Three Teens Collect 170,000 Signatures Asking For A Female Moderator Of A Presidential Debate

[Neoma]

A woman has not moderated a Presidential debate in 20 years. In fact, only one woman — Carole Simpson of ABC– has filled that position since the Commission on Presidential Debates started hosting the events in 1988.

Three teenagers from New Jersey are looking to change that. Emma Axelrod, 16, Sammi Siegel, 15, and Elena Tsemberis, 16, started a petition to the commission that picks moderators asking them to consider a woman for the post. That quickly grew to over 117,000 signatures, and another petition, directly to the candidates, garnered another 53,000.

The girls are excited about their success, and now they’re taking the petition where it counts –right to the commission that decides on a moderator. ThinkProgress got a chance to speak with Emma, Sammi, and Elena while they were on their way to Washington to drop off their petition and sit down with the commission.

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[libodem]

1. I listened to this piece on NPR

Very important story.

[alp227]

3. Yes, Ifill did the VP debates.

[4th law of robotics]

4. It would be a stronger argument if they presented a few women

they wanted to hold such a position rather than simply "a woman".

Saying "this woman, Mrs. X, is perfectly qualified and in the name of diversity you should include her" is a better argument than "we don't care who she is, just stick some female in the role".

[yardwork]

9. Exactly, and we see the results of asking for a token woman.

Candy Crowley.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Fact of the matter is, though, we don't even know what the format of the debates is going to be.

It may not really matter all that much who is sitting in that chair.

[spooky3]

14. I think their point is that there are dozens of women who are qualified to

serve as moderators, and that given that many are available and have been for some time, one has to question why NO woman has ever been asked to serve as a moderator. It often takes pressure and mobilization to get people to stop excluding, or failing to consider or choose, qualified candidates based on race, gender, or other irrelevant considerations.

I think you have the wrong perspective on the problem.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. WP: Candy Crowley To Moderate Presidential Debate

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/candy-crowley-to-moderate-a-presidential-debate-i-am-wowed/2012/08/13/gJQAV2W6sX_blog.html

[yardwork]

6. Just like Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court. /nt

[Warren DeMontague]

7. ...really?

I mean, look, I'm not a big fan of CNN nor do I particularly have a strong opinion either way about Candy Crowley; but, the thread was, we should have a female Presidential debate moderator, and now there's going to be a female Presidential debate moderator. How many reporters on CNN aren't putzes? ...Wolf Blitzer? C'mon.

Certainly, I'd like to see someone like Rachel Maddow, but realistically that's probably not very likely. At least it's not someone from FOX.

[yardwork]

8. Really. Candy Crowley is a hateful shill for the Republicans.

This was an extremely cynical choice.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. I stopped watching CNN in 2004

so I'm honestly not that familiar with her.

[yardwork]

11. I don't own a TV but I've seen clips of her "interviews."

She was a pathetic shill for w and is openly biased against Democrats. Really nauseating.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. That sucks.

Like I said, it'd be cool to get Rachel Maddow up there, but that's not going to happen.