Pre-Primary Period « Primary Debates and Forums « FOX News Channel Debate in Cleveland « Pre-Debate Press Releases

FOX News Channel Debate in Cleveland--Pre-Debate Thursday, August 6, 2015

Bend the Arc Jewish Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 24, 2015
CONTACT: Sam Scarrow

A CHALLENGE TO FOX NEWS:
MAKE VOTING RIGHTS A PRIORITY AT FIRST GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

First Republican Primary Debate Scheduled for the Same Day as the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

Bend the Arc Jewish Action Launches Petition Calling on Fox News to Grill GOP Candidates on Voting Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C—Ahead of the first Republican presidential primary debate on August 6, the advocacy group Bend the Arc Jewish Action launched a petition today calling on Fox News, the host of the debate, to ask the candidates one question when they take the stage: “What will you do to restore the Voting Rights Act, which was first signed into law 50 years ago today?”

Signed into law on August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was the most successful civil rights statute ever enacted by Congress, until the Supreme Court gutted the legislation in 2013, sparking the passage of new restrictive voting laws in states across the country. Many of the candidates who will take the stage have led these state efforts to restrict the right to vote, from Scott Walker’s Voter ID law in Wisconsin to Jeb Bush’s purge of the voting rolls in Florida. Republicans in Congress have stymied efforts to restore the law, despite the Supreme Court’s explicit call for the legislative body to act.

“The Republican Party has a troubling track record on voting rights,” said Hadar Susskind, Director of Bend the Arc Jewish Action “With the party’s first presidential debate falling on the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and restrictive voting laws predicted to disenfranchise countless Americans in 2016, the American people deserve a chance to hear the specific plans these candidates have for protecting our right to vote. And Fox News has a responsibility to push for those answers. Until recently, strong protections for voting rights have been an uncontroversial, bipartisan affair. The Republican candidates for President have an opportunity to put their party back on the right track, demonstrate true leadership, and honor the legacy of the civil rights movement by committing to a strong renewal of the Voting Rights Act. Anything less will be an admission – by both the candidates and Fox – that they have no interest in protecting the voting rights of all citizens and would prefer that our President is only elected by some of the people.”

Leading up to the August 6 debate, Bend the Arc and partner organizations will circulate the petition to thousands of people across the country for signatures and deliver the petition to Fox News headquarters.

Over the past two years, Bend the Arc has galvanized Jewish participation in the national, multi-racial, interfaith and intergenerational coalition to protect voting rights and promote civic engagement. Last month, the organization coordinated vigils in 16 cities to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Bend the Arc has also organized Jewish voters to deliver petitions to congressional offices and organized calls with activists from across the country, calling for passage of the Voting Rights Amendment Act. Last year, Bend the Arc, in partnership with the Andrew Goodman Foundation, held a National Day of Action on voting rights, culminating in a candlelight vigil on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, to commemorate the deaths of Andrew Goodman, Mickey Schwerner and James Chaney, three young activists who were murdered over 50 years ago for working to register black voters in Mississippi.

Bend the Arc Jewish Action is a national organization inspired by Jewish values and the steadfast belief that Jewish Americans, regardless of religious or institutional affiliations, are compelled to create justice and opportunity for Americans.

###

MarkforAmerica, Inc.

108 Third Street, Suite 304
Des Moines, IA 50309

July 30, 2015

Mr. Michael S. Clemente
Executive Vice President, News Editorial
Fox News
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036

Dear Mr. Clemente:

I am writing to request inclusion in the Fox News GOP presidential debate to be held on August 6th in Cleveland. I applaud your decision to revisit the criteria for inclusion in the early debate of second tier candidates. I qualify for the following reasons:

I announced my candidacy in March and filed all required paperwork before any of the candidates you have included. My ethics report has been reviewed and accepted by OGE. I have not manipulated the system to defer my candidacy. I was the first declared candidate to open an office in Iowa and to date have actively campaigned in twenty-two counties across the state. I have made campaign stops in New Hampshire, have events planned for South Carolina, and my staff is currently reviewing invites from GOP organizations across the nation over the coming months.

