UPDATE: You can watch the debate live stream here.
Cindy Hyde-Smith is determined that as few people as possible watch her crash and burn in tonight's debate with Mike Espy. We learned of her demands for the conditions of the debate, and among the ones that were (astonishingly) granted were: (1) No audience, and (2) No outside press.
The Espy Campaign initially rejected these particular conditions, but eventually gave in. According to the Jackson Free Press,
When she faces off against Democratic challenger Mike Espy at 7 p.m., only the debate moderator, panelists and the production team will be allowed in the auditorium—a requirement the Hyde-Smith campaign pushed for and the Espy team argued against.
Espy Communications Director Danny Blanton remains confident — at least outwardly — that the debate will be conducted fairly. The rest of us aren't so sure, given that the Mississippi Farm Bureau is hosting the debate, and all the top board members of that Bureau are donors to Hyde-Smith's campaign. Does anyone wonder why they are the only debate host to which Hyde-Smith would agree?
Among the other debate particulars Hyde-Smith could not handle:
— Each of the participants asking each other one question directly (Instead, questions are pre-submitted, asked by the moderator.)
— Having no notes (She wanted an entire binder. She is only getting a notepad with crib sheets.)
— Having access to the notepad before the debate begins (Instead, someone else will place it on the podium right before the debate begins.)
What a snowflake. What a coward. Par for the course for the Republican racist who cannot open her mouth without telling the world she wishes she lived in the 1820s South. She knows it. Her team knows it. This is why she never talks to the press.
On the campaign trail, Hyde-Smith’s team has often sought to minimize her media exposure. Her campaign declined to have her join the Jackson Free Press for a sit-down interview to discuss the issues as Espy and her vanquished opponent McDaniel did. On multiple occasions, the Jackson Free Press has sought to ask her questions at campaign stops, but she would only answer after conferring with and making sure her communications director, Melissa Scallan, was nearby.
And she hopes no one will see it in the debate. How wrong she is. We've already seen the real her. Hasn't she learned that? In today's world, the amount of time between the debate tonight and next week's election on Nov. 27 may as well be eons. We'll be writing about what she said in the debate before she puts on her jammies tonight, and is snug in bed reading Gone With The Wind.
