Spring Break
GOP front-runners absent from race debate
Six attending Republicans critiqued Giuliani, Romney, Thompson and McCain for not participating in discussion
Issue date: 10/4/07
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Six of the 10 Republican presidential candidates came to Baltimore Thursday night to stress the importance of reaching out to black voters, while assailing the leading four contenders for not showing up.
"I apologize for those that aren't here" Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said. "I don't think its good for our party and not good for our country - What they're doing is narrowing our base."
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo took the attacks even further.
"The last time I was at an event of this nature it was at a NAACP convention, and I was the only Republican who showed up," he said.
The four missing Republicans - former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and Arizona Sen. John McCain - lead most state and national primary polls and have the most cash in the race.
Each cited scheduling conflicts as their reasons for missing the debate, but many in attendance said the candidates were either too afraid of black voters or unable to get their votes. Their podiums were left noticeably empty on the stage.
"Gov. Romney could not attend the forum due to travel conflicts," Alex Burgos, director of specialty media for the Romney campaign. "He was actually doing a lot of campaigning in California at the time … It's also worth noting that Gov. Romney is the only candidate who has addressed black and Hispanic communities, mainly through a grassroots level."
Burgos went on to point out that Romney has reached out to minority communities through meetings and conference calls with minority steering committees. Also Burgos mentioned Romney's policies, such as cutting taxes for small business owners and enacting universal health insurance.
The Giuliani campaign pointed to scheduling conflicts as their reasoning for not joining the debate.
"While we would like to be able to participate in every debate we are invited to, unfortunately we have to make tough decisions about our schedule," said Jeffrey Barker, the campaign's northeast communications director. "We receive numerous invitations for debates, from different groups and all over the country, and decline a great number of them for scheduling reasons."
"I apologize for those that aren't here" Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said. "I don't think its good for our party and not good for our country - What they're doing is narrowing our base."
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo took the attacks even further.
"The last time I was at an event of this nature it was at a NAACP convention, and I was the only Republican who showed up," he said.
The four missing Republicans - former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and Arizona Sen. John McCain - lead most state and national primary polls and have the most cash in the race.
Each cited scheduling conflicts as their reasons for missing the debate, but many in attendance said the candidates were either too afraid of black voters or unable to get their votes. Their podiums were left noticeably empty on the stage.
"Gov. Romney could not attend the forum due to travel conflicts," Alex Burgos, director of specialty media for the Romney campaign. "He was actually doing a lot of campaigning in California at the time … It's also worth noting that Gov. Romney is the only candidate who has addressed black and Hispanic communities, mainly through a grassroots level."
Burgos went on to point out that Romney has reached out to minority communities through meetings and conference calls with minority steering committees. Also Burgos mentioned Romney's policies, such as cutting taxes for small business owners and enacting universal health insurance.
The Giuliani campaign pointed to scheduling conflicts as their reasoning for not joining the debate.
"While we would like to be able to participate in every debate we are invited to, unfortunately we have to make tough decisions about our schedule," said Jeffrey Barker, the campaign's northeast communications director. "We receive numerous invitations for debates, from different groups and all over the country, and decline a great number of them for scheduling reasons."
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