CBS: GOP 'Long Shot' Candidates Are After 'Lucrative TV Deals'

June 16th, 2015 11:20 AM

According to CBS on Tuesday, Republicans such as Rick Santorum and Ben Carson are "long shot" candidates running for president to make money or score a television deal on Fox. Reporter Julianna Goldman included clips of six GOP contenders, but not a single "long shot" Democrat. Instead, she ripped 'Don Quixote' conservatives. 

Goldman snidely insisted of the Republicans: "If they can stay in the race there is a lot to gain beyond the party's nomination, like cashing in with lucrative TV deals." She featured pollster Frank Luntz to dismiss the candidates: "There is an advantage in running for president in writing books and appearing on TV shows and getting speeches. Arguably, you lose about a year's worth of income and you get as much as ten years in value." 

The journalist never mentioned 2016 Democratic candidates Lincoln Chafee, Martin O'Malley or Bernie Sanders. Chafee has an average of .08 percent in the polls. O'Malley is at 2.3 percent. Sanders scores 11.5 percent. 

How are they not "long shots" who might have ulterior motives? Carson (who was featured in the segment) polls at 9.4 percent, far outpacing Chafee and O'Malley. Goldman summed up the Republicans as "money, issues and ego." 

A transcript of the June 16 CBS This Morning segment is below: 

7:35am ET

CHARLIE ROSE: Donald Trump may announce this morning that he is running for president. If he does, the Republican field will grow to 12 candidates. At least four others are likely to join the race as well. Only one of them can be the nominee. But that is not the only reason to get into the race. Julianna Goldman is here to show us how even the long shots have something to gain. Julianna, good morning. 

JULIANNA GOLDMAN: Good morning. Well this year the number Republicans getting in is unprecedented. They may not have the poll numbers, campaign cash or the support of the party establishment but with a wide-open primary and no obvious front-runner, many are saying why not? 

LINDSEY GRAHAM: I'm Lindsey Graham and I'm running for president for of the United States. 

RICK SANTORUM: I'm running for president of the United States. 

GOLDMAN: For many of these Republican presidential hopefuls, losing could still mean winning.                 

BEN CARSON: I'm Ben Carson. And I'm a candidate for president of the United States. 

GEORGE PATAKI:  This morning, I announce I am a candidate for the Republican nomination!

GOLDMAN: Because if they can stay in the race there is a lot to gain beyond the party’s nomination, like cashing in with lucrative TV deals. 

NEWT GINGRICH: Welcome back to Crossfire. 

GOLDMAN: And opportunities to sell some books along the way. Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 and scored his own cable show. 

MIKE HUCKABEE: Welcome to Huckabee from the Fox News studios in New York City. 

GOLDMAN: In 2012, Herman Cain was a former pizza executive and became a best-selling author after briefly rising to the top of the pack with a catchy tax plan. 

HERMAN CAIN: I will be president and I won't sign anything that raises the 999. 

GOLDMAN: And impressive debate performances. CBS News contributor and GOP strategist Frank Luntz says benefits can outweigh costs. 

FRANK LUNTZ: There is an advantage in running for president in writing books and appearing on TV shows and getting speeches. Arguably, you lose about a year's worth of income and you get as much as ten years in value. 

GOLDMAN: One wrinkle this cycle, with upwards of 16 likely candidates, many longshots won't even make it to the prime time debate stage. The Republican National Committee wants to limit participants after the debateathon four years ago where there were up to 30 contests. 

LARRY SABATO: If a candidate can't get into the debates, then it's going to be very difficult for those candidates to convince their staff and volunteers and donors to stick around. 

GOLDMAN: And it's during those debates that longshots, often operating without the savvy campaign structure and cash, can make their mark. 

RAND PAUL: I have a vision for America. 

GOLDMAN: For some candidates, that means shaping the national conversation. 

LUNTZ: Sometimes these Don Quixote type candidates have a greater impact than front runners because they bring a powerful issue to the forefront. 

RON PAUL: I don't think highly of the Federal Reserve. 

GOLDMAN: Like former Congressman Ron Paul. Three-time libertarian candidate who bashed the Federal Reserve and foreign intervention. 

SABATO: Policy and issues certainly drive some candidates. Lindsey Graham is an excellent example. He is not going to be the next president in all probability, but I think he’d be just as happy if he played a role in knocking Rand Paul out of the race. He has the opposite foreign policy views from Senator Rand Paul. 

GOLDMAN: Now even if candidates don't make it to the debate stage, they could still stay in if they have a well-funded Super PAC behind them. And you never know, around this time in 1991 Bill Clinton was in 14th place. 

NORAH O’DONNELL: That’s an interesting fact. 

GAYLE: That’s a really interesting point. And when you point out that you could lose a year in income but make up for it ten times, that’s a gamble a lot of people will take. 

GOLDMAN: Yep. Money, issue and egos. 

ROSE: I was going to say, egos. 

O’DONNELL; Egos is a good one, yes. 

O’DONNELL: Julianna thank you.