I have been consistently recognized by the RNC as a legitimate candidate for the presidency, having been included on their website/straw polls for a number of months. As you know, objectivity is a key legal criterion to the debate selection process. Since you have in my view appropriately eliminated the 1% criteria for the second tier platform and since it is a GOP debate only, why not look to the straw poll of the guardians of the party? By adopting this objective standard you need only expand the second tier platform by one or two candidates.

By discarding the 1% threshold for participation in the Fox debate you have recognized that polls are not reliable indicators of future electoral success at this early stage of the Republican race. It is inconsistent and arbitrary to then insist that to be included a candidate must be “consistently being offered to respondents in major national polls, as recognized by Fox News.” I urge you to reconsider this standard.

My public service credentials meet or exceed those of many of the candidates you have included. My federal executive branch experience (at USIA, DOJ, OMB and the Treasury) exceeds that of any candidate in the GOP contest and arguably that of the candidates in aggregate:

---I served for six years in the administration of President Ronald Reagan. I oversaw INS operations during our nation’s last attempt at immigration reform. Immigration is an issue of great interest to GOP primary voters and Fox viewers. It is central to the 2016 election.

---I served for six years in the administration of President George W. Bush. I was Deputy Director for Management at OMB and played an important role in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, having been a member of the five-person team that developed the proposal put forth by President Bush to create the department, and then overseeing the transition of the largest operational agencies of the new department into DHS. Homeland security is also an issue of great importance to the American people and a significant subject in the 2016 electoral contest.

---From 2003 through 2007 I was Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Oversight of the nation’s tax system--together with my significant private sector experience in assignments in the United States and in Turkey, France and Zambia--afford me knowledge of tax policy and tax administration that is simply not possessed by any other candidate. Moreover, I can speak directly to the ongoing problems at the IRS which are of such great concern to Americans. I have done so numerous times on Fox programs since the scandal broke in May 2013, most recently this past Monday on Fox Business.

I have significant state government experience as well, having directed the unemployment insurance and workforce programs in Indiana under Governor Mitch Daniels.

Granted, my path to the presidency is narrow, but I would suggest no more so than that of several of the candidates you have included. It cannot be denied there is a clear thirst in the electorate for fresh ideas with the power to solve the problems we face as a nation. That is what I offer. As your own Neil Cavuto has stated, “This is a serious guy addressing serious issues.”

Of greater import for the future of our democracy and beyond the prospects of my individual candidacy, your exclusion of my participation (given my credentials and service to the nation) reinforces the undemocratic dynamic of providing the oxygen of media coverage only to those who are established politicians, have amassed great wealth with or without significant service to America, or already enjoy high name recognition. Would the approach you are taking deny exposure to the public, for instance, of the president of a major university, a retired general or admiral, or a former cabinet officer if he or she launched a bid for the White House without a big bankroll? Such an individual might be more inclined to enter a future race if a candidate like me is seen to make the stage this time around.

Please add me to the debate next week. Thank you for your consideration of my request.

Sincerely,

Mark W. Everson

P.S. I read with interest the story in Politico about appearances on your very own network. To quote the article, “All of the candidates have been getting extensive Fox airtime. Here’s a tally of the total combined Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network appearances — several for an hour — by each of the hopefuls since their official campaign launches:

1) Paul, 35 … 2) Huckabee, 31 … 3) Trump, 30 … 4) Perry, 24 … 5-6) Fiorina and Jindal, 20 each … 7) Cruz, 17 … 8) Santorum, 16 … 9) Rubio, 14 … 10-11) Carson and Graham, 12 each … 12-13) Kasich and Pataki, 11 each … 14) Christie, 7 … 15) Walker, 4 … 16) Bush, 3.”

That is interesting to me because since I have declared as a candidate your own networks have had me on seven times – the same as Chris Christie, and more than both Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. I would hope that if the people that you work with take me as a serious candidate that my candidacy would be taken seriously by you as well.

cc: Dianne Brandi, Executive Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs
Gerson Zweifach, General Counsel

MarkforAmerica, Inc. see also FEC Complaint

First Declared GOP Presidential Candidate Excluded from Fox News Debates. Why?

NEW YORK CITY Dateline August 1, 2015-- The first Republican candidate to declare for the U.S. Presidency has not yet been invited to participate in the Fox News Debate. Why?

