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2016 Postmortem
Showing Original Post only (View all)Democrats Stifle Their Message - The Editorial Board/USAToday [View all]
Democrats stifle their message: Our viewBy limiting the number of debates, and holding them at odd hours, the party aids the GOP.
The Editorial Board - USAToday
8:06 p.m. EST December 22, 2015
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on stage during a Democratic presidential primary debate Dec. 19, 2015, in Manchester, N.H.(Photo: Jim Cole, AP)
<snip>
To the leading lights of the Democratic Party, it must have seemed like a smart move. By limiting the number of debates among the party's presidential contenders and holding them at odd hours, they could nudge voters in the direction of Hillary Clinton, who is already widely known and seen as the partys most formidable candidate.
But limiting debate almost never works, and it almost always triggers the law of unintended consequences.
In this case, it has allowed the Republicans to dominate the national conversation in the early stages of the presidential race. They have held five debates, to the Democrats three, and have not followed the Democrats peculiar practice of scheduling events on Saturday nights. As a result, the GOP debate audiences have been much larger as many as 24 million viewers for the top-rated GOP debate, compared with fewer than 8 million for Saturdays Democratic encounter.
The Republicans have used their massive platform to shape opinion, bash Clinton and leave what could be lasting (though not necessarily favorable) impressions. While they dont yet have a common message about what a Republican presidency would entail, they do have one about the Democrats. You cant get through 60 seconds of a Republican debate without hearing that President Obama and Clinton, as his former secretary of State, have made a mess of things around the world.
The huge Republican audiences may be mostly the result of the partys unruly contest and its incendiary front-runner, Donald Trump. But Democrats shouldnt take much comfort in this. While viewers may tune in for the mud wrestling, what they get is an effective political broadside.
The Democrats, for their part, have a decent counter-argument: that the GOP has been taken over by its far-right fringe, leaving Democrats as the only champions of the broad mainstream. But the party bosses are apparently so worried that Clinton could be derailed or commit a gaffe in the debates that they are willing to stifle this message.
Their most recent debate was held the Saturday before Christmas, when much of the public was out at holiday parties, doing last-minute shopping, taking in the new Star Wars movie or watching the New York Jets defeat the Dallas Cowboys. The scheduling was so odd that a spokesman for Bernie Sanders, Clinton's chief rival, could only quip: I guess Christmas Eve was booked.
Democracy is boisterous, unruly and competitive. The Democrats understood this in 2008...
<snip>
More: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/12/22/democratic-debates-presidential-primaries-editorials-debates/77764196/
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DNC Objective: The Less We See Of Clinton, The More We Will Like Her... On The Other Hand
CorporatistNation
Dec 2015
#83
She hoped all the attention would be on the Republicons and HRC could waltz into the general. nm
rhett o rick
Dec 2015
#49
For the foreseeable future, Trump is wooing a lot of wing nuts and the rest of the
libdem4life
Dec 2015
#38
I feel that if the U.S. had an educated population then the Republicans would have hurt themselves
LiberalArkie
Dec 2015
#62
Boy. I sure disagree with you about this--these "candidates" are convincing people.
Akamai
Dec 2015
#53
Dangerous nonsense. You think having someone unanswered bellowing like Mussolini 24/7
whereisjustice
Dec 2015
#19
The Republicon Party is a massive distraction while the Oligarchy grabs power.
rhett o rick
Dec 2015
#50
Of course if Trump wasn't dominating the news, who do we think would? Probably Hillary? n/t
A Simple Game
Dec 2015
#18
The Democratic Party has moved hard right playing catch up with RNC, DNC/Hillary is calculating
whereisjustice
Dec 2015
#17
DNC is trying to disolve Democracy and replace it with a for-profit corporation selling a virtual
whereisjustice
Dec 2015
#22
Stifle: ANY position that sounds progressive, thereby upsetting corp. power.
Eleanors38
Dec 2015
#31
To the average Americans, the only people running are the GOP asshats they see non-stop on TV
valerief
Dec 2015
#52
In the GOP debates the conversation was stifled by the GOP candidates by the way the
Thinkingabout
Dec 2015
#55
Under DWS Democrats have lost 900+ state legislature seats, 12 governors, 69 House seats, 13 Senate
Scuba
Dec 2015
#58
That deserves its own post, Scuba! Wow, dismal record for Debbie Downer.
Dont call me Shirley
Dec 2015
#68
"But the party bosses are apparently so worried that Clinton could be derailed or commit a gaffe..."
Spitfire of ATJ
Dec 2015
#61
They would rather have a Republican in the WH than Bernie. Bernie will disrupt their racket.
GoneFishin
Dec 2015
#72