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.1

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.

Tell the Democratic National Committee: Let the candidates debate!

In 2008, Democratic primary debates started in April. But while the 2016 Presidential campaign is already well underway, the schedule released by the DNC doesn’t hold the first debate until this fall, meaning it could be another five months until voters have a chance to hear directly from the candidates.

The political media has shown repeatedly that...
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Marco Rubio, you have to quit talking about hip hop. I’m sure that flexing like you know rap may work at Young Republican gatherings and places like that, because they’re not cool either. But you’re running for president now, and that means the rest of us are listening to what you say. And you must stop talking about hip hop.

Sen. Rubio played himself once again last week on Fox News, when a host of “Outnumbered” tossed him a gimme: Since you say you love the Wu-Tang Clan, who is your favorite member?

Where’s that tiny, tiny bottle of water when you need it? Think, Marco, think.

Stumped. Couldn’t name a single one.
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The McKinney, Texas, police officer who is seen aggressively shoving and pinning down a teenage girl at a pool-party disturbance caught on video was named in a 2008 lawsuit by a black motorist who accused him of racial profiling, excessive force and falsifying information, federal court records show.

David Eric Casebolt, a veteran with the McKinney Police Department, was among at least three officers involved in a traffic incident in April 2007 that allegedly escalated to a “visual body cavity search.” The confrontation culminated in the arrest and drug conviction of a motorist named Albert Earl Brown Jr., who claimed in court papers that he was set up.

According to Brown’s lawsuit, Casebolt allegedly approached his parked vehicle, made comments about his clothes and the white female passengers he was with, and pulled down Brown’s pants to conduct a forcible search while another officer, Lee Keith, grabbed his head and slammed his face into the hood of the car with “intent to cause bodily harm.”

Initial press reports about the pool-party video identified Casebolt as “Eric,” but documents show Eric is his middle name.

While incarcerated in the Collin County Detention Facility, Brown filed a civil-rights lawsuit against Casebolt and the other officers, accusing them of charging him with a “fake charge” in an effort to cover up their behavior.
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