TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015

Maybe These Debates Will Be Like the “Survivor” Reality TV Series

Yesterday at the Conservative Agenda, Political Insiders were commenting on the counter already clicking off the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the first GOP Presidential Debate at 9 PM on August 6 in Cleveland, and as soon as Ohio Governor makes his official announcement at 11:38 AM in Columbus this morning, we’ll have 16 Republicans doing their best to be included at this all important campaign kickoff.

But Fox News is only allowing the top ten candidates (according to the five most recent national polls) to participate. And given the importance of the first debate, their top-10 status has become a key test for all this candidates. That’s why we filched this crappy graphic from the Washington Post to show you who’s in and who’s out.

Missing the cut could be a death notice for second tier candidates, because cameras, donors and voters go where the action is, so Fox News just set up a Wild Card Debate for candidates who won’t be included in the Main Debate. If the Wild Card Debate were held tomorrow, lower-tier candidates like Rick Santorum, John Kasich, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, and George Pataki would at least get a little TV exposure.