Re: Kamala Town Hall Attendees Barred From Asking Questions: "All Pre-Determined"

On 10/23/2024 8:37 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
> On Oct 23, 2024 at 3:40:35 PM PDT, "moviePig" <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
>> On 10/23/2024 3:05 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
>>>   On Oct 23, 2024 at 9:39:35 AM PDT, "Ubiquitous" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>   
>>>>   Vice President Kamala Harris held an event in Michigan on Monday that was
>>>>   billed as a "town hall"-- but when attendees asked if their questions were
>>>>   going to be answered, host Maria Shriver admitted that all of the questions
>>>>   had already been pre-determined.
>>>>
>>>>   The video showed Shriver, who is the niece of former President John F.
>>>>   Kennedy, responding to an audience member who asked whether anyone present
>>>>   would be allowed to ask a question of the Democratic presidential nominee--
>>>>   which traditionally is the point of the town hall format in the first
>>>> place--
>>>>
>>>>   and she told them that they would just have to rely on her to ask the
>>>>   questions that they would most want to have answered.
>>>>
>>>>   "You're not, unfortunately, we have some pre-determined questions and I
>>>>   hopefully will be able to ask some of the questions that might be in your
>>>>   head, I hope so," Shriver said.
>>>>
>>>>   "And this woman-- Maria Shriver, no less-- cosplays as a journalist at NBC
>>>>   News!" Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters, responded.
>>>>
>>>>   "Nothing says 'town hall' like predetermined questions," another social
>>>> media
>>>>
>>>>   user said.
>>>   
>>>   Wasn't it Shawn that was castigating Trump for his performative politics
>>> just
>>>   a few says ago? Well, here you go. Kammie's no better.
>>>   
>>>>   A number also argued that if the questions were pre-determined, it was
>>>> likely
>>>>
>>>>   that Harris and her campaign team had access to them and had prepared their
>>>>   responses prior to the event. Still more noted that, after nearly 48 hours
>>>> of
>>>>
>>>>   Democrats and media complaining about how "scripted" former President Donald
>>>>   Trump’s visit to McDonald's had been, it seemed a little on the nose for
>>>>   Harris to do a "town hall" without a single surprise question.
>>>   
>>>   Yep. All those bitching about Trump's staged appearance-- even those on this
>>>   newsgroup-- are strangely silent when Kammie pulls the same sort of stunt.
>>>   
>>>   What was the audience even there for? If it's not really a town hall format
>>>   and no one gets to ask questions, Shriver could have just done an in-studio
>>>   interview with Kammie and left it at that. But no, instead Kammie's people
>>> go
>>>   to all the trouble to bring in an audience under the ruse of it being a town
>>>   hall when all they really wanted was a room full of people to act as
>>>   background props for her campaign.
>>
>> 'Ruse'?  You think the audience showed up to ask questions?
> 
> Sounds like at least some of them did.
> 
>> Seems it was a live interview conducted before an audience
> 
> Yes, but that's not what a town hall is.

Please cite your definitive definition.