Where does MSNBC get off excluding Roland Aranjo, Willie Carter, Randy Crow, Phil Epstein, Michael

[Tejanocrat]

Forrester, Wrendo Goodwin Henry Hewes, D.R. Hunter, Keith Judd, Karl Krueger, Frank Lynch, Grover Cleveland Mullins, Larry Reed, Lee L. Mercer Jr.?

[bluestateguy]

1. Yeah! Cram 'em all up on the stage!

We want to be "fair" and feel good about ourselves! We're the Democrats! We are family!

Now each candidate will get what? 10 minutes total of air time?

[AnOhioan]

2. Don't be snarky.....

[rudy23]

3. Kucinich met NBC's requirements for the debate, until NBC changed them a few days ago

That's the difference between he and all the candidates that you listed.

Do you really want to live in a democracy where only the top 3 candidates after TWO primaries are allowed to continue their campaigns?

[redqueen]

11. Apparently quite a few do want to live in just such a "democracy". (nt)

[fenriswolf]

4. so what beef do you have with kucinich?

and did msn invite any of those candidates.

[Tejanocrat]

12. My beef with Dennis is that I gave him money I couldn't hardly afford and then he endorsed Obama

before the Iowa caucus, essentially directing his support to a Donnie McClurkin lovin', universal health care hatin', Mexican border wall buildin', vote skippin', Clean Water Act guttin', "tort reformin'," negative campaigner who I disagree with on many of the same issues which drew me to Kucinich.

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. Considering that Kucinich pulled a similar stunt four years ago,

this should have been no surprise. I wonder who he will throw his support to in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses?

[fenriswolf]

14. i feel ya on that

kucinich was aces with me til he endorsed obama, only thing i can think of is he didnt endorse edwards because he is to near his own plateform. Even though that is still triangulation then straight talk which i'm used to thats what im going to believe. kucinich trying to use what leeway he has to affect an outcome that would be favorable to him.

[redqueen]

16. It wasn't an endorsement.

*sigh*

[fenriswolf]

19. sorry i mispoke

but he did urge his supporters to "lend" their support to obama rather then edwards.

[redqueen]

20. Right... and whatever his reasoning, it makes no difference to me.

I'm voting based on issues, not personality. None of them are perfect.

[fenriswolf]

25. right i agree

and if kucinich drops im with edwards hehe.

[kenfrequed]

32. Strategy.

It was intended to hurt Hillary.

And make himself look credible by "giving" obama the edge needed to lead.

Had the media paid any attention to Kucinich, it would have worked.

[redqueen]

15. He didn't endorse obama.

[11cents]

21. No, it was a lot more than an endorsement.

Asking his supporters to choose Obama over Edwards as a second choice was directly helpful to Obama in a way that a simple endorsement wouldn't have been.

It's grossly unfair for Kucinich to be summarily excluded from a debate that he qualified for under the rules. But expecting intellectual consistency and coherence from the guy -- who also said that he would consider Ron Paul as a running mate! -- is a lost cause.

[redqueen]

22. As I and many others have noticed, these candidates are human

and make mistakes.

If you wish to vilify him for his decision with respect to IA, that's your choice.

But to expect that everyone else do as you and a few others do, and write him off... now *that's* what I call a lost cause.

[readmoreoften]

17. Me too. That was my final straw with Kucinich, who is of course has the best platform...

and lots of guts but does some really stupid, unfathomable shit that makes me skittish.

[Stop Cornyn]

24. Kucinich lost me partly over the "Ron Paul for VP" fiasco and lost me all the way over Obama in Iowa

[Rockholm]

5. Who the eff are they?

[Tejanocrat]

23. They are other people who also filed FEC papers to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

They all generally poll within the margin of error of Kucinich of national polls (i.e., at zero).

[redqueen]

26. Did they all meet MSNBC's criteria?

Let me guess... you don't know.

You just started this crap to trash Kucinch.

Well done.

Unity? Right.

[Tejanocrat]

27. Wait. Doe we agree or disagree that the MSM gets to set the criteria for who gets included in OUR

candidates' debates?

[redqueen]

28. It doesn't matter if I agree or not, those are the rules. (nt)

[Rockholm]

35. Yikes! Who knew.

[goodhue]

6. Which of them has 20 years of elective office, 12 in congress?

Which of them was invited and then disinvited when Bill Richardson dropped out?

[Red Knight]

9. Why hold primaries at all?

Just let the media hand us the candidates and we'll vote in the general election and hope the machines count our vote for the choice they've given us.

[redqueen]

7. Weak.

Both the laughable idea, and that you felt the need to start a new thread.

SO weak.

[grytpype]

8. Excellent point. The never poll support for those guys, they might be more popular than Dennis.

And is Lyndon LaRouche running this year?

Enough with the sideshow candidates.

[NoPasaran]

18. As a convicted felon, LaRouche apparently is ineligible

I am intrigued by that candidate who can travel through time. Just think how he could reduce the national debt by going to the future to learn the winning powerball numbers!

[grytpype]

29. I don't think being a convicted felon disqualifies him.

He probably can't vote, but he can run.

[NoPasaran]

30. Okay, here's some clarification

1996 campaign
Prior to the primaries the Chair of the Democratic National Party ruled that LaRouche "is not to be considered a qualified candidate for nomination of the Democratic Party for President". In subsequent primaries LaRouche received enough votes in Louisiana and Virginia to get one delegate from each state. When the state parties refused to award the delegates LaRouche sued in federal court, claiming a violation of the Voting Rights Act. After losing in the district court the case was appealed to the First District Court of Appeals, which sustained the lower court

It wouldn't be in Wikipedia if it wasn't true, right?

Okay, so it looks like he can run, but the Democratic Party can refuse to give him delegates.

[jlake]

10. Kucinich met the requirements for the debate. - until they moved the goalposts.

These people did not.

[kenfrequed]

33. Thank you

I really appreciate that you said that. Usually I just get abused by Hillary supporters.

[Recursion]

31. Not to pimp my own thread...

but if you're wondering who any of those men and women are:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2690243&mesg_id=2690243

And actually Roland Aranjo is pretty cool.

[Tejanocrat]

37. Nice thread!

[jzodda]

34. wow you are really up on the process, props to you

because I have never heard of any of those people

[Moochy]

36. Hi, I'll call you jack

hole... Or ignored for short!