Show NBC the Money
Money talks. So does Mike Gravel . . . just not on TV.
Late in October, at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Democrat Mike Gravel was denied an opportunity to debate his fellow Democratic presidential aspirants.
Gravel is the former U.S. senator from Alaska who in previous debates had taken on Democratic orthodoxy. This last debate, however, was co-sponsored by the Democratic National Committee and MSNBC, and the network came up with new hoops for candidates to jump through to get included. A candidate must have traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire at least four times, must be polling 5 percent, and must have raised a million bucks.
Turns out that Mike Gravel did the requisite traveling. And he’d polled as high as Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Biden and Representative Dennis Kucinich — all three on the invite list.
But he hadn’t raised a million dollars yet. Gravel argues, “By stifling my voice on the basis of fundraising dollars, NBC is reinforcing the power of money over our national political discussion and our freedom.â€
Gregory Chase is a New Hampshire voter who discovered Gravel by watching an earlier debate. He wrote to NBC saying that he was spending more money for Mike Gravel in New Hampshire, in an independent expenditure, than many of the other candidates were spending. He also pledged to buy a million dollars in advertising or pay NBC that much to get Gravel included.
NBC still said no. Why?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
