Kennedy, Klobuchar and Fitzergald Debate (A Preview)

I will be doing a more extensive report on the debate shortly, but wanted to provide a few brief facts, respond to a few posts from the other side, and provide a link to the debate itself so that readers can make up their minds themselves.

more insideIt was a beautiful day at the fair, and when I arrived 15 minutes before the debate there was already a large crowd.  I did not see any mass of Klobuchar supporters marching in together, as was reported elsewhere, but I can confirm that at both the DFL Booth and the Klobuchar booth, there were signs telling supporters who would like to go to the debate to meet at the booth.  Kennedy’s booth and the Republican booth did not have such an invitiation, that I could see.

One of the rules that the press release referenced both in the above link and in this one, by Mark Kennedy’s consultant, agreed to was that:

No campaign should attempt to dominate audience attendance or disrupt debates by applause or otherwise.  Provisions should be made within each venue for the attendance of an equal number of campaign representatives.  Campaign representatives should be courteous to one another.

In a public venue such as the state fair, I do not see how a campaign can attempt to keep themselves from ‘dominating’ the audience or keep to an equal number of representatives, without asking whom the audience member is supporting on the way into the venue.  Should they tell someone to leave because they are wearing a particular candidate’s shirt, and there are already to many people from that leaning present?  Not only is that inherantly a bad policy, but in an open air forum, it would be impossible.

But I will admit that the audience was unruly, and made themselves a part of the debate.  Whether it was the woman yelling “Mark Kennedy, you’re awesome,” as the moderator was begining the event, the large group who would call for Kennedy to answer the question when he would go back to follow-up on a previous point, or the applause that would drown out some points for the audience, they were as much a part of the debate as the three candidates on stage.

Full article and analysis soon.  Until then, listen to the debate here.