Representatives from 13 Republican campaigns met this weekend to discuss how best to avoid a repeat of the CNBC-moderated GOP primary debate, and they left the meeting with more than two dozen questions and recommendations for TV networks.
The candidate summit came just days after CNBC, which is owned by NBCUniversal, hosted what many in the press have characterized as a “disastrous,” “horrible” and poorly run debate.
Working in tandem with Ben Ginsberg, a Republican attorney who has been acting as a go-between for the campaigns and the Republican National Committee, the candidates have produced a letter containing 28 very specific questions and recommendations for TV networks.
An early draft of the letter was first obtained and reported by the Washington Post. On Monday, Ginsburg amended the draft version to better clarify the campaigns’ suggestions and questions.
“The answers you provide to these questions are part of a process that each campaign will use to determine whether its candidate will participate in your debate,” read the letter, which will be distributed to all involved TV networks.
“All the candidates recognize that robust debates are an important part of the primary elections. It is also important that all debates be appropriate platforms for discussing substantive issues and the candidates’ visions for the future,” it added.
The letter then listed the following questions and recommendations, via the Post:
- Where and when will the debate be held?
- What are the criteria for inclusion? If you choose to base this on polls, please detail which polls and why each poll’s methodology and sample size is acceptable to you.
- Who is the moderator? Will there be any additional questioners? Are they seated?
- What is the estimated audience for the debate? Will it be disseminated online? By radio? Will it be disseminated by other means and do you have any additional partners?
- What format do you envision — podiums, table, other?
- Will there be questions from the audience or social media? How many? How will they be presented to the candidates? Will you acknowledge that you, as the sponsor, take responsibility for all questions asked, even if not asked by your personnel?
- What is your proposed length of the debate?
- Will there be opening and closing statements? How long will they be?
- Will you commit to provide equal time/an equal number of questions of equal quality (substance as opposed to “gotcha” or frivolous) to each candidate?
- How long are the answers and rebuttals? If a candidate is mentioned, will he/she automatically be called on so they can rebut?
- Will there be a gong/buzzer/bell when time is up? How will the moderator enforce the time limits?
- Will you commit that you will not:
- Ask the candidates to raise their hands to answer a question?
- Ask yes/no questions without time to provide a substantive answer?
- Have a “lightning round?”
- Allow candidate-to-candidate questioning?
- Allow props or pledges by the candidates?
- Have reaction shots of members of the audience or moderators during debates?
- Show an empty podium after a break (describe how far away the bathrooms are)?
- Use behind shots of the candidates showing their notes?
- Leave microphones on during breaks?
- Allow members of the audience to wear political messages (shirts, buttons, signs, etc.). Who enforces?
- What is the size of the audience? Who is receiving tickets in addition to the candidates? Who’s in charge of distributing those tickets and filling the seats?
- What instructions will you provide to the audience about cheering during the debate?
- What are the plans for the lead-in to the debate (Pre-shot video? Announcer to moderator? Director to Moderator?) and how long is it?
- Are you running promo ads before the debate about your moderator(s)?
- What type of microphones (lavs or podium)?
- Can you pledge that the temperature in the hall be kept below 67 degrees?
CNBC and its moderators — Carl Quintanilla, Becky Quick and John Harwood — have drawn some extremely sharp criticism from the press for how they conducted the third televised showdown between the Republican candidates.
Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus was quick to denounce the CNBC debate, accusing the moderators of attacking the GOP candidates with unprofessional and biased questioning. They “should be ashamed” of the tone of their questions, he said in an interview the day after the debate.
Despite assurances from CNBC that the debate would be substantive, it was “nothing but a crap sandwich,” he added.
On Friday, the RNC announced that it would bar NBC News from co-hosting a 2016 Republican presidential debate scheduled for Feb. 26, explaining in a public statement that it had serious concerns about the network’s ability to moderate the event in an unbiased and objective manner.
