Windy March in today's Tampa Tribune reports that a statewide broadcast debate on all NBC affiliates across Florida has been nixed by Rick Scott because he's no fan of the proposed moderator, MSNBC's Chris Matthews.
A spokeswoman for the GOP gubernatorial candidate said that he prefers to debate on CNN that same night (October 25), but according to the Trib Alex Sink hadn't committed to CNN because the date conflicted with the NBC debate.
Scott spokeswoman Bettina Inclan said,
"it's not surprising Alex Sink refuses to accept CNN's offer to debate and instead picks known Obama liberal Chris Matthews as her preferred debate moderator."
No doubt Matthews would be a wild card as debate moderator, or have you forgotten his performance in that wild 2006 affair between Charlie Crist, Jim Davis, and a somewhat mad Max Linn, who tag teamed with Davis in trying to beat up on Crist that evening?
The St. Pete Times blasted Matthews' performance afterwards, writing in an editorial that:
" it was hijacked by a cable television windbag and a third-party candidate who had no business being on the same stage."
I personally had ambivalent feelings about it. Matthews did get way too hung up on national issues that had nothing to do with the state of Florida (hey, come to think of it, maybe Scott would prefer Matthews to host!), but it was one of the most entertaining debates, ever.
In any event, the man that the Florida Chamber of Commerce spent over a million dollars trying to take down, and derided in a statewide television ad blasting him as profiting from the "largest Medicare fraud in American history," and then endorsed yesterday, Rick Scott, says he wants to do CNN with John King that same night, a cable broadcast that not every citizen in Florida will be able to view if they don't pay for the service.
That event would take place on the USF Tampa campus, though it's not official yet.
Speaking of debates, the first U.S. Senate debate with all three of the major candidate for the office takes place this afternoon in Miami, but good luck seeing it today.
The Univision debate is scheduled to be taped early this afternoon and then aired on its affiliated stations – which in many cases won't be until 11:00 p.m. tonight. I suppose some political junkies out there might record it, but come on, Friday night at 11 p.m.? I'm addicted to this stuff and I doubt I'm going to be in the mood to watch at that time tonight. Thankfully, there are several other such forums scheduled.
The Marco Rubio camp has helpfully issued out what they call a debate viewing guide to voters who do stay up to watch the forum. Their press release has issued a set of contradictory statements by the Governor in just the past few months, and explain it this way:
In the days and weeks leading up to this afternoon’s Univision debate, Charlie Crist “has made a puzzling number of contradictory statements” that have left Florida voters bewildered and questioning the governor’s true beliefs. For those watching today’s debate, the question is which Crist will appear? To help Floridians understand Crist’s many twists and turns, the Rubio for Senate campaign has issued the following debate guide. Voters can keep track at home as to which Crist shows up at today’s debate.
Libertarian Senate candidate Alexander Snitker are supporters are planning a "major" protest outside the Univision studios in Miami today, demonstrating their anger that Snitker has not been allowed to participate in the debate.
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2010.