We need this!
I wrote a lighthearted diary yesterday about the
2016 Presidential Debate Schedules.
As I was researching, I discovered that the RNC already has firm commitments for many of their nine scheduled debates. Using the same source, I discovered that none of the DNC's six planned debates have actually been scheduled. No actual date, no time, no venue and no sponsor. I also found some other very disturbing information.
Before we get too far into this, let's back up and take a look at how the 2008 Democratic Primary Debates were handled.
In 2008, there were eight candidates running for the nomination. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, John Edward, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. There were a total of 26 presidential debates and the first was on April 26, 2007 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Two more debates were conducted in June, another two in July and by the end of August, a total of nine debates had been conducted. By the end of December, a full 17 debates had been aired.
It wasn't until January 3, 2008 when the first candidates, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd withdrew from the race. They were followed by Bill Richardson on January 9, Dennis Kucinich on the 24th and John Edwards on the 30th.
Things certainly have changed since 2008. As we approach the end of July, when we had already seen five debates in 2008, we have seen none. Granted, that many of the five candidates vying for the nomination in 2016 joined the race at later dates, we have yet to have a single debate. Even more disturbing, as I write this, there is not a single one of the planned six Democratic debates that have even been scheduled!
The DNC released it's schedule on May 5th 2015. Details were vague at best, six debates would be held, the first four in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina and the remaining two to be determined. No hosts were announced nor were any firm dates. In the link above, the schedule indicates that the first planned debate is to be held sometime in August or September.
If you compare this with the RNC debate schedule that was released on January 16, 2015 you find that not only did the RNC announce there would be nine debates, with the possibility of adding three more, but they announced the state for each debate and which news organizations would be conducting them. On May 15th, 2015, the RNC announce that their first debate would take place on August 6th, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio and would be hosted by FOX News.
At this late date, it seems nearly impossible that one could select a venue, pick a date, obtain a sponsor and take care of the necessary logistics to actually conduct a debate by the end of August. The republicans announced their first debate nearly 3 months in advance of the actual debate.
Follow me over the fold and we'll look at some of the disturbing news I found.
The first article that caught my attention was this July 10th story from the Huffington Post titled, DNC Chair Says Candidates Must Meet 'Threshold' For Debates, Though Criteria And Dates Still Unclear. As the title suggests, the DNC has plans for some "Threshold" before our candidates will be able to participate.
Democratic presidential candidates will have to meet a certain “threshold” to participate in the party’s six scheduled primary debates, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Thursday, though she did not specify which criteria, such as state or national polling, will be used to determine who qualifies.
“It’ll be a threshold that’ll be expansive and allows for the maximum inclusion of our major party candidates," Wasserman Schultz told MSNBC’s Ari Melber. She said the DNC hasn’t “quite finished formulating the details” for the debates, including specific dates, locations and media sponsors.
Apparently, they just haven't decided what criteria to use to eliminate our candidates participation, but hey, they're working on it and they'll let us know when they decide! With only five candidates running, I'm really have to wonder why they want to eliminate any of them.
The same article indicates Bernie Sanders expressed some concerns with the schedule:
The DNC’s plan drew criticism from Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who urged Wasserman Schultz to accelerate the schedule and start debates during the summer, as well as to consider including Republican contenders. “I believe we need to go beyond the bounds of traditional party debates,” Sanders wrote in a letter.
It's understandable Sanders would want more debates given that national media exposure likely benefits him and any candidates not named Hillary Clinton. She already has worldwide name recognition, is a clear front-runner in the polls, and presumably has the most to lose by getting on the debate stage. Some Democrats have suggested the DNC is protecting Clinton by sanctioning only six debates.
In response to Sanders' request, a DNC spokeswoman reiterated on June 1 that the committee would continue with the six-debate framework and said more details would be provided "in the coming weeks.”
It's nearly the end of July, how many more weeks do we have to wait before we find out when our candidates are going to have their first debate? And how many of them will be eliminated based on the DNC's arbitrary threshold?
And what is this about "Some Democrats have suggested the DNC is protecting Clinton by sanctioning only six debates"?
That question led me to the article by Business Insider titled, Clinton rival accuses Democrats of rigging debate schedule to help Hillary A snippet from that article:
One Democratic 2016 campaign adviser who spoke to Business Insider said they believe the Democratic National Committee’s debate schedule was “worked out” to benefit Hillary Clinton and hurt her opponents.
The adviser, who requested anonymity in order to speak frankly about the party’s campaign arm, suggested the DNC is hosting a small number of debates in an attempt to give Clinton’s more low profile rivals “less screen time.” They also suggested the relatively late schedule of the debates will make it harder for Clinton’s lesser known rivals to introduce themselves to voters.
Less screen time? ...make it harder for Clinton’s lesser known rivals to introduce themselves to voters?
It's starting to look like the DNC has an agenda here! What is the DNC afraid of? Are they afraid that if Hillary Clinton has to go on stage and debate the other candidates that her support might fall? Are they trying to make sure that what happened to the inevitable Hillary Clinton in 2008 by Obama doesn't happen again in 2016? It certainly starting to appear that way!
With the time necessary to schedule debates, find venues, obtain news organizations to cover those debates, it may be months before we see our first real debate. Using the RNC's announcement that came nearly 3 months before their August 6th debate, we may be waiting until the end of October before we see the first Democratic debate.
Our voters deserve better than this. We deserve an opportunity to get to know our candidates, hear what they have to say, debate and defend their positions against the other candidates so, we the voters, can make an informed decision on which candidate we think is best to represent us. It appears the DNC wants to inhibit our ability to make that determination.
This morning, I sent the following email to the DNC and a copy directly to Debbie Wasserman Schultz. If I hear back from either of them, I will update the diary with their responses.
2016 Democratic Presidential Debate Schedule
Could you please give me any and all details you have on the scheduling of the Democratic Presidential debates?
I am writing a story for the DailyKos pointing out the fact that at this time, no debates have been scheduled and no plans have been forthcoming.
The RNC has already scheduled it's first debate that will occur on Aug 6th, and other debates dates are already scheduled.
Although I understand 6 debates are planned, you have yet to actually schedule a single one. It takes time to organize a debate. It is important that our voters hear the positions of our candidates and hear them debate their proposals with one another.
Much of my research indicates there are some who believe the DNC is intentionally manipulating the debate schedule to benefit Hillary Clinton. Those claim that the reduced number of debates and the late scheduling is meant to deprive lesser known candidates of "less screen time" with the voters.
As much as I would like not to believe the DNC would engage in such tactics, all visual appearances seem to indicate that is exactly what is occurring.
Please respond at your earliest convenience. Our democracy and the integrity of our election process is at stake.
Thank you for your consideration and responses.
Schultz is the head of the DNC and the blame for the delays in scheduling these debates lies solely with her. I urge you to contact both the DNC and DWS directly demanding that our debates be scheduled as soon as possible so we can begin to determine which candidate we want to represent us in the 2016 elections.
You can reach the DNC at their website Democratic National Committee
You can find the email address for Debbie Wasserman Schultz here.
There is also a change.org petition you can sign Give Senator Bernie Sanders a Fair Chance by Increasing Number of Sanctioned Debates
And for you Facebook fans, you might want to check out this pagewhich is organizing a protest at the DNC demanding more debates.
Please take action! The integrity of our election depends on it.