The RNC Votes Unanimously to Withdraw From the Commission on Presidential Debates – Opinion

The Republican National Committee’s (RNC) unrest with the Commission on Presidential Debates has been brewing for the past few presidential election cycles now. The 2020 presidential debate, which saw President Donald Trump and Joe Biden clashing in a messy manner, brought it to an abrupt halt. ModeratedChris Wallace was railroaded. Not to mention the commission shifting the rules to suddenly incorporate a virtual debate against Trump’s wishes because, COVID!

This was a very slow process by the RNC. After the CNN Candy Crowley/Mitt Obama 2012 debacle, they should have voted for withdrawal.

Crowley still owes Romney a sincere apology.

From NBC News

The Republican National Committee on Thursday announced it unanimously voted to require GOP presidential candidates to abstain from presidential debates sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has overseen the process for decades.

“Debates are an important part of the democratic process, and the RNC is committed to free and fair debates,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “The Commission on Presidential Debates is biased and has refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates including hosting debates before voting begins and selecting moderators who have never worked for candidates on the debate stage.”

She added that the RNC will “find newer, better debate platforms” for Republican candidates to make their case.

A RNC official said that the RNC would require Republican presidential contenders to pledge not to appear at any party-sanctioned primary or general election discussions. The requirement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ultimately, decisions on debate participation are up to the party’s nominee and not the party itself.

Republican nominees often complained about bias within the commission. This includes ex-President Donald J. Trump. It is not surprising that the RNC has decided to kick the commission out of office. For years legacy media have been falling into disuse, made worse by the Democrats’ and government’s collusion in spreading pandemic lies. It is not worth it to watch debates on channels you don’t trust and with moderators who you aren’t comfortable around. Free of the formalities of this commission, any presidential candidate can simply go on Joe Rogan’s podcast or Bill Maher’s HBO show Actual TimeReach more people and get on with your life.

In January the RNC addressed a request to the Commission to agree to certain conditions.

  • A debate to be held before early voting begins.
  • After the expiration of time for sending absentee votes to military personnel or overseas voters, matchups should not be scheduled.
  • To establish term limits for members of the commission board.
  • The commission will prohibit officials and their staff from participating in partisan political activities.

John Danforth (former Missouri Senator) is the perfect example of these two last points. Danforth was a “Republican”, but he famously won to in 2020. The Washington PostCNN and other media outlets decry the then-sitting President Donald Trump.

Danforth served 26 years on the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Further, the RNC requested that the commission adopt a code for conduct and make moderator selection more transparent. Chris Wallace would suffer the most.

In conclusion, the RNC stated that it will not comply with these demands and would withdraw from its sanctioned discussions.

The commission basically told the RNC that it should pound the sand. We are now.

In October 2020, I predicted this:

The bottom line is that no matter what happens tonight or who wins, it suffices to state that this outdated and geriatric Commission on Presidential Debates has been terminated. They’ve proven themselves to be partisanOut of touch, outof place, and unprepared. John Danforth was one of those old members of Commission and is a Republican. Danforth took to airwaves and printed to refute Trump’s criticisms of their methods and to highlight how crucial this Commission is for the national discussion and to tell you what an august, truly bipartisan body it really IS. Yeah… right.

They should be on Trump’s list of broken things.

We’ll see how this plays out with Democrat, Libertarian, and Independent candidates talking amongst themselves.

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