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Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post reports:
Four days after the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C,. more than 400 questions directed to the GOP presidential field have been uploaded on YouTube -- targeted at Republicans scheduled to get their turn at videopopulism on Sept. 17.
But so far, only Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) have agreed to participate in the debate, co-hosted by Republican Party of Florida in St. Petersburg.
"Aside from those two candidates, we haven't heard from anyone else," said Sam Feist of CNN, who's co-sponsoring the debate with the popular videosharing site.
Rudolph Giuliani and Mitt Romney, both with dozens of videos on their YouTube channels, have not signed up. Neither have the rest of the Republican candidates, including Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.), whose "Tancredo Takes" on his YouTube channel draw hundreds of views. Sources familiar with the Guiliani campaign said he's unlikely to participate. Kevin Madden, Romney's spokesman, said the former Massachusetts governor has seven debate invitations covering a span of 11 days in September.
"We haven't committed to any of them yet," Madden said.
In an interview Wednesday with the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader, Romney said he's not a fan of the CNN/YouTube format. Referring to the video of a snowman asking the Democratic candidates about global warming, Romney quipped, "I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman."
The reason for this is relatively simple. The Republican base is relatively old and living off of the military industrial economy. Stats on Iraq and the economy tell the story.
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq?"
Republicans (approve/disapprove/unsure): 57-38-5
Democrats (approve/disapprove/unsure): 5-93-2 Independents (approve/disapprove/unsure): 24-70-6
And this.
Among Republicans, 61% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 32% disapprove. Among Democrats, 93% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy and 3% approve. Among independents, 11% approve and 86% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.
The Republicans are in a different economy. It's the protected exurban, agribusiness, resource extractive, medical, construction, and militarized sector that concentrates the Republican voting base. Resource prices are high, medical inflation is high, and military spending is high, so that's good for these people. They like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, because they sell the bullets and logistical software. Typically, these people are older and established, and they watch cable TV, religious programming, and use direct mail.
Democrats and Independents are everything else. They see the war as a disaster, health care costs as high, and gas prices as ridiculous. Young people, single women, and economically vulnerable and/or unstable are forming the voting base of the Democratic Party. And these are the people that use the internet.
That's why the GOP isn't eager to do the Youtube debate. Because they will get crushed.
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