so debbie when are you going to set the debate schedule?

[restorefreedom]

The Republicans already have several scheduled. When you go to the Democratic page it has a few dates and locations, but the dates are just months not specific dates, and all of them have an asterisk next to them saying that the date (or month rather) is tentative. so they can't even commit to a specific month?

i am sick of ws dragging her feet. come up with the damn schedule already.

[Thinkingabout]

1. Patience is a virture.

[restorefreedom]

2. unfortunately, this race is not about just virtue

it is about setting this country on the right path for the future and to right the wrongs of massive inequality. The sooner people know where the candidates stand, the sooner they can make their decisions. Republicans have set the schedule up and they have a lot more candidates to deal with. The Democrats have five major candidates. This foot dragging is getting ridiculous.

[Thinkingabout]

15. Have you been keeping up with the news on reliable sources?

[Thinkingabout]

40. What are you talking about?

[Ed Suspicious]

37. Postponing debates as long as possible favors her candidate in a big way. Not surprising

you would call for patience.

[Thinkingabout]

41. Oh, I think the debates isn't going to favor your candidate. As soon as more find out his issues

are slim the story will be over.

[Ed Suspicious]

43. Well that's one opinion. If that's the case, lets get this show on the road. Let your

candidate shine!

[Thinkingabout]

54. The debates will be scheduled whenever they are, are you privily to all the details of negotiating

the place, time etc of the debates?

[zeemike]

52. Or in other words.

The debate will be scheduled as soon as they figure out how to neutralize him.

[brooklynite]

3. When Bernie Sanders complains about delays in scheduling the debates...

you'll let us know?

[Thinkingabout]

16. Or why in the hell do we have to do everything like the GOP does, if so, then we need about 15 more

candidates, huh.

[Le Taz Hot]

17. Because we're not a top-down campaign.

It's a people-powered campaign and we're asking DWS, "When are the debates scheduled?"

[brooklynite]

50. If you're representing Sanders at the Debate (in your people-powered campaign) then I'll understand

If not, and it's apparently not causing problems with Bernie's scheduling, I won't worry until the August/September window that was announced has passed.

[Le Taz Hot]

55. We're represenging the supporters in his campaign

and we're asking DWS, "When are the debates?" Never seemed to be this kind of delay before. And an August/September announcement date means that the actual debates may not be until November or December in order to be able organize an huge event like this and isn't that convenient since the first Caucus is in January? Is she incapable? Did she lose her calendar? Is she being distracted by a bee? What's the hold up?

[brooklynite]

58. No, it's not an August/September ANNOUNCEMENT, it's an August/September DEBATE that's been promised.

And again, until BERNIE says he has schedule problems without an specific date being named, i'll ignore the whining...

[Le Taz Hot]

64. Here's a more up-to-date answer to your question.

Last edited Tue Jul 21, 2015, 03:02 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251466026

[brooklynite]

66. Why are you sending people to GD:P?

[Le Taz Hot]

69. I fixed the link.

[brooklynite]

70. Bernie Sanders wants more debates. That's his right

point to where he objects to not holding one before Aug/Sept, or where he objects to the exact date, or where he claims the DNC is being evasive in scheduling it.

[Le Taz Hot]

71. Do you remember saying this?

When Bernie Sanders complains about delays in scheduling the debates... you'll let us know?
I think I just addressed your issue.
The rest is just you moving the goalposts because I proved you wrong.

[brooklynite]

73. Indeed I do...

...and nothing in your reply pointed to a complaint about delaying the first debate from Aug/Sept.

[Sheepshank]

4. With the electorates memory issues

do we really need debates over a year before the elections?

And why is it that the Dem schedule announcement must align with the Rep schedule announcement? Are they so wonderful we must mimic?

I guess I'm not all that worked up about it.

[PoliticAverse]

6. The debates are for the primaries. The first primary is in February 2016,

and the first debate will be in August or September this year.

