take a look at Lyndon Baines Johnson's The Great Society. The Great Society has not worked, and it's put us into the modern welfare state. If you look at China, they don't have food stamps. If you look at China, they save for their own retirement security. They don't have pay FICA. They don't have the modern welfare state. And China's growing. And so what I would do is look at the programs that LBJ gave us with The Great Society, and they'd be gone.

HEY GUYZ WHY AREN"T YOU TAKING MY CANDIDACY SERIOUSLY!?!

stiletto_the_wise: To be fair, if someone's announced their run, they should get equal time as anyone else who announced their run.

This is like saying intelligent design deserves equal time with evolution in science class because some idiots in the class believe it. Not all candidates are of equal quality and equally deserving of coverage. Life's not entirely fair and there isn't an unlimited amount of time to dish out.

whidbey: Who? Michelle Who?

I think someone's 15 minutes are not only up, there's extra charges for unauthorized usage...

Did you mean charged for overage, bud?

I don't see what the big deal is even if CBS did curtail her questions. It's not like Bachmann didn't get her spot in the sun. By now everyone is sufficiently aware how bat-shiat crazy she is, and she doesn't stand a chance in hell.

Really, Bachmann is no better than the million other kooks trying to get some air time.

Uchiha_Cycliste: whidbey: Who? Michelle Who?

I think someone's 15 minutes are not only up, there's extra charges for unauthorized usage...

Did you mean charged for overage, bud?

I'm sure I did, since I'm speaking completely outside of the profession...;)