Mark Everson has had the distinguished honor of serving his country as the CEO of The Red Cross and in the Reagan Administration, Everson held foreign policy and law enforcement positions at the US Information Agency and in the Department of Justice.

As IRS Commissioner in the second Bush Administration Mark Everson was fairly invisible as he ran a scandal-free tight ship.

An appointee of Attorney General Ed Meese to the post of Deputy Commissioner of the INS, Mark supervised all agency operations, including the Border Patrol and inspectors at the ports of entry where he helped keep a very secure Southern Border.

Mark Everson is the only presidential candidate with both extensive business and federal executive branch experience.

In the private sector Mark held senior financial positions at the world’s largest packaging and airline catering companies and is currently vice chairman of Alliantgroup, a leading tax services group.

In the Southern Republican Leadership Straw Poll Mark Everson beat Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, and John Kasich.

So why hasn’t Fox News invited Mr. Everson to be in their Presidential debates?

As the first GOP candidate to open an office in Iowa and having completed all campaign financial disclosure forms, Mark Everson has campaign materials in all 50 states. But there is one place that his campaign materials have not been welcome at the Fox News headquarter in New York City, home of the other successful businessman, Donald Trump, who is believed to be willing to spend a billion dollars in his campaign—including the potential of buying a slew of ads on many Fox News Channel programs.

Mark Everson has campaigned in Iowa and New Hampshire, and has events in South Carolina planned, covering the trifecta of the three early states.

As a matter of fact, Mark Everson has campaigned in Iowa more than Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and George Pataki!

Mark Everson has been a popular radio talk show interview guest on programs from interviews from Oregon, to Southern California, to Florida, to New England and he has been invited by GOP organizations from Coast to Coast to speak at their events.

Mark Everson has made same number of appearances on Fox News and Fox Business News as Chris Christie, and MORE than Jeb Bush or Scott Walker.

The Republican National Committee has recognized the legitimacy of the Everson candidacy by having him listed as one of the 18 Presidential candidates on their official straw poll.

The Republican National Committee verified that legitimacy by inviting us to Washington DC to participate in filming a Q&A session for voters that the RNC will debut later this year.

Mark Everson has been given equal billing at venues in both Iowa and in other states and has shared the stage in campaign evens with Bush, Carson, Cruz, Fiorina, Gilmore, Graham, Huckabee, Jindal, Perry, Santorum, Rubio, and Walker.

A graduate of Yale and the NYU Stern School of Business, Mark lives in Mississippi and has four children who all would like to watch their dad in the Fox News Debates.

Will Fox News change their position and include Mark Everson in their Presidential Debates?

Time will tell. And speaking of telling, you are welcome to call Fox News channel at: 212-301-3000 to express your feelings about having Mark Everson included in the Fox debates.

Further information on the Mark Everson campaign is available at:

MarkForAmerica.com

Thank you.

NumbersUSA
August 5, 2015

NumbersUSA Ad In Presidential Debate Asks Candidates To Focus On Numbers And One Million Legal Immigrants A Year

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The greatest concern about immigration policy should be the overall numbers admitted and not about the race, national origin and other characteristics of individual immigrants, claims the NumbersUSA TV commercial to be aired during this Thursday's Republican Presidential debate on FOX News.

"We are glad that candidates are beginning to address various problems of our immigration policies, but our ad seeks to remind presidential hopefuls and voters that the overwhelming issue is that our government will admit another one million immigrants into the United States this year alone," said Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA, a grassroots organization claiming nearly 3 million participants.

"All American wage-earners and their families are potentially affected by the fact that every one of those million new immigrants each year gets a life-time work authorization to compete for jobs despite persistent wage stagnation and 17 million Americans who are still unemployed or underemployed."

The TV ad features a diverse group of Americans calmly making the point that the immigration debate should not be about the color of people's skin or their nation of origin, but it should be about the numbers.

The ad invites viewers to see where each politician stands on immigration numbers by going to www.NumbersUSA.com. There they will find the NumbersUSA Worker-Protection Immigration Grade Cards which provide ratings in 10 immigration categories and an overall grade for how each of 21 Republican and Democratic Presidential hopefuls would "affect Americans' jobs and wages by changing the supply of workers" through actions addressing both illegal and legal immigration.

