Wants to change the rules in the middle of the game:
When Carly Fiorina found herself relegated to the so-called undercard stage for the first Republican primary debate this month, she seized the opportunity to stand out. Clad in a bright pink suit — the only woman in a sea of men — she delivered a forceful performance that catapulted her into the national spotlight and generated a bounce in public polls.
But Mrs. Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard executive, wants to be on the main stage at the second Republican debate next month. And she is waging a public war with both CNN, which is hosting the debate, and the Republican National Committee, which her campaign accused on Wednesday of “rigging the game” to keep her out of the prime-time event.
CNN, which released its debate criteria in May, is planning to use an average of public polls dating to mid-July to determine which 10 candidates will appear in the main debate.
Because that calculation would include many surveys that were done before the first debate, in which Mrs. Fiorina delivered a strong performance, it would not fully capture her gains in recent polls, some of which show her near the top of the Republican field.
Recognizing that Mrs. Fiorina may be excluded from the prime-time debate, costing her crucial exposure and dampening fund-raising efforts, her campaign has sought to turn the likely snub into a public relations victory, in an effort to win her sympathy and attract support from anti-establishment Republicans.
The dispute with CNN and the Republican National Committee, which awarded the debate to the network, allows Mrs. Fiorina to emphasize her outsider status, in a category with Donald J. Trump and the retired surgeon Ben Carson, both of whom are winning over voters in part because they are not career politicians.
Asked about her battle over the debate criteria at a packed event in Cushing, Iowa, on Wednesday night, Mrs. Fiorina pointedly criticized the network and the party.
“Let’s forget that I’m a woman,” Mrs. Fiorina, who is the only female Republican candidate, said when asked about the debate. “I’m in the top five in every state poll and the top 10 in national polls. So what does that say about CNN and the R.N.C.?”
She continued: “I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing, coming out here and talking to voters. As people get to know me, they support me. And you see that in the polls, and you’re going to continue to see that in the polls. I’ll let CNN and the R.N.C. decide how they look if I’m not on that stage.”
Both CNN and the Republican National Committee have said that since the rules for the debate were released months ago, all the candidates knew the ground rules, and it would be improper — and illegal — to change them now.
Mrs. Fiorina’s campaign nevertheless called on the Republican National Committee to push CNN to change its criteria.
“All candidates are aware of the law that the media organizations set the debate criteria, as the candidates asked,” said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the committee. “CNN released its criteria over four months ago. All candidates were well aware of what it would take to get into the two segments that CNN is hosting.”
Some Republican strategists said that Mrs. Fiorina could emerge a winner even by losing a shot at the top-tier debate.
“Social media will light up in anger if she is consistently polling at 5 percent — consistently in the top 10 — and ends up being denied because of a technicality,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant and pollster. “Social media is running this election cycle, and it’s a voice that’s outside and powerful.”
On the other hand, Mrs. Fiorina might not have stood out so much in the first debate, in Cleveland, if she were on the stage with the top-polling candidates at an event that was dominated by Donald J. Trump. So there may be an advantage to her to continue to face the candidates trailing the field.
The networks themselves are grappling with how to deal with the large Republican field. Their criteria need to be fair, but can inadvertently end up excluding certain candidates, like Mrs. Fiorina, who could be good for ratings.
“I am sure Priebus would gladly trade Fiorina for Trump,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist, referring to Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman. “CNN, of course, wants both because it maximizes the ratings.”
In retrospect, CNN’s criteria for inclusion in its debate seems intended to make it hard for a second-tier candidate to move up to the first tier — or for a top-tier individual to be excluded.
Unlike Fox News, which hosted the first debate and used the five most recent national polls to determine who made the cut, CNN is using an average of national polls released from July 16 to Sept. 10, conducted by 14 pollsters it identified as meeting its standards.
Of the polls that qualify, nine were conducted before the first debate and only two since then, according to the Fiorina campaign. In both of those postdebate polls, Mrs. Fiorina was at 5 percent, up from 1 percent or 2 percent in polls conducted before the first debate.
A New York Times analysis of polls that fit CNN’s criteria found that if the debate were held today, Mrs. Fiorina would not qualify for the main stage. Not only that, but if she were to maintain the same level of support she received in the two surveys conducted after the first debate, she would need 10 additional qualifying polls to be conducted before the next debate to eclipse Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who is the last candidate to be included based on his support in an average of qualifying polls.
The Fiorina campaign is arguing that CNN should give more weight to the polls conducted after the first debate, and it has called on the party to pressure the network to make the change.
Some polling experts say that CNN’s formula is misguided.
“I think they did not have a pollster at the table when they decided this,” said J. Ann Selzer, who conducts one Iowa poll. “I think it’s hard to defend, purely from a math perspective.”
Many Republican strategists lamented the fact that Mrs. Fiorina might not make the main debate, even as they said it would be wrong for CNN to change its selection criteria.
Using “more recent polls makes sense,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a 2012 Republican presidential candidate. But, he added, “Rigging it to help or hurt one candidate does not.”
Katie Packer Gage, a partner at Burning Glass, a firm that advises Republicans on tailoring their messages to women, said that while Ms. Fiorina had gained a lot of attention and had “made a real impact” on the debate in the Republican Party, she should not receive any special treatment.
