Why Is It Democrats Who Are Spotlighting So Much News Issues?

[Kathianne]

Schoen, now Penn, I know there's been others, but too much to do right now to go looking:

https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-clinton-strategist-abc-needs-full-internal-investigation-for-rigging-the-debate


Ex-Clinton Strategist: ABC Needs ‘Full Internal Investigation’ For ‘Rigging’ The DebateMark Penn calls for an independent party review of "all their internal texts and emails."


By Daily Wire News
•
Sep 13, 2024 DailyWire.com




MANCHESTER, NH - JANUARY 05: Mark Penn, chief strategist and pollster for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaks to reporters in the "spin room" after the Democratic debate at Saint Anselm College January 5, 2008 in Manchester, New Hampshire. Both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates faced off in debates this evening prior to Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.


Former Clinton strategist and pollster Mark Penn said after watching ABC News’ debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris that an investigation needs to be launched into whether the network coordinated with Harris’ campaign.


His remarks come as the debate moderators were criticized for being biased, from pressing Trump with follow-ups to letting Harris off the hook when she refused to answer questions to repeatedly fact-checking Trump while never fact-checking Harris.


Speaking with John Solomon from Just The News, Penn said: “I actually think they should do a full internal investigation, hire an outside law firm. I don’t know how much of this was planned in advance.”


“I don’t know what they told the Harris campaign,” Penn said. “I think the day after, suspicion here is really quite high, and I think a review of all their internal texts and emails really should be done by an independent party to find out to what extent they were planning on, in effect, you know, fact-checking just one candidate and, in effect, rigging the outcome of this debate. I think the situation demands nothing less than that.”


WATCH:


LISTEN: Former top Clinton adviser Mark Penn calls on ABC to launch an investigation into whether debate was rigged.


Penn: ABC “should do a full internal investigation, hire an outside law firm. I don’t know how much of this was planned in advance. … I don’t know what they… pic.twitter.com/TNupZ187mQ


— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 13, 2024


The Trump campaign released internal polling results after the debate, showing Trump receiving a slight boost after his performance while Harris’ support remained unchanged.


In a ballot configuration that included all of the other candidates — including Green Party candidate Jill Stein, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Libertarian Chase Oliver, and independent Cornel West — Trump gained two points after the debate to take a 48-46 lead over Harris.


In the head-to-head ballot configuration, which only featured Trump and Harris, Trump gained three points after the debate, and Harris dropped one point, moving the race from 48-48 before the debate to 50-47 after.

[Kathianne]

More:

Lots of stuff that can't be c & p:

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/09/13/mark-penn-calls-for-investigation-into-abc-debate-shenanigans-n3794434


Mark Penn Calls for Investigation into ABC Debate ShenanigansDavid Strom 8:00 AM | September 13, 2024



AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Well, this is awkward for ABC.


Mark Penn, the former Clinton aid and current Chairman of the Harvard CAPS Harris Poll didn't mince words, even though he thinks Harris has run a good campaign. But he thinks ABC did a horrible job and that it might have been planned.




As you know, ABC has been roundly criticized for its debate performance. Not only did they put their thumbs on the scale for Kamala Harris, they lied to Americans during their all-too-many "fact checks" of Donald Trump.


Anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis moderated the first debate between Harris and Trump, which drew 67.1 million viewers, making it the most watched presidential debate since 2008. But it has drawn scorn from both Republicans and Democrats for giving the appearance of bias.


"I actually think they should do a full internal investigation, hire an outside law firm. I don't know how much of this was planned in advance," Penn told the John Solomon Reports podcast.


"I don't know what they told the Harris campaign. I think the day after, suspicion here is really quite high, and I think a review of all their internal texts and emails really should be done by an independent party to find out to what extent they were planning on, in effect, you know, fact-checking just one candidate and in effect, rigging the outcome of this debate. I think the situation demands nothing less than that," he added.


Ouch. As I said, he didn't mince words, and since he is such a prominent Democrat and sits at the top of the heap as the Chair of the Harvard Harris polling organization, his words carry more than a little weight.




Penn hasn't been shy this election cycle speaking about many issues in way that leftists might consider favorable to conservatives, not because he has become conservative himself but because the left has gone totally insane. His free speech stance stood out to me, for instance.




Penn clearly is not a fan of Kamala Harris or how she became the nominee. I can't speculate about why he is speaking out, but he is hardly the only liberal who is exasperated by both the current direction of the Democrat Party and the mainstream media. Don't expect him to become a Trump supporter as Kennedy and Gabbard did, but he clearly is willing to put some political capital on the line to have his opinions heard.




Penn is apparently of the old school--politics is a hardball game with high stakes, but one that should be played by the rules (mostly). For all the talk of "norms" and "muh democracy," the current strategy of the Democrat Party is all hoaxes all the time. The media is spending its own political capital with abandon, apparently believing that the Harris administration's policy of censorship will bolster their flagging fortunes.


Is Penn on our side in the fight for the soul of America, even if he remains a Democrat? I hope so.