For more information about NumbersUSA or to view the NumbersUSA TV commercial, please visit www.NumbersUSA.com.

SOURCE NumbersUSA

Concerned Women for America
August 5, 2015

GOP Presidential Debate Preview: What we are looking for

By: Janae Stracke - 8/5/2015

Washington, D.C. — Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, statement:

“Nothing has united pro-choice and pro-life voters more than the recent revelations and video proof that government-subsidized Planned Parenthood is selling the remains of abortions — including intact ‘cadavers’ and possibly altering procedures to ensure saleable, ‘useable’ specimens.

“Most Republican presidential candidates participating in both of Thursday night’s FOX News debates are considered pro-life in their statements and largely by record. However, the stakes are now higher than ever, and real leadership is needed. Candidates need to illustrate a commitment to defunding Planned Parenthood and taking on those who attempt to suppress the truth about the activities — whether it be the media, politicians, or lobbyists. We are looking a crisis in the eye which must be addressed and resolved.

“While GOP presidential candidate Gov. Jeb Bush’s comments about the half-billion dollars Planned Parenthood receives from taxpayers has been widely panned as a ‘gaffe,’ it has, in fact, opened the door to shining a light on the activities of the organization. We now know this is precisely what they do not want, as they have recently hired CNN contributor Hilary Rosen of SKDKinckerbocker to suppress the details of their business. I urge all of the GOP presidential candidates to further push open that door to the truth.

“Hilary Clinton wished to conflate ‘women’s health’ with abortion. We strongly disagree. CWA supports S. 1881 by Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) which shifted funds propping up Planned Parenthood to community health centers that treat the whole woman, whether with gynecological needs, heart disease (the number one killer of women), or other medical issues.

“The curious ‘defense’ by Planned Parenthood and its paid allies seems to be that, yes, Planned Parenthood does conduct abortions and does sell the remains of aborted babies, but that they don’t turn a profit. The other popular sleight of hand is to focus on the fact that their multi-billion dollar operation, which receives a half-billion dollars from taxpayers, engages in other activities, so, therefore, we should all simply look away and ignore the reality of what we see in the five videos where Planned Parenthood operatives negotiate the sale of aborted body parts as well as fully intact baby cadavers.

“Concerned Women for America members across the country are looking to elect leaders who are unafraid of the big abortion industry.”

For additional information and to schedule interviews with Penny Nance, contact Janae Stracke at (712) 269-1724 or jstracke@cwfa.org, or Cheri Jacobus of Capitol Strategies PR at (202) 257-4638 or cherijacobus@aol.com.

NOTE: Penny Nance will be in Cleveland, Ohio, on site at the Republican presidential primary debate, Thursday, August 6, at the Quicken Loans Arena and will be available for interviews and to offer commentary and analysis.

Correct the Record [partial]

August 6, 2015 8:50 a.m.

MEET THE TARNISHED TEN: AUGUST 6TH PRIME TIME GOP DEBATE DOSSIER

After the seven bottom-ranked GOP candidates wrap up what Lindsey Graham calls the “happy hour” debate—but what less generous observers are calling the “D-league” debate, then the real action begins. The prime time debate will feature the “Tarnished Ten” – the GOP field’s ten leading candidates according to an average of several recent polls.

With ten candidates gathered on stage, you’d think there would be some intellectual diversity and difference of opinion. Sadly, with the “Tarnished Ten,” you’d be wrong.

KEY POINTS:

·         All ten candidates up on the prime time debate stage have the same out-of-date, out-of-touch approach to the problems facing America today.

·         From opposing a pathway to citizenship, to dismantling Medicare, to propping up the failed trickle-down economics of the past—the GOP has zero new ideas to offer the American people.

·         Even on issues where the American public agrees across party lines, Republicans presidential candidates are planting their feet on the wrong side.

o Universal background checks for firearm purchases are supported by 92% of voters, yet every single GOP presidential candidate opposes them.

o 83 percent of Americans support climate science, yet each and every Republican on stage denies the need for immediate action to tackle climate change.

· The Republican Party may be racing to the bottom, but the American people are ready to move forward. Tonight will be a made-for-television spectacle, but what this country really needs are real ideas and real solutions to build a better future.

[partial]