“It is unfortunate, but I don’t think the party or the network can change the rules for any one candidate,” Ms. Packer Gage said. “What about the Hispanic candidates? The African-American candidate? The Indian-American candidate? Should they all have different rules? The rules were made ahead of time, and everyone knows them.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/28/u...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
When Carly Fiorina found herself relegated to the so-called undercard stage for the first Republican primary debate this month, she seized the opportunity to stand out. Clad in a bright pink suit — the only woman in a sea of men — she delivered a forceful performance that catapulted her into the national spotlight and generated a bounce in public polls.
But Mrs. Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard executive, wants to be on the main stage at the second Republican debate next month. And she is waging a public war with both CNN, which is hosting the debate, and the Republican National Committee, which her campaign accused on Wednesday of “rigging the game” to keep her out of the prime-time event.
CNN, which released its debate criteria in May, is planning to use an average of public polls dating to mid-July to determine which 10 candidates will appear in the main debate.
Because that calculation would include many surveys that were done before the first debate, in which Mrs. Fiorina delivered a strong performance, it would not fully capture her gains in recent polls, some of which show her near the top of the Republican field.
Recognizing that Mrs. Fiorina may be excluded from the prime-time debate, costing her crucial exposure and dampening fund-raising efforts, her campaign has sought to turn the likely snub into a public relations victory, in an effort to win her sympathy and attract support from anti-establishment Republicans.
The dispute with CNN and the Republican National Committee, which awarded the debate to the network, allows Mrs. Fiorina to emphasize her outsider status, in a category with Donald J. Trump and the retired surgeon Ben Carson, both of whom are winning over voters in part because they are not career politicians.
Asked about her battle over the debate criteria at a packed event in Cushing, Iowa, on Wednesday night, Mrs. Fiorina pointedly criticized the network and the party.
“Let’s forget that I’m a woman,” Mrs. Fiorina, who is the only female Republican candidate, said when asked about the debate. “I’m in the top five in every state poll and the top 10 in national polls. So what does that say about CNN and the R.N.C.?”
She continued: “I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing, coming out here and talking to voters. As people get to know me, they support me. And you see that in the polls, and you’re going to continue to see that in the polls. I’ll let CNN and the R.N.C. decide how they look if I’m not on that stage.”
Both CNN and the Republican National Committee have said that since the rules for the debate were released months ago, all the candidates knew the ground rules, and it would be improper — and illegal — to change them now.
Mrs. Fiorina’s campaign nevertheless called on the Republican National Committee to push CNN to change its criteria.
“All candidates are aware of the law that the media organizations set the debate criteria, as the candidates asked,” said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the committee. “CNN released its criteria over four months ago. All candidates were well aware of what it would take to get into the two segments that CNN is hosting.”
Some Republican strategists said that Mrs. Fiorina could emerge a winner even by losing a shot at the top-tier debate.
“Social media will light up in anger if she is consistently polling at 5 percent — consistently in the top 10 — and ends up being denied because of a technicality,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant and pollster. “Social media is running this election cycle, and it’s a voice that’s outside and powerful.”
On the other hand, Mrs. Fiorina might not have stood out so much in the first debate, in Cleveland, if she were on the stage with the top-polling candidates at an event that was dominated by Donald J. Trump. So there may be an advantage to her to continue to face the candidates trailing the field.
The networks themselves are grappling with how to deal with the large Republican field. Their criteria need to be fair, but can inadvertently end up excluding certain candidates, like Mrs. Fiorina, who could be good for ratings.
“I am sure Priebus would gladly trade Fiorina for Trump,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist, referring to Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman. “CNN, of course, wants both because it maximizes the ratings.”
In retrospect, CNN’s criteria for inclusion in its debate seems intended to make it hard for a second-tier candidate to move up to the first tier — or for a top-tier individual to be excluded.
Unlike Fox News, which hosted the first debate and used the five most recent national polls to determine who made the cut, CNN is using an average of national polls released from July 16 to Sept. 10, conducted by 14 pollsters it identified as meeting its standards.
Of the polls that qualify, nine were conducted before the first debate and only two since then, according to the Fiorina campaign. In both of those postdebate polls, Mrs. Fiorina was at 5 percent, up from 1 percent or 2 percent in polls conducted before the first debate.
A New York Times analysis of polls that fit CNN’s criteria found that if the debate were held today, Mrs. Fiorina would not qualify for the main stage. Not only that, but if she were to maintain the same level of support she received in the two surveys conducted after the first debate, she would need 10 additional qualifying polls to be conducted before the next debate to eclipse Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who is the last candidate to be included based on his support in an average of qualifying polls.
The Fiorina campaign is arguing that CNN should give more weight to the polls conducted after the first debate, and it has called on the party to pressure the network to make the change.
Some polling experts say that CNN’s formula is misguided.
“I think they did not have a pollster at the table when they decided this,” said J. Ann Selzer, who conducts one Iowa poll. “I think it’s hard to defend, purely from a math perspective.”
Many Republican strategists lamented the fact that Mrs. Fiorina might not make the main debate, even as they said it would be wrong for CNN to change its selection criteria.
Using “more recent polls makes sense,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a 2012 Republican presidential candidate. But, he added, “Rigging it to help or hurt one candidate does not.”
Katie Packer Gage, a partner at Burning Glass, a firm that advises Republicans on tailoring their messages to women, said that while Ms. Fiorina had gained a lot of attention and had “made a real impact” on the debate in the Republican Party, she should not receive any special treatment.
“It is unfortunate, but I don’t think the party or the network can change the rules for any one candidate,” Ms. Packer Gage said. “What about the Hispanic candidates? The African-American candidate? The Indian-American candidate? Should they all have different rules? The rules were made ahead of time, and everyone knows them.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/28/u...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