[fj1200]

https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-clinton-strategist-abc-needs-full-internal-investigation-for-rigging-the-debate


The Trump campaign released internal polling results after the debate, showing Trump receiving a slight boost after his performance while Harris’ support remained unchanged.


In a ballot configuration that included all of the other candidates — including Green Party candidate Jill Stein, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Libertarian Chase Oliver, and independent Cornel West — Trump gained two points after the debate to take a 48-46 lead over Harris.


In the head-to-head ballot configuration, which only featured Trump and Harris, Trump gained three points after the debate, and Harris dropped one point, moving the race from 48-48 before the debate to 50-47 after.

That just seems suspect to me.

[Kathianne]

That just seems suspect to me.

Maybe, but I've been watching the 'betting on RCP' and they first had him down over 5. Now it's been dropping every day since. Nate Silver is seeing little to no change, and on the issues that carry weight, i.e., econ, imm, and war-Trump continues to rise. Same as what seems to have been going on with 'groups' from Reuters, AP, Fox, and even ABC-Indies and Conservatives liked him on policies. Even dems dipped with Kamala not answering questions.

It's unreal, but I think the econ truly seems to be focusing people.

[Gunny]

Maybe, but I've been watching the 'betting on RCP' and they first had him down over 5. Now it's been dropping every day since. Nate Silver is seeing little to no change, and on the issues that carry weight, i.e., econ, imm, and war-Trump continues to rise. Same as what seems to have been going on with 'groups' from Reuters, AP, Fox, and even ABC-Indies and Conservatives liked him on policies. Even dems dipped with Kamala not answering questions.

It's unreal, but I think the econ truly seems to be focusing people.What I've seen mostly is the people aren't buying the ABC/Harris smokescreen. Regardless Trump letting his temper get the best of him, she had no substantive answers. Duh.

I have no idea what to make of this election at this point. I did see where a "bipartisan group of lawmakers" swore to uphold and certify the results of the election. Be damned if I'd sign on to that.

[Kathianne]

Speaking of Penn, from WSJ Editorial:

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/abcs-bias-deprived-voters-of-a-fair-debate-2024-presidential-election-trump-harris-01410617


OpinionCommentary
Follow
ABC’s Bias Deprived Voters of a Fair Debate
They called Trump out on every falsehood but let Harris get away with one lie after another.
By Mark Penn and Andrew Stein
Sept. 12, 2024 3:00 pm ET


Donald Trump and Kamala Harris participate during an ABC News presidential debate in Philadelphia, Sept.10. Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated Press
Like most Americans who watched Tuesday’s debate, we both thought Kamala Harris had defeated Donald Trump. She knew her lines and threw him on the defensive, and he couldn’t keep up.


But as we reviewed the video and compared notes, we became concerned about the role of ABC News and what it did to our democracy. The moderators, who were supposed to be neutral referees, had decided in advance they were going to “fact check” Mr. Trump but not Ms. Harris.


She enlisted every charge ever leveled against Mr. Trump, regardless of the truth. That included, to name a few, the false claims that he favors a national abortion ban and opposes in vitro fertilization, that he called neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va., “very fine people,” and that he threatened a “bloodbath” if he loses the election.


Each is untrue: Mr. Trump has made clear he opposes a national abortion ban. He favors IVF and has even said the government should pay for it. He condemned the Charlottesville neo-Nazis. And he predicted a financial “bloodbath” for the auto industry if he loses and the Biden-Harris electric-vehicle mandates progress.


Had the moderators turned to Ms. Harris after these lies and said, “That has been debunked,” we might be having a totally different conversation about the debate, given how she tends to react when challenged. We would be saying she was having a good night until she couldn’t help herself and went too far. Mr. Trump would have been freed from having to spend so much time defending himself against false charges, and the country would have gotten to hear more of his plans for America.


Think back to the Trump-Biden debate in June, in which the CNN moderators exemplified fairness. Had they had spent time correcting Mr. Trump while letting his opponent off the hook, as ABC did, the result might not have been as lopsided, and Joe Biden might still be the nominee. But CNN did its job fairly, and the public got a meaningful read on the two candidates.


When referees put their thumbs on the scale, the game changes. The results have to be thrown out, we are robbed of our time, and democracy is drained of its meaning. A presidential debate shouldn’t be a staged wrestling match. It should feature two candidates on a level playing field so voters can make up their minds free of interference. Anything less makes a mockery of our institutions. ABC should have fact-checked both candidates or neither. Fact-checking only one was the worst possible decision. Even a Democrat can tell a whopper.


Time and again we find that supposedly neutral democratic institutions have been corrupted by bias. Debate moderators must check their biases and seek to be scrupulously fair, or they shouldn’t do the job. They should observe strict rules and come from a variety of networks. Most important, they shouldn’t interfere but rather trust voters to make their own decisions. ABC undermined the system for everyone.


Mr. Penn was a pollster and adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, 1995-2008. He is chairman of the Harris Poll and CEO of Stagwell Inc. Mr. Stein served as New York City Council president, 1986-93.

[SassyLady]

Female moderator is a sorority sister of Harris. Conflict of interest?