DNC Chair Says Candidates Must Meet 'Threshold' For Debates, Though Criteria And Dates Still Unclear

[WillyT]

DNC Chair Says Candidates Must Meet 'Threshold' For Debates, Though Criteria And Dates Still Unclear
Michael Calderone - HuffPo
Posted: 07/10/2015 4:50 pm EDT Updated: 10 minutes ago

<snip>

NEW YORK -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Thursday that declared presidential candidates will have to meet a certain “threshold” to participate in the party’s six scheduled primary debates, but 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.

The lack of clarity has been frustrating to both campaigns and major TV networks, the latter of which produce the debates and need to book venues and handle logistical details well in advance.

In May, the DNC announced plans to hold six primary debates, four of which would be held in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. The DNC said debates would begin in "the fall of 2015," though didn't specify when.

<snip>

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/10/democratic-debate-criteria_n_7772156.html

[Ed Suspicious]

1. What do we have - 5, 6 candidates? I would think we could fit them all on stage.

[Scootaloo]

4. There's actually quite a number

The following are all the (thus far) declared candidates for the democratic party nomination for president:

Howell Astor
Morrison Bonpasse
Jeff Boss
Harry Braun
Andy Caffrey
Willie Carter
Lincoln Chafee
Hillary Clinton
Lloyd Kelso
Martin O'Malley
Bernie Sanders
Doug Shreffler
Michael Steinberg
Jim Webb
Robby Wells
Willie Wilson
Brad Winslow

Who are these people? Well... basically whoever has done all the filing and publically declared is, in fact, a declared candidate.

[Le Taz Hot]

6. Yeah, I'm not gettin' this.

They have to meet an-as-of-yet-to-be-determined threshold for primaries that will be "sometime in the fall." Could we possibly be any more vague?

[Scootaloo]

2. I assume there will be a "no hats indoors" policy...

Keep fighting, Vermin!

[Man of Distinction]

20. Vermin Supreme hasn't declared....

He would be a wonderful candidate...

[Buns_of_Fire]

28. Who else will protect us against zombies...

...AND give everybody a free pony?

You da man, Vermin!

Feel The Verm!

[HooptieWagon]

3. She's desparately trying to figure out how to exclude Bernie...

...without appearing to be the partisan hack she is. We're watching , Debbie.

[Cali_Democrat]

7. "She's desperately trying to figure out how to exclude Bernie"

You're paranoid.

Bernie is currently polling 2nd place and is a member of the US Senate.

He will not be excluded. I think they're looking at excluding some of the other candidates.

See the post above.

[morningfog]

12. If that were so, a simple 5 or 10% national polling

cutoff would suffice. Easy peasy. But she said that is not the criteria, or at least not the only criteria.

She's complicating it for a reason. And delaying scheduling for a reason.

[Man of Distinction]

23. As if she's trying to slow down the Berniementum

which is already too late, and she must schedule two for August and September per the debate calendar. One in IA and one in NH.

And throwing in exclusivity rule ON top of the 6 bates as compared to 2012 which had 20 debates of varying topics.

I predict it will backfire on Clinton. When people learns that there *IS* an authentic choice other than Clinton, and speaks of their issues at hand better than Clinton, then Bernie's will meet that threshold required for the nomination not just in NH and IA, but EVERYWHERE.

M$M can control what they air, but cannot control what social media has to offer. Bernie has done very well in that regards. It's like a wildfire.

[mythology]

40. Not necessarily.

If you put the support at 5 percent, somebody like Jim Webb or Lincoln Chafee may not be at that threshold, but both qualify as semi-mainstream candidates.

I think they are trying to find a way to get the "real" candidates (I don't think Webb or Chafee are realistically viable candidates) in the debates, but not the random people nobody has heard of who are technically running.

Also at some point in the future, Democrats may have a similar problem as the Republicans where there are 15 to 20 people who are known names and currently the Republicans have no idea how to run their debates.

[PoliticAverse]

11. Extremely unlikely. What is more likely is they are deciding which of the declared candidates

(the list of declared candidates likely longer than you think, see: http://2016.democratic-candidates.org/ )
they want to be in the debate and what 'objective' criteria/rules they can come up with to exclude
the ones they don't want.

I'm sure Sanders will make the cut.

[morningfog]

14. A simple polling threshold would do that.

Perhaps they will only invite those polling at or above 5% and who are registered Dems?

[PoliticAverse]

16. Perhaps but you see they'd need to wait until much later to announce the threshold...

because polling numbers can change greatly between now and the first debate.