[think]

9. These debates are for Democrats to make decisions on the primaries not the general election.

Those start on February 1st. A little over 6 months from now.

In 2007 primaries we already had 4 debates by this time with the next one on the 23rd of July .

Debates give ALL the Democrats and the Democratic message exposure to the public at large who don't get as much information as those of us on the political forums where we debate every day.

The GOP has a debate planned at a liberal college in Colorado to get exposure for it's candidates to try and influence the left leaning views.

http://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2015/07/16/university-colorado-presidential-debate/30246453/

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/this-liberal-colorado-city-will-host-a-gop-debate/article/2568485

Shouldn't Democrats make sure they are getting the candidates in front of people and making sure Democratic ideas are heard?

[Sheepshank]

13. ahhhhh Primaries...got it

and we have absolutely no idea of where these candidates stand on any issue. We are lost and blind and deaf unless we are listening to a debate?

Still not concerned.

[Le Taz Hot]

19. Silly argument

and easily countered by the fact that the vast majority of people are not political junkies like we are.

[Sheepshank]

20. And I'll counter with, debates or a lack there of have nothing to do with Bernie's growing numbers.

I don't discount the bennies of debates. I like to see candidates go head to head, I just don't think the timing and announcements are all that everyone is making it out to be.

[Le Taz Hot]

21. Because it's not your candidate that will be negatively affected.

If it was, the howls could be heard on Pluto.

[Sheepshank]

23. your candidate is getting record turn out to events

he's getting his word out. He is getting his recognition. I don't understand how this is negtively hurting your candidate?

[Le Taz Hot]

24. See Post #5

It's Poli-Sci 101 kinda stuff.

[Ed Suspicious]

39. Yes.

[restorefreedom]

65. we don't have to have the debates right now

but soon. and it isn't too much to ask to at least commit to a date for the debate. they are not just dragging their feet on the debates, they're dragging their feet on even committing to a date to have the first debate. If you look at the Democratic website, there's an asterisk next to it that says that the date is tentative, meaning they could move it out another couple of months if they wanted and they probably will.

[Le Taz Hot]

5. Excellent question.

If one didn't know better, one would think this was a deliberate move to wait until the last minute which would leave the advantage to the better-known name over the lesser-known name thereby shortening the time voters have to familiarize themselves with the latter. If one didn't know better.

[restorefreedom]

12. and if one didn't know better

they might think that the dem party chair was supporting one candidate over the others and using her power to hold off the schedule as long as possible. if one didn't know better......

[askew]

30. It's completely foot-dragging by Debbie for Hillary.

It helps Hillary to stay hidden and say nothing of substance. She can't stand up to scrutiny and she knows it.

[brooklynite]

53. Foot dragging...

...the first debate was promised for August/September. Has the summer passed already?

[Le Taz Hot]

57. No, the ANNOUNCEMENT

was promised for August/September, not the debates.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. When Hillary tells her the schedule.

Duh.

[Le Taz Hot]

11. For the win!

[mmonk]

8. She is smart. She knows what she is doing. And I don't mean that in a positive way.

[arcane1]

26. Indeed n/t

[NobodyHere]

89. She didn't know what she was doing in the 2014 elections

What a mess that was.

[JaneyVee]

10. Hopefully next year some time.

I'm enjoying this president too much. Republicans have like 40 candidates, let their shit show go first.

[Laser102]

44. Exactly. Grab some popcorn and soda and chill.

This is going to be good. The repugs are soooo entertaining thanks to Trump. I haven't been this excited about a debate in years.

[Autumn]

14. Seems to be a Democratic problem lately. I call it the wet finger syndrome.

[CK_John]

18. You don't really believe she makes the debate decisions do you?

[think]

25. Have the new threshold requirement rules been released yet?

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

[arcane1]

27. "In the coming weeks" is pretty vague. I'm sure that's intentional.

Why do they even need this "threshold" with so few candidates?

