Spinning the Cocoon

That would be Hugh Hewitt, offering an utterly unconvincing explanation for why the Republicans should skip the Youtube/CNN debate. Patrick Ruffini, on the other hand, gets it exactly right:

It's stuff like this that will set the GOP back an election cycle or more on the Internet. No matter the snazzy Web features and YouTube videos they may put up, if they're fundamentally uncomfortable with the idea of interacting with real people online, what's the point?

Having spent the better part of a decade working at the intersection of politics and the Web, I can't help but feel of a deep, deep sense of dismay that we're missing something so basic. This is EXACTLY why I am afraid that we will be outraised by $100 million or more in 2008.

Yes, some of the questions on Monday were trivial. Yes, they were partisan. (I expect many of the 9/17 questioners to be partisan Republicans.) Yes, they were messy. But so is democracy. And the fact that some place so much faith in the broken mainstream media over a benign format like this one says a lot about the difficult straits the Republicans are in right now.

Hewitt's response? That the GOP candidates shouldn't participate because the left-wing MSM types picking the YouTube questions might throw one in that asks Rudy Giuliani about his connection to a priest accused of sexual abuse, an old friend of Hizzoner who has worked for Giuliani Partners since being barred from active ministry five years ago. Because I'm sure that if Rudy skips the YouTube debate, his connections to various shady characters will never, ever become something that he needs to address while running for President. Just like when John Kerry tried to ignore the Swift Boat Veterans, the issue completely went away ...

Comments

So...the moral is not "answer tough questions because they demand an answer" but "answer tough questions because they're unavoidable." Check.

Posted by Bill | July 27, 2007 12:58 PM

Well, you see, the Republican party isn't far enough behind on the internet and with young people, so they decided to do what they could to get a bit farther behind.

Posted by m | July 27, 2007 1:44 PM

I *am* a little nervous about letting CNN be the gatekeeper for both the Dem and GOP questions, but agree that the GOP can't duck the debate.

Posted by J Mann | July 27, 2007 1:57 PM

Hewitt is shilling for Romney, and Romney has decided not to participate, hence the call for no one to participate.

Posted by davod | July 27, 2007 2:05 PM

I should say that I agree with J Mann. The earlier debate with the Republicans was a fisco because of the questions. With CNN selecting the questions how can it be any different.

Posted by davod | July 27, 2007 2:07 PM

Isn't this just Hewitt's way of reinforcing the "liberal media" falsehood, so that any difficult question a Republican may get (and possibly fumble) can be dismissed on the grounds of left-wing bias?

Posted by Naveen | July 27, 2007 2:33 PM

Here's a hilarious description of a blogger meetup (the writer is libertarian leaning) with some Republican Senators:

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=3278

And these were just candidates for Senate Majority Leader.

Posted by David | July 27, 2007 2:43 PM

Here's a post about how one Senator's staffer responded to Dale Frank (the author of that piece):

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=3305

Posted by David | July 27, 2007 2:48 PM

And Frank's response:

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=3308

Posted by David | July 27, 2007 2:50 PM

This new media (blogs, youtube, etc.) sure makes some establishment Republicans testy. ;)

Posted by David | July 27, 2007 2:52 PM

Salient difference: Giuliani really does have ties to an accused pederast priest, whereas the Swift Boat Veterans were fundamentally liars.

Posted by lowellfield | July 27, 2007 4:30 PM

I echo the point that a couple of others have made. CNN selected questions from left leaning videos for the Democratic debate, which was defensible since that's the group which will select the nominee. However, I have serious doubt that they will select right leaning videos for the Republican debate.

Posted by VaGuy | July 27, 2007 5:12 PM

However, I have serious doubt that they will select right leaning videos for the Republican debate.

I remember this one time when none of the Democratic candidates wanted to debate on Fox News because -- get this! -- they thought Fox was right-leaning. Fox showed them, though, when they proved they could go after Republicans, like Ron Paul, just as hard as any Democrat.

Posted by Bill | July 27, 2007 5:56 PM

I agree with Bill...the Dems chose not to do the Fox debate, so from the Rep perspective this is turnabout fair play...

It's a shame though...I liked the looseness of the YouTube debate...made the candidates more real...

Maybe this is the opening the *lower* tier candidates needed though...go ahead and do the debate and get the exposure.

Posted by G Davis | July 28, 2007 5:58 AM

"However, I have serious doubt that they will select right leaning videos for the Republican debate."

I doubt that you are correct, but if so, then as others have pointed out, that's probably a good thing. The real opinions of really right wing primary folks are going to be a lot scarier to the general public than a bunch of left wing slobs.

Posted by plunge | July 28, 2007 11:19 AM

Good site. Thanks:-)

Posted by bought a motorcycle | June 16, 2008 1:06 AM