[HooptieWagon]

17. No. They don't have to set a percentage bar.

All they have to do is announce the top 4 (or 5) polling candidates will be included in the debate. Easy peasy.

[PoliticAverse]

18. That assumes they just want to get the "top 4 or 5" instead of first selecting the people they want

in the debate and then finding the threshold that doesn't cut any of the out.

[kenfrequed]

26. No. Not likely

Actually, from a tactical point of view the establishment Democrats want as few debates as possible with as many candidates as possible. That favors name recognition as the deciding factor which favors Hillary.

[Renew Deal]

36. She's probably trying to figure out how to exclude Chafee.

[morningfog]

5. The DNC hopes Bernie exits before the debates.

Hillary has everything to lose and nothing to gain debating Bernie.

[PoliticAverse]

19. She couldn't possibly win a debate with Sanders and convert supporters over? n/t

[morningfog]

21. She can maintain of make a mistake.

[Renew Deal]

37. People easily forget 2008.

And the times she was dragged in front of congress. She's a ferocious debater and very smart.

[morningfog]

8. Notice the "threshold" is not simply the polling.

That is the concerning part. There is no way to exclude Bernie based on the polling. The "threshold" could be some other measure that would exclude Bernie.

[HooptieWagon]

9. Exactly!

DWS tried to rig Floridas primary for Hillary in '08. She will keep trying to tilt the field in Hillarys favor. You can bet on it. Understand, the reason the Third Way exists isn't to get Democrats elected...it exists to make a firewall to liberals getting elected. DWS is paid to do a hit, she'll try her best to carry it out.

[morningfog]

10. This isn't a complicated question Debbie.

[Scuba]

41. Bingo!

[Vinca]

13. If they come up with that kind of "threshhold" a whole lot of people

will be writing in Bernie's name in the general. I know I will. If Hillary wins the primary fair and square she's got my vote. If they mess with Bernie, the deal is off.

[Ed Suspicious]

34. My thoughts exactly.

[MuseRider]

15. This would probably

Be a good way to assure he would climb all up over Hillary. I don't trust her/them but I think they know they have to include him.

[HFRN]

22. it will be one percent above what Bernie has nt

[CTBlueboy]

24. Dear God plz replace DWS

She's turning Dem party into the RNC

[Le Taz Hot]

25. Why would they?

She's doing EXACTLY what she's supposed to do -- sandbag the debates as long as she can in the hopes that it will give Hillary an advantage.

[kenfrequed]

27. True.

Delay the debates, reduce the number of debates and increase the number of debators.

[Scootaloo]

32. An advantage with whom?

The Americans who have seen Hillary Clinton since 1992 and have decided they will vote for her in the 2016 primaries...

Or

The Americans who have seen Hillary Clinton since 1992 and have decided that they will not vote for her i nthe 2016 primaries?

[HooptieWagon]

43. Her track record is abysmal.

Dems losing seats in '10, '12, and '14. Lost the House and Senate under her chairmanship. How does someone so incompetent keep their job? Unless her job is to block liberals from being elected moreso than defeating republicans...in that case she's very successful.

[tritsofme]

29. Silly season, they're laying out rules to exclude Lee Mercer Jr, not Sanders.

[Buns_of_Fire]

33. This imperils all of Western Civilization, not only the election.

Who can deny that Jeb is not all in our house with disease?

Vote as you will, America. The future of the Republic is in your gravy-stained hands.

[Gothmog]

30. Unlike the GOP debates, the main Democratic candidates will have no issues

I fully expect Clinton, Sanders, O'Malley, Chaffe and Webb to qualify for these debates

[frazzled]

31. What about these 3 candidates ...

who have formally announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination and have filed with the FEC ?


Jeff Boss
9/11 Truther and perennial candidate from New Jersey

Robby Wells
Former head football coach at Savannah State

Willie Wilson
Businessman and 2015 Chicago mayoral candidate from Illinois

Should the party include them (and possibly others who may announce and file)? Shall we have a clown-car debate? Haven't there been thresholds in previous cycles?

[DemocraticWing]

35. It will have to be a low threshold so they include O'Malley, Chafee, and Webb

I doubt the DNC wants just the top 2, since just Hillary vs Bernie would probably benefit Sanders immensely.

[restorefreedom]

38. they also want to include enough

that bernie does not get too much talk time

[CharlotteVale]

39. Your name has to be Hillary.

[hobbit709]

42. She shouldn't talk about "threshold" since she can't meet the threshold for being a Democrat.