The real test for Hillary Clinton is the first debate of the primaries..

[Jim Lane]

33. We can still hope that this effort to boost Clinton by stifling debate will fail.

You say that "in 2016, there is a schedule." I hope that this proposal to cut debates by more than 75% doesn't get implemented.

You write, "The party leadership gets to decide how and when debates happen." The party leadership has never before even tried to exercise such a power. This cycle would be the first time, and the obvious reason is that the party leadership wants to help Clinton. Clear evidence of that is that the proposal is not only the party leadership grab that power for the first time, but that it then exercise it in a way that would benefit Clinton vis-a-vis the other candidates.

You write, "I find the notion that Candidate Clinton is so powerful that the whole of the Democratic Party Establishment will role over and wag their tail for her to be disgusting." I don't see what's disgusting about taking a realistic look at who has clout where. It's disgusting that ISIS is beheading people but to report that disgusting fact is to state the truth. In Democratic Party politics, I'll assert that Howard Dean was replaced as DNC Chair because Obama decided that he wanted Tim Kaine instead. The DNC then duly voted in accordance with Obama's wishes. Do you find that assertion disgusting?

In the present case, Clinton could say one of these things:
* "I'm not going to be restricted in exposing my ideas to the crucible of public debates. In 2008, when we had more than two dozen debates, I criticized Barack Obama for not debating even more, and I expect to receive and accept a comparable number of debate invitations this time. If that means the DNC bars me from a handful of debates it sanctions, so be it, I'll still be in many more debates than the six they're talking about."
* "I think this proposal is a bad idea. The DNC shouldn't try to decide when and how debates happen. If it does try to exercise such a power, it shouldn't use it to truncate the debate schedule by more than 75%."

If she said either of these things, the proposal would die, with or without tail-wagging.