Is anyone as angry and frustrated as I am about the missing participant in tonight's CNN debate?

kucinich email, 1/2 hour ago:

Dear Friend:

I am not in tonight's Presidential debate in South Carolina because, over the weekend, the Federal Communications Commission supported the arbitrary and deliberately exclusionary criteria imposed by CNN and its parent company, Time Warner, Inc., to keep me out. And, because that FCC decision came so late, there was absolutely no time to appeal or to challenge their denial of Americans' right to hear from the one and only candidate who is willing to demand ...

The Democratic Party has out-sourced your right to a full and fair debate to private, multi-billion dollar media conglomerates whose interests do not represent mainstream America. Their interests are best served by manipulating the political process to achieve their own ends, promote their favored candidates, and profit from the rewards of their power and control.

The Democratic Party has out-sourced your right to a full and fair debate to private, multi-billion dollar media conglomerates whose interests do not represent mainstream America. Their interests are best served by manipulating the political process to achieve their own ends, promote their favored candidates, and profit from the rewards of their power and control.

We may as well forget about the election and allow CNN to select the Democratic Candidate and Fox News the Republican Candidate. At the moment, CNN is busily slanting the remarks and presentations toward Obama, and Fox News is busily backing their views. Kucinich was never given air time or a chance for serious discussion of his take on the issues.

Is it his stature? Is it the fact that he......and several others...saw a mysterious object in the sky on one airplane trip? Is it that beautiful wife? What is it that has caused Dennis Kucinich to become an object of derision, when his views echo those of so many Americans?

I see the same attitude toward Ron Paul and I have concluded that, if the major corporate leaders do not consider you a viable candidate, you are sunk. This is because elections take money and you are not going to run a great campaign on the nickels and dimes collected from the public, no matter how much they dig in their pockets to give. Campaigns take millions and millions of dollars. The networks know this, salivate over the advertising that will enrich them, and back those candidates the corporate world is willing to help.

So, once again, the American public is at the mercy of those folks with money and power. Instead of insisting each candidate survive on a certain amount of government-supplied money, instead of refusing all corporate donations, and forcing the networks to give free time during political campaigns, we sit like sheep and allow the corruption and unfair presentations to continue!

The enemy, friends, is us.

To be honest, I'm not terribly worried about Kucinich being excluded. What would Kucinich add to the debate? Do you think he's going to force the others to actually answer any questions or create any more intelligent conversation?

The biggest shame, right now, is the fact that the media is doing what it can to paint John Edwards as a non-contender in an effort to avoid a very legitimate voice for the people! Edwards isn't accepting "special interest" money, and for that he is being dogged by the media as an outsider who doesn't stand a chance. If THE PEOPLE know what's good for them, they will read the websites of each candidate and see what they REALLY OFFER in terms of policy change that will affect their well being before they cast their vote. A close inspection of each candidates policy platform will reveal that the presidential race isn't about sex of a candidate, or race of the candidate, but about meaningful policy change that will ultimately empower the people, restore faith in our democracy, and help us return to a thriving economy by ensuring social stability.

Before you cast your vote thinking to yourself, "we really ought to have a (fill in the blank) as a president someday" I implore you to think long and hard! Isn't the candidate that REALLY intends to give the people a voice the candidate that is going to help our nation progress? Don't vote based on sex or on race, vote based on political issues that are going to affect how you live!

This is complete BS!

As stated previously those airwaves belong to WE THE F'N PEOPLE and so it is up to US what we air or do not air.

The networks can show Janet Jackson's nipple and 100% crappy television shows like "Who wants to watch paint dry" but they do not live up to their end of the bargain and air the public service and the electoral process that they are supposed to.

Those greedy scumbags *****+moan about VCR then DVR because it can eliminate the need to watch commercials which they say is a violation of their contracts....Now they have just taken one more step proving that America is no longer a county of the people for the people...but owned by the corporations, for only corporate gain, agaist anything that gives joy+freedom to the people. Long live the Oligarchy of Amerika will be our new battle cry evidently.

Every network exec should be mugged multiple times every day

sorry kinda ranted there but hey...they piss me off and I now announce that these people and those that support them no longer count as human

It is very disturbing that Kucinich isn't allowed to participate. He brings true democratic issues to the forefront and is courageous for taking the most progressive stands of anyone in either field of candidates. You would think the media would let him be part of this vital discussion.

This has been a news controlled election. The problem is a lot of the genuine candidates do not have the money to back them during this campaign. We need to ask all the candidates how they get their money. This wil truley tell us what they are standing behind. See groups give candidates money for their campaign and control what the talk about. For example, lets say I have interest in the Phillip Morris Co and am very wealthy and you are running for president. I would donate a BIG amount of money to you during your campaign and in turn would expect you to not discuss the health risks of smoking. Oh and did I tell you that my brothe works at the news station and will be sure to not invite your competitor who DOES want to talk about the health risks of smoking? Good thing he does not have as much money as me. The election is just a big chess game. As American's we need to demand more.

Yes, it angers me that they would exclude anybody. It's a huge deal that the media doesn't give equal time to all candidates. It just proves that they're a biased and corporate-controlled entity that gives the people what they want to hear instead of just portraying the facts like an honest journalist should do.

Yes! And why is it OK for the networks to decide who participates in the debates anyway? The public owns the airwaves, and the debates are supposed to be a public service. Isn't it more of a service to let all the candidates participate so we can hear a variety of ideas?

It's infuriating. Oh yeah, and at the same time, they continue to let Fred Thompson participate when he has no following at all.

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Yes, the public does own the airwaves. The networks are given access for free with the understanding that they will perform a certain amount of public service. In my lifetime, the amount has dwindled to almost nothing. The debates are supposedly held so that voters can hear all the candidates. Up until recently the League of :Women Voters sponsored and organized all the debates, and they did a very good, nonpartisan, fair job of it. Now that the networks are in charge, they make decisions based on corporate greed and TV ratings. That does not help us have an informed citizenry, which we need in order to have a functioning republic.

All candidates should be heard & given equal air time.We seem to live in a limited democrocy controlled by money.

I'm frustrated too. It's disgusting that the media is choosing the candidates.