[tammywammy]

34. There are other people running as a democratic candidate than what's covered in the media.

Do you want Jeff Boss or Howell Astor in the debates?

[99Forever]

28. When Hillary's Debate Focus Group and Debate Consulting Team...

....figure out how and when to best game it, they'll give DWS her marching orders.

[kath]

38. Ding ding ding ding

[Cosmic Kitten]

29. DWS need to be replaced ASAP

The DNC is destroying the Democratic party.

We have lost a staggering number of
seats and offices under DWS'
so called "leadership"

Enough is enough.
Replace DWS ASAP

[HooptieWagon]

33. But Progressives didn't win those seats the Third Way lost.

As far as the Third Ways corporate sponsors are concerned...Mission Accomplished.

[jeff47]

36. That's because we weren't allowed to run in them.

The DNC has an extensive history of trying to get no one to primary their favored candidate in legislative elections. If someone does run despite these efforts, they will have popular democrats campaign in the primary against them. And if that still doesn't work, it's time for whisper campaigns or other sabotage in the general election.

It is very important to not let liberals run in these elections. Otherwise, Third Way's primary reason for existing ("Only we can win elections&quot falls apart.

[HooptieWagon]

48. Exactly.

Wall St funds the GOP and the Third Way. As long as progressives are kept out, Wall St wins.

[brooklynite]

56. No one was ALLOWED to run?

They were prevented from filing? Their petitions were challenged? Their votes weren't counted?

I believe Conspiracy Theories (especially undocumented ones) belong in CREATIVE SPECULATION.

Or, perhaps you meant 1) nobody I liked wanted to run, or 2) nobody I liked got enough votes.

[jeff47]

62. Reading. Someday, you might try it.

Psst...there's this thing called "colloquial usage of words". It isn't the same as legal or formal usage. You might want to spend a nanosecond realizing it exists.

Or, perhaps you meant 1) nobody I liked wanted to run, or 2) nobody I liked got enough votes.

Yeah, no one ran against Lincoln in Arkansas. And nobody ran against Lieberman. And nobody was talking about tossing her hat in the KY senate ring until she got a "talking to". Absolutely nothing has been done to discourage Grayson in FL Senate this year. Nope. Never happens. One big, happy DLC-loving party.

[HooptieWagon]

31. She's still working on a way to rig the debates for Hillary.

It's not easy, Bernie has tremendous popularity and DWS is being closely watched. Of course, it would be easy to schedule dates and venues if she was unbiased.

[Ed Suspicious]

42. Postponing is rigging.

[HooptieWagon]

45. True. It takes time for the "Bernie hates Blacks" swiftboating meme to spread.

[brooklynite]

59. Prove the debate is being postponed.

...and then explain why you've figured this out and Sanders hasn't...

[Ed Suspicious]

61. Come on man. You're a smart, politically savvy guy. Do we really need to be having this

conversation?

[brooklynite]

67. Apparently we do

the debate was announced for August/September. It's not August/September. And if bernie's not worried, no teason for you to be.

[restorefreedom]

74. there is an asterisk

next to all of the dates saying that they are tentative. And while a town or city is sometimes named, there is no venue. All evidence that this hasn't been locked down.

[JaneyVee]

49. Another statement with no concept in reality.

Just spreading false memes.

[HooptieWagon]

51. She's already done it.

'08 Florida primary vs. Obama.

[GoneFishin]

32. She's maintaining the blackout on Bernie's policy messages and his name recognition. Team Status Quo

doesn't want his message or name to be given any exposure until late in the game.

[George II]

47. "Blackout"? She's censoring the press and the candidates?

[GoneFishin]

75. Are you pretending that there is no such thing as political strategy?

She is coasting on name recognition from the past, and she will not benefit from a public debate with Bernie. Whereas he will benefit a lot.

[George II]

76. Have we just shifted from one "she" to another "she"?

[brooklynite]

79. Name something DNC has done for Clinton that it hasn't done for Sanders

[GoneFishin]

80. Evidently, given her control over the debate schedule.

[brooklynite]

81. Egad! They announced a debate for Aug/Sept, and didn't hold it in...July!

deviouus!

