Is Fox News pimping a phony Democratic candidate?

Unabogie

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Unabogie
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mike-dickinson-fox-not-candidate

The Democrat who declared "war" on Fox News isn't actually a candidate running for Virginia's 7th congressional district, at least not on behalf of the Democratic Party, according to a report Friday.

Mike Dickinson was described as a Democratic candidate challenging House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) during an appearance Thursday night on Fox's "On The Record." He sparred with host Greta Van Susteren over his credentials and the Tea Party, insisting that America needs politicians who don't "sugarcoat" or "lie."

But Mediaite reported on Friday that the Virginia 7th Congressional District Democratic Committee announced it had cancelled this year's nominating convention because no candidate had filed to run for the seat before the 5 p.m. deadline Thursday.

The committee's chair told Mediaite that Dickinson informed the party at the "last minute" that he wasn't going to file to run for Cantor's seat.
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Or are they just really awful at reporting facts?

I report, you decide!
 
First, I think it's reasonable to describe a candidate as "Democratic" if their policies are largely congruent with the policies of the Democratic party. I mean, one of the Koch brothers could run as an Independent, and you'd be fairly confident his policies would be essentially Republican. You'd probably lose no opportunity to tar him as "a Republican candidate", either. And rightly so.

Second, from your report, it seems the candidate was on the show at the very same moment he was withdrawing his candidacy. The deadline was Thursday night. The show was Thursday night. He withdrew his candidacy "at the last minute". You do the math.

I've done the math, and my decision is that you presented a false dilemma. More likely Fox News saw an opportunity to let a jackass represent Democratic party, and made hay while the sun shone. That he was in the process of withdrawing his candidacy even as he made his television appearance is more of a problem between him and his party. Is this the best the Dems can do? They need to get their act together!
 
theprestige said:
First, I think it's reasonable to describe a candidate as "Democratic" if their policies are largely congruent with the policies of the Democratic party. I mean, one of the Koch brothers could run as an Independent, and you'd be fairly confident his policies would be essentially Republican. You'd probably lose no opportunity to tar him as "a Republican candidate", either. And rightly so.

Second, from your report, it seems the candidate was on the show at the very same moment he was withdrawing his candidacy. The deadline was Thursday night. The show was Thursday night. He withdrew his candidacy "at the last minute". You do the math.

I've done the math, and my decision is that you presented a false dilemma. More likely Fox News saw an opportunity to let a jackass represent Democratic party, and made hay while the sun shone. That he was in the process of withdrawing his candidacy even as he made his television appearance is more of a problem between him and his party. Is this the best the Dems can do? They need to get their act together!
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He was never a candidate as he never filed with any party.
 
Unabogie said:
He was never a candidate as he never filed with any party.
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And now the deadline has passed, I doubt Fox will give him any more airtime.

But, TV schedules being what they are, I don't blame them for exploiting the gray area of the "undocumented candidate" for all it was worth...

... which appears to be about the value of one or two Threads of Outrage. So probably we all dodged a bullet, here.

Anyway, I thought you were reporting, and I was deciding? Now you're going to argue my decision? For shame!
 
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He didn't file with the party does not mean he won't file with the state. He saved his party the whole convention thing.
 
casebro said:
He didn't file with the party does not mean he won't file with the state. He saved his party the whole convention thing.
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No, it means he's not running and never was running. He doesn't have a campaign email or a campaign phone number.

Dickinson does not list a phone number or email address for his campaign on his website. TPM sent him a message seeking comment via a form on the site.

A short time later, Dickinson emailed back: "Happy to answer any questions over phone or email." He did not provide a phone number, and a subsequent email did not get a response.
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Sound to you like a real candidate?
 
Considering that the Democrats are not even running a candidate, Greta should have debated an empty chair.
 
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