Former Maryland governor and Democrat presidential candidate Martin O’Malley repeated his criticism Sunday of the Democratic National Committee’s decision to limit the number of primary debates this cycle, noting the plan allows the public to remain focused on Hillary Clinton’s email scandal.
“This is why, George, we need to have debates, because so long as our Democratic Party is not talking about the issues that matter most around the kitchen table, the only question that will be asked every day — and it’s a legitimate question — by media people like yourself, or by the Republicans, are questions about Hillary Clinton’s emails,” O’Malley told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.”
The former Maryland governor said his party has been “bogged down” by the national focus on Clinton’s private email server and potential mishandling of classified information.
“We cannot allow our party to be branded by those sorts of questions of the past. We have to look to the future,” O’Malley said. “And we have to offer the ideas that move our country forward for the future.”
O’Malley has criticized the debate schedule since the DNC published dates for the six planned debates in early August.
By contrast, the Republican National Committee has 12 debates slated for the 2016 primary.
