The rank-and-file in the Democratic Party are siding with Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders in demanding more pre-primary debates between the candidates.
CREDO Action launched a petition titled, “Tell the Democratic National Committee: Let the Candidates debate!”
It reads in part:
Informed debate is at the heart of our democracy – but the Democratic National Committee appears to be going to great lengths to severely limit debate between the 2016 Democratic presidential candidates.
In 2008, the Democratic candidates debated 26 times during the primary. This year, the Democratic party has announced only six debates, and has gone even further, introducing an exclusivity clause which disqualifies from the debates any candidate that participates in additional, unsanctioned candidate forums.
In a campaign environment dominated by unlimited spending on 30-second television ads and media coverage that obsesses over the “horse-race,” the debates are one of the few opportunities to hear a conversation about serious issues between the candidates on a major stage.
“Voters decide who will be the nominee. Not the media, not the Democratic National Committee,” the petition states, “and hopefully not whichever billionaire is writing the biggest SuperPAC checks. But those voters need to actually hear from the candidates.”
As of this writing, the petition has 29,207 signatures.
The Sanders campaign has its own petition on its website. Its titled, “Debate Early and Often: Ask the Democratic Party to start the presidential debates.”
Martin O’Malley has been dogged in his pursuit for more debates.
He appeared on MSNBC earlier this week and declared the DNC’s actions to limit debates to be “undemocratic.”
“There are people throughout Iowa and New Hampshire who are outraged that the Democratic Party is trying to act in such an undemocratic way. So I think you will see more debates. I’m planning to go to as many debates as I possibly can.”
He added, “What have we come to as a party that we are so poor that we can’t afford to have more than one debate in Iowa and one debate in New Hampshire before the primary.
“It’s outrageous and people in our own party aren’t going to stand for this sort of meddling and limiting of debate that the DNC is trying to engage in.
“I think most in the DNC think this is a really bad idea.”
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