Democrats 'didn't act in good faith' over 2016 presidential primary debate limit
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Version 0 of 1. An advisor to a presidential campaign has accused the Democratic National Committee of “not negotiating in good faith” over plans to limit the number of debates in the party’s 2016 presidential primary. The DNC announced on Tuesday that it would only authorise six debates in the party’s 2016 primary, 22 fewer than the number held in 2008. Starting in October, each of the four states holding early nominating contests (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada) will each hold one debate as will two other states to be determined. The DNC will also introduce an “exclusivity clause” which would ban candidates from official debates if they appeared in ones which it had not sanctioned. However, according to the campaign advisor, the DNC had originally ruled out an exclusivity clause saying it was “undemocratic” and such a rule would be “unfair and too punitive”. The aide claimed the DNC had not “negotiated in good faith with campaigns” and that “the cake was baked” from the start. The advisor predicted that “the DNC is going to find the schedule unenforceable. It will fall apart”. The Republicans were the first to use an exclusivity clause. They wanted to avoid a repeat of a problem seen in 2012 when the inclusion of fringe candidates in televised debates forced establishment candidates to pivot to the right and take positions that would not be appealing in a general election. Mo Elleithee, the communications director for the DNC, said: “We realized every now and again that the Republican Party has good ideas.” The DNC also defended the limit on the number of debates. Elleithee referenced the myriad of debates in the 2008 Democratic primary and said when debates are that frequent “it begins to overwhelm the processes, becomes all consuming for campaigns and becomes less impactful for voters. Elleithee defined a debate that would violate the rule, as opposed to a forum, as a situation where candidates were interacting and on the stage at the same time. While he declined to get into the internal workings of the DNC and how this comes about, he noted “all decisions come through the chair.” The exclusivity clause was not the only new rule this year. The DNC is also going to implement “a uniform criteria for inclusion” so that candidates wouldn’t have to face moving goal posts to enter each debate. The various Democratic campaigns responded in different ways to the DNC’s announcement. Spokespeople for both former Senator Jim Webb and for former Governor Martin O’Malley seemed less than pleased with the DNC’s statement. Craig Crawford, a spokesman for Webb, told the Guardian: “We really aren’t focused on debates right now, have not even discussed them internally, or externally. Wouldn’t it be surprising if Iowa Dems accept just one debate?” Lis Smith, a top O’Malley aide, issued a statement saying “If Governor O’Malley decides to run, we will expect a full, robust, and inclusive set of debates—both nationally and in early primary and caucus states. This has been customary in previous primary seasons. In a year as critical as 2016, exclusivity does no one any favors.” In contrast, Hillary Clinton’s campaign issued a positive tweet about the debate saying she was on board with the DNC’s plan. Tad Devine, a strategist for senator Bernie Sanders, said that he had only heard from the DNC about debate rules on Tuesday. The veteran operative said that he had never heard the Democratic Party using the exclusivity rule before and called it “a new wrinkle.” He thought debates were important and had concerns about the DNC presenting these rules as a “fait accompli.” However, Devine made clear “certainly nobody beefing about it” and that he had little desire to have “a debate about debates.” He simply thought that eventually campaigns could “talk to each other to find some common ground and the party would be receptive to agreements negotiated” between the respective campaigns. In contrast to the Democrats, the Republican party is scheduled to hold between nine and twelve different debates and the first will be held in August. |