Group calls on Dems to leave Fox debate out in cold

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 11:01 AM on April 5, 2007.

The 75,000 strong Color of Change organization's efforts to urge the Congressional Black Caucus not to host a Democratic presidential debate with Fox have thus far been futile. The group argues that Fox News "consistent[ly] marginaliz[es]... Black leaders and the Black community." The video is HERE for those who aren't convinced.

Now, joined by Jesse Jackson and a bevy of publications and bloggers, ColorofChange is urging the DNC, which sanctions only six Democratic debates, to sanction the CBC/CNN debate and not the CBC/Fox partnership.

That would effectively make it an unofficial debate.

ColorofChange has all the quotes here, but below I cherry-pick:

*"FOX moderating a presidential debate on issues of importance to Black Americans is literally letting the Fox guard the henhouse – FOX should be rejected." -- Jesse Jackson

*"Fox News is not a 'fair and balanced' source of information or political debate, and it has repeatedly proven itself hostile to the interests of Black Americans... Case in point: Fox's recent sustained stain campaign against presidential candidate Barack Obama-they place undue emphasis on his middle name 'Hussein,' say he went to a fundamentalist Islamic school and question his religious affiliation, suggestively characterizing his church as having 'unusual doctrines.' And the network's framing and interpretation of Black (and Brown) issues and culture are often bigoted and lacking in any attempt to truly understand and present a fair picture." -- Afro American Newspapers Editorial

*"Anyone who has been watching the news the past few years should know that Fox News is nothing but a right-wing platform for conservative Republicans. So if that's the case, why were the Democrats even thinking about holding a debate on Fox News in Nevada? I understand the whole idea of reaching out to the other side, but Fox News is not just the other side. They are the opposition. It's one thing to debate Bill O'Reilly or the Fox News anchors. Everybody knows what's going on there. It's another thing to give Fox News a forum it doesn't already have where they can pretend to be 'fair and balanced.' But if the Democratic Party gets it, why doesn't the Congressional Black Caucus?" -- Keith Boykin, blogger and former Clinton official

*"Please help us Lord." -- Superspade

*"If the Ku Klux Klan or Council of Conservative Citizens had a cable news network, would it be appropriate to collaborate with them on hosting presidential debates, particularly when one of the candidates is black, a CBC member and a consistent target of the network's hatred and misinformation?" -- Jack and Jill Politics

Tagged as: fox, democrats, election08, blacks

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.