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

On 10/24/2024 12:01 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
> On Oct 24, 2024 at 8:45:25 AM PDT, "moviePig" <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
>> 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.
> 
> No, I'm not playing your games. Everyone knows the difference between a town
> hall event and a press interview.

And I'm not playing the "everyone knows" game.  The issue here (pretty 
clearly) is how/whether a 'town hall' must include audience questions.