A quick #thread about how I understand qualifying for the Dem debates work. I could be a bit off but you'll get the gist. @TheDemocrats say you have to qualify two ways: unique donors (people donating to your campaign who haven't before) & poll numbers at a certain threshold. 1/
Let's use @JulianCastro as an example. Strong policies, working hard meeting folks all over the US. But the media are focused on whoever the flavor of the week is. Right now it seems to be Mayor Pete. Pete gets the coverage, folks find out more about him, his poll numbers go up.
When you don't get media coverage, you have to spend more money to be heard. This is how Tom Steyer qualified for the Dec. debate. NO media is talking about Tom, but he's rich so he can buy ads. Folks see the ads & when polled, they remember his name. His poll numbers increase.
To qualify, candidates need to show strength in both grassroots fundraising — netting 200,000 unique donors or more — as well as in the polls, hitting 4% in four national or state polls, or 6% in two polls of the early states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
Now @JulianCastro has openly questioned why two states, Iowa and New Hampshire, are considered so vital with respect to polling and when their primaries are held, when their demographics don't represent the diversity of the country. It's an important conversation to have.
If polls took into account social media engagement, I have no doubt that @JulianCastro would qualify for every debate, both in unique donors & polling. But that's not how the world works. So he engages online and people give to his campaign. He meets the donors threshold. But...
These are real people donating to @JulianCastro's campaign. They give what they can. EVERY $5 donation is appreciated. But it's super difficult to combine those $5-$25 donations & put an ad on air in Iowa or NH when someone like Steyer has millions as pocket change for ads.
That's the dilemma. @JulianCastro gets the 200,000 unique donors to qualify for the debate. But because he isn't being bankrolled, buying ads so people offline can see him on TV, get to know him, & remember his name when polled, is increasingly difficult.
If you're #TeamJulian, what can you do? Talk him up online BUT ALSO OFFLINE. Have you ever been polled? I haven't. Some polls are still using landlines; do you even have a landline? Who does? Your Auntie. Your Pop Pop. Tell THEM about @JulianCastro so when polled, they remember.
We also need to have a conversation with @TheDemocrats about the benchmarks for the debates, which states should go first (or whether they should be changed and/or rotated) and whether the current process plays to the rich and not necessarily the qualified.
Video. We need to change the system.
