Big Head DC hears that a young Ron Paul volunteer crashed the campaign’s GOTV database just two days before the Iowa caucuses — which means that Paul won his ten percent with absolutely no organized get-out-the-vote operation. The kid, we hear, hasn’t shown up on the Paul campaign again, and he presumably hasn’t been invited back.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comment | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Mitt Romney accused Ron Paul of not understanding Islamic Jihadism, and Rudy Giuliani said Paul’s foreign policy is flawed during tonight’s ABC News debate. Paul’s war opinions became center stage many times during the proceedings.

Paul, who has been left out of a forum to take place on FOX News tomorrow evening, become a last minute addition to the lineup after the ABC News network received criticism for initially excluding the GOP congressman.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (3) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

“The first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary serves a national purpose by giving all candidates an equal opportunity on a level playing field,” Fergus Cullen, head of the New Hampshire Republican Party, said in a statement released Saturday regarding the network’s decision to part ways with his organization. “Only in New Hampshire do lesser known, lesser funded underdogs have a fighting chance to establish themselves as national figures. Consistent with that tradition, we believe all recognized major candidates should have an equal opportunity to participate in pre-primary debates and forums.”

As Big Head DC reported earlier, Cullen felt that Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter should be included in a GOP candidate forum scheduled for Sunday evening to be broadcast on FOX News. Network heads, however, felt differently, so they broke ties with the state GOP today.

“The New Hampshire Republican Party believes Congressmen Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter should be included in the FOX forum on Sunday evening,” Cullen said. ”Our mutual efforts to resolve this difference have failed.”

Concluded Cullen: “While we understand that FOX News continues to move forward it is with regret, the New Hampshire Republican Party hereby withdraws as a partner in this forum.”

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (3) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Big Head DC hears that Fergus Cullen, head of the New Hampshire GOP, has caved to demands to include Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter in FOX News Channel’s Sunday evening forum, and has therefore withdrawn from the partnership the state Republican Party had previously secured with the network.

Big Head DC contacted FOX News to find out whether the forum was still in play and we’re told it will continue as scheduled with Huckabee, Romney, McCain, Giuliani and Thompson, serving as the last exchange between the candidates before Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

Moderated by Chris Wallace, the 90-minute forum is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET live on FNC. David Rhodes, Vice President of News for Fox News Channel said in a statement, “We look forward to presenting a substantive forum which will serve as the first program of its kind this election season.”

UPDATE: New Hampshire GOP Strikes Back at FOX News

Earlier: FOX News to Host Special GOP Candidate Forum

Baltimore Sun Confirms Big Head DC’s Ron Paul Scoop

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (17) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

“I wanted to write the item anyway but putting his name in the hed was definitely a traffic ploy,” Portfolio media writer Jeff Bercovici tells Gawker regarding his recent item that re-hashed Big Head DC’s telling of Ron Paul’s exclusion from the New Hampshire FOX News forum.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comment | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Inside Cable News reports:

Ron Paul was on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer about twenty minutes ago in the first quarter hour of the 5pm ET hour and he was doing everything possible to stick it to FNC over his exclusion from the Forum. He had some help from Blitzer on that score. Paul said that Fox was “in a bind” now and hinted that some body of the Republican Party in NH was threatening to withdraw support from the forum if Paul wasn’t invited. Paul also hinted that FNC would look very bad if he finished ahead of any of the current invitees tomorrow in Iowa. I think he’s referring to Fred Thompson.

Big Head DC speculates that the NH GOP person who is doing the needling is Fergus Cullen, the chairman of the state GOP, who, insiders tell us, is very displeased with the way top FOX executives handled this decision.

A reminder to Paul fans: Big Head DC’s endorsement is still up for grabs.

Earlier: SCOOP: Paul Excluded From FOX News

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (3) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Big Head DC desperately wants to be nominated for a Weblog award this year, so we’ve made an editorial decision. If you nominate us in the POLITICAL and GOSSIP categories, we’ll officially endorse Ron Paul for president, if we make the ballot (yes, this is probably an unethical, unwise and otherwise unworthy decision, but we’re willing to play some dirty politics — after all, Hillary, Barack, Rudy and Huck do it, why shouldn’t we?). Remember, you must nominate three different blogs in each of the two categories, or your vote won’t count. Vote early, vote often — with valid e-mail addresses, of course.

Let’s see what kind of R3VOLUTION you’re really made of!

Now, get voting: http://2008.bloggies.com/

Earlier: NewsBusters: BHDC the Perez Hilton of Political Blogs

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (7) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Newsbusters.org, along with other misguided blogs, tried to debunk our Ron Paul story, but couldn’t, so one of its commenters decided to compliment Big Head DC by calling us the “Perez Hilton of political blogs.” They also called us liberal. Fancy that. Yes, it’s been a good year, kids.

Earlier: Perez Hilton Spotted Being Fat in Washington, DC

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (5) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

Tonight at 6:02 p.m., the Baltimore Sun confirmed all aspects of Big Head DC’s story from yesterday morning regarding Ron Paul and the upcoming FOX News GOP presidential forum:

Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire State Republican Committee, confirmed Sunday evening to the Tribune that, yes, there will be a televised Fox News presidential candidate forum on Jan. 6, and yes, Rep. Ron Paul was not invited when the other candidates were a week or so ago.

“My understanding is that five candidates to that point had been offered spots but the event is still coming together,” Cullen said.

The candidates invited to the forum/debate – whatever you want to call it – will be Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. Fred Thompson.

Cullen said the event, which is set to take place two days before the New Hampshire primary, will be held in the afternoon or evening at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, N.H. When asked if Fox News, which is co-sponsoring the debate with the NH party, planned to invite Paul later, Cullen said he didn’t know.

“It’s really premature. Just the other day candidates started to accept invitations.”

On Saturday, Paul called Fox News “scared of me.” They “don’t want my message to get out, but it will,” according to The Boston Globe’s Primary Source blog.

“They are propagandists for this war and I challenge them on the notion that they are conservative.”

On Sunday night, Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said the campaign remains angry, and in the dark.

“We have not heard anything else today,” he said. “[Fox] continues to ignore our calls.”

To date, Big Head DC has not received word whether FOX News will extend an invitation to Paul, nor an explanation of why he wasn’t invited in the first place.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (5) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink

FOX News is facing loads of criticism from Ron Paul supporters who claim the network purposely excluded the GOP presidential candidate from participating in a Jan. 6 forum scheduled on the network, which was reported first on Big Head DC on Thursday.

The forum, which will be hosted by FOX newsman Chris Wallace, was organized by the New Hampshire Republican Party, but political organizers have told Big Head DC that the decision to exclude Paul was not made by the state GOP.

When Big Head DC first reported on the debate, several Paul supporters posited that Fergus Cullen, Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, was behind the exclusion. Many were especially angry that Fred Thompson was invited to be included in the forum (along with Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney) when Paul has managed to raise more money than Thompson, and is beating the candidate in some polls. 

Paul’s campaign managers are now focusing their criticism on FOX News. “Given Ron Paul’s support in New Hampshire and his recent historic fundraising success, it is outrageous that Dr. Paul would be excluded,” Paul 2008 campaign chairman Kent Snyder said in a press release issued Friday evening. “Dr. Paul has consistently polled higher in New Hampshire than some of the other candidates who have been invited.”

Snyder added, “Paul supporters should know that we are continuing to make inquiries with FOX News as to why they have apparently excluded Dr. Paul from this event.”

To date, FOX News hasn’t answered requests for comment from Big Head DC on this issue.

................................................................................................................................................................................................
comments (22) | digg this | reddit | facebook | del.icio.us | stumble | permalink