Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:43 pm
Democratic voters in New Hampshire greeted Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz with a few boos and lots of chants for more Democratic debates on Saturday at the party’s state convention.
Wasserman-Schultz received an earful when she tried to deliver her opening remarks, as people in the audience chanted “we want more debates”. Through most of her speech, the DNC Chair tried to stick to her prepared comments, occasionally raising her voice so it could be heard over the restless audience.
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However, at one point Wasserman-Schultz addressed the crowd, stating:
What’s more, important, drawing a contrast with Republicans, or arguing about debates? Let’s focus on our mission at hand. Let’s focus on our task at hand.
She continued by defensively adding:
You know better than anyone that this race can’t be won from a stage or through a television screen. You want to see these candidates in your living rooms, in coffee shops, and at forums just like the one we’re having here today.
Wasserman-Schultz seems tone deaf to the Democratic base. Whether she is simply trying to insulate Hillary Clinton from her Democratic opponents, or she is afraid Democrats will stumble on the stage, her overcautious leadership is doing a grave disservice to Democratic voters and the Democratic Party.
The Republican Party has held two debates that have attracted 47 million viewers. Democrats could hold their own debates and offer a clear contrast to the GOP circus, by allowing Americans to view candidates who offer rational, cogent solutions to America’s problems. Instead, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has effectively muzzled the reasonable party and allowed the nonsense spread at the GOP debates to be piped into the living rooms of millions of Americans unchallenged.
All of the Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton, have expressed a willingness to participate in more debates than the half dozen that are currently scheduled for the 2016 primary election cycle. Party leaders like Nancy Pelosi are arguing that more debates are needed. Democratic voters are clamoring for more debates. It’s time for the DNC to listen and to put more Democratic debates on the calendar.
Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.
