The Politics of Exclusion
Published October 12, 2004
"This is the first year I've not called myself a Democrat, and I'm a third-generation Democrat," Smith said. "I've looked at this issue for three years now, and I'm opposed to it on the same grounds as most people: It doesn't make sense to me."
John Maier lives in Hardinsburg, in Orange County — nowhere near the proposed route — but he's so angry that it would cut through environmentally sensitive areas that he may vote for Gividen. If he decides to vote for one of the major candidates, however, Daniels is probably his man, simply because he wants to send a message to Kernan.
When you're a governor up for re-election, the prospect of losing a constituency you thought you could take for granted can wreck your whole day. What to do? Honor the democratic process? Or crush the opposition like an ant under your heel?
It isn't merely the Libertarians who are being ripped off by two campaigns taking the low road. The public loses, as the issues that Gividen has given sole voice to, such as opposition to new terrain I-69, public school reform, and cutting the size of government, will disappear.
All sorts of ethical questions are raised by this insult to democracy:
Don't the people of Indiana have the right to hear the positions of all three candidates on the ballot from the same stage?
Kernan and Daniels are candidates for Governor, the highest office in the state. Shouldn't these men have more respect for the Democratic process in order to be fit to lead?
Should publicly funded property, such as IU Southeast, be offered up to Kernan and Daniels as a campaign contribution?
Shouldn't public PBS broadcast outlets such as WFYI and WTIU put the public interest of the voters first instead of accommodating Kernan and Daniels? These two already buy millions of dollars worth of commercial time and air infomercials. Is there any shortage of exposure for them?
When business conspires in the way Kernan and Daniels have, it is called collusion, and it is illegal. When two candidates for Governor do this, it is beneath the prestige of the office they seek, and it is ugly.
Accountability is necessary, and it is the job of the Secretary of State to ensure fair elections. Secretary of State Todd Rokita has an obligation to investigate the collusion of the Kernan and Daniels campaigns and to reverse the exclusion of Gividen.
Again- it isn't merely the Libertarians who are being ripped off. All Hoosiers have a right to hear each candidate in the debate. All people who believe in fair elections and the democratic process will eagerly action from Mr. Rokita.
These principles apply in all 50 states.
See my blog for updates.
- The Politics of Exclusion
- Published: October 12, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Politics
- Writer: Mike Kole
- Mike Kole's BC Writer page
- Mike Kole's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
kind of like Watergate, eh? Good story Mike, and I totally agree the process has to be respected - thanks!
Eric- the effort was a full multi-media drive, and blogging was definitely a part of it. Among others, I blogged here to Blogcritics and to my own site, and our opponents were given links to our blogs.
Here's the Timeline of Reversal:
5:00 p.m. Monday -- Libertarian Party State Director, Brad Klopfenstein, receives confirmation that Gividen will be excluded from the debate.
6:48 p.m. Monday -- Gividen gets the news upon arriving to his weekly staff meeting.
7:00 p.m. Monday -- Gividen for Governor campaign staff suspend meeting agenda to focus on media attention.
7:10 p.m. Monday evening -- Channel 59 camera crew arrives at staff meeting to interview Gividen, break news of exclusion to Indiana.
7:30 p.m. Monday -- Distribution of press releases from Gividen for Governor Campaign and the Libertarian Party of Indiana begins. Campaign staff plots strategy. Klopfenstein opts for noon news conference to address the issue. Campaign staff calls multiple media outlets across the state, including Abdul, host of WXNT's Abdul in the Morning.
12:00 midnight -- Staff concludes activity for the evening.
6:00 a.m. Tuesday -- Abdul hits airwaves with exclusion story, interviews Klopfenstein; firestorm of protests from voters ensues.
6:30 - 7:30 a.m. -- Daniels and Kernan campaign managers are interviewed by WXTN, blaming the other of excluding Gividen. Both say they want Gividen in the debate. Neither knows that both have said this, blaming the other side. Recordings of both sides blaming the other is played repeatedly throughout the day.
7:30 a.m. Tuesday -- Gividen, enroute to Indianapolis to record radio ads, tunes in to Abdul in the Morning, amazed at intensity of voter protest.
9:00 a.m. Tuesday -- Abdul signs off
10:00 a.m. Tuesday -- Gividen arives at studio to record radio ad.
10:45 a.m. Tuesday -- Gividen receives courtesy call from Governor Kernan.
11:00 a.m. Tuesday -- Gividen arrives at Libertarian headquarters to discuss strategy with Klopfenstein and Marion County Chair Sam Goldstein
12:00 noon Tuesday -- Gividen addresses media and supporters at news conference at Soldiers and Sailors Monument (The Circle) in Indy. Daniels representative attends to affirm support.
1:00 p.m. Tuesday -- Campaign staff meet with party officials to review days events.
3:00 p.m. Tuesday -- Gividen travels to campaign event in LaPorte.
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. -- Gividen records 15 minute radio interview via cell phone, fields calls from Mary Beth Schneider (Indy Star), Metro Indiana and The Republic.
5:00 p.m. -- Gividen receives call from Klopfenstein with news that official notification of inclusion has been received from WTIU-TV in Bloomington.
a very reall and specific demonstration of the power of blogs - I hope someone in the mainstream media picks up on it
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/20872)
This was a short-lived escapade. In less than 24 hours, the D's & R's caved to relentless pressure, and Kenn Gividen is back in the debate- where he belongs.
Their strategy backfired on them. The Libertarian publicity machine was underestimated. The message was simple: dignify the deomcratic process and included Gividen, for the benefit of the people of Indiana and not merely for the LP. Press releases went out, letters went to the editors of newspapers across the state, and talk radio stations were flooded with calls. Calls went to the hosting university and TV stations, along with the HQs of the Daniels and Kernan campaigns.
Curiously, had the debate included Gividen from the beginning, he would have appeared and that would have been that. Instead, the exclusion of Kenn Gividen was the story of the day. The LP was the sympathetic character, and the Democrats and Republicans the evil conspirators, correctly identified. The LP got a huge publicity bump that they couldn't have purchased.
LP Executive Director Brad Klopfenstein quickly called for a press conference for Noon today, to be held on the Monument downtown. It was well attended, adding to the sympathetic publicity.
What was the hold up? Observe the nonsense Kernan and Daniels wring hands over- risers to make the two men appear as tall as Gividen on stage. Pathetic.