R.N.C. Signals a Pullout From Presidential Debates

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Times

The Republican National Committee is preparing to change its rules to require presidential candidates seeking the party’s nomination to sign a pledge to not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Republican committee officials alerted the debate commission to their plans in a letter sent on Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. If the change goes forward, it would be one of the most substantial shifts in how presidential and vice-presidential debates have been conducted since the commission began organizing debates more than 30 years ago.

The nonprofit commission, founded by the two parties in 1987 to codify the debates as a permanent part of presidential elections, describes itself as nonpartisan. But Republicans have complained for nearly a decade that its processes favor the Democrats, mirroring increasing rancor from conservatives toward Washington-based institutions.

The move by the R.N.C. was an outgrowth of those long-held complaints and came after months of discussions between the commission and party officials. According to the R.N.C.’s letter, the chairman of the party’s temporary presidential debate committee, David Bossie, began discussions last year with the debate commission’s co-chairman, Frank Fahrenkopf, a former Republican official.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/us/politics/republican-presidential-debate-dispute.html

[kimbutgar]

1. If you are too much of a coward to debate your opponent you have no business being President

The American people have a right to hear a debate being the two candidates of the different parties.

Repukes are such pussy COWARDS !!!!!

[JohnSJ]

2. +++

[vlyons]

12. Don't insult pussies

Mine has a million times more integrity than those assholes

[AZLD4Candidate]

13. As per Betty White (actually from Hal Sparks_

[OhZone]

28. This!

[kimbutgar]

24. Mine also!!!!

[OhZone]

29. Mine as well!

[EndlessWire]

33. LOL! n/t

[Baitball Blogger]

20. Autocratics don't make excuses for their behavior.

[ArizonaLib]

3. Wasn't this more about Ross Perot types splitting votes?

They will regret this when Trump's exclusive hold on the party dies or dissipates. Pulling out is a Trumpian type solution - short sighted and self destructive.

[NCjack]

4. No surprise here. Trump and trumpsters can't tolerate the moderators

calling out their lies. which occur at the rate of 3 lies in every 2 sentences.

[Gore1FL]

5. I hope the Democratic Candidate takes advantage of the free unopposed air time. nt

[Mme. Defarge]

7. Beat me to it!

[Mme. Defarge]

6. Then the Democratic candidate should show up

and be given the entire nationally televised time-slot to answer the moderators’ questions.

[LiberalLovinLug]

25. I don't know why they don't do this.

I'd love it if they had a cardboard cutout version of the R opponent on stage as well.

And the Democratic candidate can ask for a response on some issue and wait............"Oh, nothing to say on that? Too afraid to show up and answer?" And repeat that for every issue.

[CTyankee]

8. Of course! That makes perfect sense!

They lose in a fair fight. It MUST be rigged and it cannot look rigged, hence no debates showing how utterly awful their candidate is, proof positive that the GOP is the party of loony RW cranks who don't want to believe science or history.

[vlyons]

9. RNC -- What? Us answer questions? Don't be absurd

Republicans have only 2 policies: 1) stay in power by any means, 2) Do what Exxon, Wall St, and the war machine tell us to do. Their answer to all other questions is to hem and haw while saying bullshit

[OAITW r.2.0]

10. When you stand for nothing, this is the result.

No platform, no debates, no information to help the voter decide what Party represents their interests best.

[EndlessWire]

34. Yep. n/t

[FakeNoose]

39. Great list of deficiencies

How about adding this one: No diligence in the vetting of candidates

On the other hand, our Party is probably overly diligent!

[left-of-center2012]

11. Republicans are changing all the rules

And they're changing the laws on voting in states where they're able to do so.

This is just part of the ongoing GOP coup of America.

I am afraid too many people are just going to roll over and let it happen.

Republicans are stealing the show while too many people are thinking
"Gee, we really ought to do something."

[inthewind21]

26. People have been

rolling over for it for years. Now that we're there, everyone seems shocked.

[Hortensis]

14. One candidate, no platform, no debate acknowledging a choice.

This graph is for data as of 2018. Think of the severe worsening in the Republican Party since, which is considered comparable to Viktor Orban's in Hungary.

Trump's endorsed Orban in the "election" being held there, of course. That there's any election at all is a victory; Orban's legislature voted to give him the power to rule by decree just last year.

AND NOTE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S STABLE, PRINCIPLED BLUE LINE.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=691

[uncle ray]

15. Cancel culture!

[Mme. Defarge]

16. It's a way to prevent attempted murder on stage

of the Democratic opponent, which, IMO, is a good thing.

[FakeNoose]

40. Yes but that happened because Chump refused to submit to a Covid test

Then he got on the stage and screamed his bloody fool head off.

Had he been tested he would have been found positive, and the debate would have been cancelled.

No one else is that crazy, even among the Repukes.

[captain queeg]

17. Trump was so awful at debates. He got by in 2016 with sympathetic moderators

In 2020 he was so offensive and idiotic I’m sure it drove off some undecided voters. But on the other hand he has such a high opinion of himself he thinks he crushed it. The Rs are trying to protect themselves. TFG will probably be upset by not being able to debate, with a Fox moderator of course.

[left-of-center2012]

18. I guess the GOP debates will have ...

Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity as moderators.

[ShazamIam]

19. The Republican candidates never debate anyway, they always just spew the conservative talking

points, then repeat them no matter what the question. The Republican is often declared the winner of the debate after breaking every debate rule, repeatedly.

[RAB910]

21. If I ran terrible people with terrible views I wouldn't want to debate either

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

22. They don't want their candidates looking any dumber than they already are.

[Firestorm49]

23. Cowards. They just can't seem to get a handle on anything.

[inthewind21]

27. Oh but

They have a handle on pretty much everything.

[OhZone]

30. Commission on Presidential Debates should allow the Dem candidate

- to debate another anti-GOP Candidate.

And the topic will be why is the GOP Candidate so horrible.

Ha

[milestogo]

31. Why don't we just skip the election too and have a coronation?

[Turbineguy]

32. Sounds reasonable

they want power, they don't need to be elected.

[andym]

35. Would Trump really agree to this? He loves any attention he can get

debates included. I suppose this only would apply if Trump is not their candidate.

[CousinIT]

36. In Fascist authoritarian dictatorships, debates are unnecessary. n/t

[onetexan]

37. Yup, RNC/GOP have gone full fascist; no need for debates when the end goal is to steal the election.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

38. This is an admission that Republicans are simply too stupid and deliberately evil to

debate Democrats

[Mysterian]

41. Nazi fuhrers don't debate

They just give orders.