A panel on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” called on the Democratic National Committee to allow more debates on the party’s presidential primary, despite DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz maintaining under pressure that there will be no more than six.
“Whether it’s the Republican Party or the Democratic Party,” host Joe Scarborough said Monday. “Look what the Republicans are learning through two debates already.”
At a Democratic convention in New Hampshire over the weekend, party activists interrupted a speech by Wasserman Schultz with chants for more debates.
“My friends, what’s more important?” she replied. “Drawing a contrast with Republicans or arguing about debates?”
“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski said Wasserman Schultz was “absolutely wrong” in limiting the debates.
“We need these conversations,” Brzezinski said. “We need to see them happening between Democratic candidates so they can challenge each other. It’s better for the country. I would argue it’s better for the candidates, too.”
Harold Ford, Jr., a Democrat and former congressman, agreed.
“I think there should be more debates,” he said. “I think Chairman Wasserman Schultz is wrong to stand before a group of Democrats and try to lecture them about what they should be concerned about in the room.”
Bloomberg Politics editor John Heilemann also said there should be more debates.
“More debates, more debates!” he said.
So far, Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have also pressured the DNC for more debates. Front-runner Hillary Clinton has signaled she is open to more debates but has remained relatively silent on the issue.
In the 2008 presidential election, the Democratic candidates went through more than 20 debates. Still, Clinton, trailing her rival Barack Obama, called for more debates.
Clinton has signaled this time around that she is open to more debates but has remained relatively silent on the issue.