[Triana]

35. She is the most absent DNC chair I've ever seen

Worse than useless. PUHLEEEZE can we get someone ELSE?

[Le Taz Hot]

60. Oh, I wouldn't say she's "useless."

She's very useful to the right people.

[George II]

46. The first Primary (Caucus) takes place on February 1 in Iowa, the next one is....

....February 9 in New Hampshire.

Today is July 21 - 27 weeks from February 1, 2016. If they held a debate this week most people who watched it most likely would forget how it went.

All of the potential candidates haven't even declared their candidacy yet.

[blackspade]

63. She is awful.

To busy yammering about Cuba to do her job.

[LWolf]

68. Some think it's deliberate.

One Democratic 2016 campaign adviser who spoke to Business Insider said they believe the Democratic National Committee’s debate schedule was “worked out” to benefit Hillary Clinton and hurt her opponents.

The adviser, who requested anonymity in order to speak frankly about the party’s campaign arm, suggested the DNC is hosting a small number of debates in an attempt to give Clinton’s more low profile rivals “less screen time.” They also suggested the relatively late schedule of the debates will make it harder for Clinton’s lesser known rivals to introduce themselves to voters.

Read more at http://www.businessinsider.my/clinton-rival-dnc-rigged-debate-schedule-to-help-hillary-2015-5/#uk6ZOzciLhxBWuVz.99

It's starting to look like the DNC has an agenda here! What is the DNC afraid of? Are they afraid that if Hillary Clinton has to go on stage and debate the other candidates that her support might fall? Are they trying to make sure that what happened to the inevitable Hillary Clinton in 2008 by Obama doesn't happen again in 2016? It certainly starting to appear that way!

With the time necessary to schedule debates, find venues, obtain news organizations to cover those debates, it may be months before we see our first real debate. Using the RNC's announcement that came nearly 3 months before their August 6th debate, we may be waiting until the end of October before we see the first Democratic debate.

Our voters deserve better than this. We deserve an opportunity to get to know our candidates, hear what they have to say, debate and defend their positions against the other candidates so, we the voters, can make an informed decision on which candidate we think is best to represent us. It appears the DNC wants to inhibit our ability to make that determination.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/17/1403055/-DNC-Accused-of-Rigging-Debate-Schedule-to-Benefit-Hillary-Clinton#

[restorefreedom]

72. + 1000 nt

[GoneFishin]

77. Nothing this significant happens by accident. It's deliberate. As usual, the machine just

can't restrain itself from tilting the playing field in favor of Wall Street and the banksters.

[Zorra]

78. When Hillary has an important speaking engagement somewhere else, I reckon. nt

[sabrina 1]

82. We need debates, we need plenty of them. They would prefer to

protect their candidates from debate, Bernie needs no such protection, I think O'Malley will be a good debater on the issues also.

So they need to start responding to the people on this. They want to see candidates without their scripts, without their armies of advisers, just discussing the major issues that people want to know about.

[restorefreedom]

83. dws needs a barrage of emails

tweets and everything else we can think of. maybe a hashtag #dncschedulethedamndebates

[bvar22]

84. When will DWS schedule the debates?

...when the Democratic debates won't inconvenience her Republican friends.

In 2008 Debbie Wasserman Schultz refused to endorse these 3 Democrats
who had won their Primaries and had a chance to win Republican seats:

Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Joe Garcia

Former Hialeah Democratic Mayor Raul Martinez

Democratic businesswoman Annette Taddeo

All three had won their local Democratic Primaries, and were challenging Hard Core Republican incumbents with whom Wasserman-Schultz had become cozy.
Not only did the head of the DCCC Red to Blue Program REFUSE to endorse these Democratic challengers,
but she appeared in person at at least one (possibly more) Campaign/Fundraiser for their Republican opponents.



