# RNC wants friendly moderators for GOP primary debates. Think 2012 debates badly damaged candidates **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 17, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492 "2013-08-17T15:06:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![NotDeadYet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotDeadYet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotDeadYet)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492/61 "2013-08-21T02:18:22Z")
George Allen was on his way to being the front runner in the republican until his infamous “miccacah” (?) remark was videoed. Can’t recall right this moment the democrat who challenged the press to find dirt on him, which they did in short order, ending his run for the presidency. For people who are supposed to be the smartest and the best, not knowing every word you utter outside the privacy of your home is going to be public information in a matter of hours has always perplexed me. Debates are televised and participants need to realize that more than just the hardcore base are going to hear whatever they say. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492/62 "2013-08-21T02:34:59Z")
> [@NotDeadYet](#): > > Can’t recall right this moment the democrat who challenged the press to find dirt on him, which they did in short order, ending his run for the presidency. Gary Hart ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492/63 "2013-08-21T02:46:39Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > It’s a strangely curious thing that the RNC doesn’t see that it isn’t the moderators or the media that’s the problem, it’s the message and conduct of the Republican Party. I sincerely believe that the Southern Strategy chickens are coming home to roost and Republicans no longer has strong demographic to form a coalition to win the Presidency in my lifetime. It was a good, deficit-laden run while it lasted. > > - Honesty I think that if the economy is in recession in 2016, then the Republicans win. The demographic baseline may be moving against them, but election year economic performance will continue to be decisive. Besides, minorities often have lower turnout and voter suppression can postpone reckoning for a while. Then again in California the Republican Party has suffered electoral collapse and their antics have led that of the remainder of the US. And conservative radio and TV heads have every incentive to pump up the crazy, as that is what sells. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492/64 "2013-08-21T14:48:27Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I think that if the economy is in recession in 2016, then the Republicans win. The demographic baseline may be moving against them, but election year economic performance will continue to be decisive. Besides, minorities often have lower turnout and voter suppression can postpone reckoning for a while. > > Then again in California the Republican Party has suffered electoral collapse and their antics have led that of the remainder of the US. And conservative radio and TV heads have every incentive to pump up the crazy, as that is what sells. I think you would probably be right if the race was generic Republican vs generic Democrat. The problem is you need an actual candidate to pull it off. This candidate needs to be crazy enough to survive the Republican primary and sane enough to get elected in the national, and I think unless major changes on the right, those may be non-overlapping sets. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492/65 "2013-08-21T16:00:41Z")
> [@NotDeadYet](#): > > George Allen was on his way to being the front runner in the republican until his infamous “miccacah” (?) remark was videoed. > > Can’t recall right this moment the democrat who challenged the press to find dirt on him, which they did in short order, ending his run for the presidency. > > For people who are supposed to be the smartest and the best, not knowing every word you utter outside the privacy of your home is going to be public information in a matter of hours has always perplexed me… I think that is good evidence on the dangers of keeping themselves inside their bubble of information. > **[Filter bubble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble)** > > A filter bubble or ideological frame is a state of intellectual isolation that can result from personalized searches, recommendation systems, and algorithmic curation. The search results are based on information about the user, such as their location, past click-behavior, and search history. Consequently, users become separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ideological bubbles, resulting in a limited and customized How... > [@](#): > > A filter bubble is a result state in which a website algorithm selectively guesses what information a user would like to see based on information about the user (such as location, past click behavior and search history) and, as a result, users become separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ideological bubbles. That definition applies to the technology version of this, but I think that algorithm existed for a long time among groups that follow strict ideologies. The problem for those groups is that the current fragmentation of the sources of information and the filters, both automatic and made up, are contributing to this group of conservative Americans to get used to very unsavory concepts or ideas or to see it as normal, they only see nods or tolerance to very ugly memes, like “rape not causing pregnancy if the woman is not willing” and then finding themselves tarred and feathered by all others outside the bubble. Seeing the Tea Partiers go more off the deep end, I foresee more of those creepy ideas crawl from the rocks that friendly moderators (that also live in that bubble) will think are OK to turn over. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492/66 "2013-08-22T15:02:46Z")
News flash to the GOP: it wasn’t the moderators that made the candidates look like they just spilled out of a clown car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rnc-wants-friendly-moderators-for-gop-primary-debates-think-2012-debates-badly-damaged-candidates/666492.md?page=3)