FL-18, FL-21, FL-25: Wasserman Schultz Wants Dem Challengers to Lose
by: James L.
Sun Mar 09, 2008 at 7:15 PM EDT
<snip>

Sensing a shift in the political climate of the traditionally solid-GOP turf of the Miami area, Democrats have lined up three strong challengers -- Miami-Dade Democratic Party chair Joe Garcia, former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez, and businesswoman Annette Taddeo to take on Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, respectively.

While there is an enormous sense of excitement and optimism surrounding these candidacies, some Democratic lawmakers, including Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Kendrick Meek, are all too eager to kneecap these Democratic challengers right out of the starting gate in the spirit of "comity" and "bipartisan cooperation" with their Republican colleagues:

But as three Miami Democrats look to unseat three of her South Florida Republican colleagues, Wasserman Schultz is staying on the sidelines. So is Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Miami Democrat and loyal ally to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This time around, Wasserman Schultz and Meek say their relationships with the Republican incumbents, Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother Mario, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, leave them little choice but to sit out the three races.

"At the end of the day, we need a member who isn't going to pull any punches, who isn't going to be hesitant," Wasserman Schultz said.

Now, you'd expect this kind of bullshit from a backbencher like Alcee Hastings, but you wouldn't expect this kind of behavior from the co-chair of the DCCC's Red to Blue program, which is the position that Wasserman Schultz currently holds. Apparently, Debbie did not get Rahm's memo about doing whatever it takes to win:

The national party, enthusiastic about the three Democratic challengers, has not yet selected Red to Blue participants. But Wasserman Schultz has already told the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that if any of the three make the cut, another Democrat should be assigned to the race.

http://www.swingstateproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1537

The bloggers also are furious with Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla.), who similarly refuses to endorse the Democratic challengers to the three Cuban American Republicans.

They are calling for Wasserman Schultz to step down from her leadership role at the DCCC. And they're not letting up, even after one Florida liberal blogger reported that the congresswoman seemed "frustrated" by the blogs and had asked to "please help get them off my back."

This prompted even harsher reaction from perhaps the most influential of the progressive political bloggers, Markos Moulitsas, a.k.a. Kos, founder of Daily Kos, who wrote on his blog Wednesday: "On so many fronts, the Republicans are standing in the way of progress, on Iraq, SCHIP, health care, fiscal responsibility, corruption, civil liberties, and so on. Those three south Florida Republicans are part of that problem. And she's (Wasserman-Schultz) going to be 'frustrated' that people demand she do her job?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/19/AR2008031903410_3.html

Here are Kos comments on the Wasserman-Schultz betrayal of the Democratic Party:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/03/20/480511/-DCCC-Says-Uproar-Over-DWS-Recusal-Much-Ado-About-Nothing




A lot of time has passed since 2008, but I don't take these kinds of betrayals lightly.

bvar22
Cursed with a memory

"I want to thank Debbie Wasserman-Schultz for being an outstanding chair of our party. (Applause.) She is a great partner."--President Obama

With "partners" like this, we don't need Republicans!

[restorefreedom]

86. dws is clearly a dino/corporate shill

and we KNOW which candidate she supports, which, interestingly enough, is the same candidate that would be hurt in a debate because she's not able to clarify her positions.

[MisterP]

87. makes their decade and a half of screeching about the imminent peril of third parties (2004),

competitive primaries (2006), and abstentionism (2014) all sound a little hollow, no?

of course they had no more legs to stand on after sabotaging Lamont and Halter--but it's crucial to remember that every hypocritical act was another act that strengthened their grip on the party (so why stop?)

[2naSalit]

85. Fer Criminy Sake

What month and year is this?

I'd rather wait a while and hope that ws bails out or is pushed out of her position. And I am not ready to choose a candidate yet anyway. Take a chillpill... things will happen in due course.

Obviously hooked on the instant gratification drug, n'est ce pas?

[NCTraveler]

88. K&R. One hundred percent agree. nt.