Hours before their first presidential debate Tuesday evening, Democrats were plagued by the poor optics of an intra-party feud over how many times the candidates are scheduled to meet, and whether the small number is designed to help the establishment candidate, former secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Republican front-runner Donald Trump was also expected to steal some of the thunder from the debate after he mentioned on social media that he would live-tweet the Democratic showdown in Las Vegas. However, as the event approached, it appeared that Democrats themselves were the ones most likely to undermine their own event with an open fight over the debate process.
Democratic National Committee Vice Chairwoman Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, said Tuesday morning on MSNBC that neither she nor her fellow committee officers were consulted before DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., finalized the debate schedule.
Gabbard also said she was disinvited from the first Democratic showdown in Las Vegas Tuesday evening after she stated publicly that there should be more debates.
By Tuesday afternoon, Wasserman Schultz suggested that Gabbard was lying.
It’s “simply not true” that Gabbard was disinvited over her call for more debates, the DNC chair told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. She then tried to mitigate the fight by saying the problem is that people are talking about the DNC vice chair, “rather than concentrating on our candidates [and] on the issues that are important to Americans.”
“The congresswoman has made her opinion clear on the process, but this debate and our candidate forums and the campaign itself is not about process,” she added. “It needs to be about the dramatic contrast between all of our Democratic candidates who want to move America forward … and, unfortunately, Congresswoman Gabbard continues to focus on process.”
Following reports that Gabbard had been disinvited from the Las Vegas debate, Sanders’ camp extended a personal invitation to the congresswoman. She declined, saying that she’d likely be a “distraction.”
But Wasserman Schultz said it was already too late for that.
“[Gabbard] spent a lot of this morning, continuing to focus on process and on herself as opposed to talking about our great candidates,” the Florida congresswoman said.
Earlier, Gabbard seemingly predicted the DNC chair’s talking points and accused Wasserman Schultz of lying.
“It isn’t surprising to me that she is saying things that aren’t true,” the congresswoman said. “About a month ago, shortly after I called for more debates, the chairwoman said publicly that she had communicated and consulted with vice chairs and officers of the DNC prior to making her decision both about the number of debates, as well as this retribution policy of the exclusivity clause of punishing our presidential candidates if they participate in any other debate outside of the six sanctioned debates. The fact is there was no communication, there was no consultation with the vice chairs and officers, of which I am one.”
“I can’t say much more than to say that’s not true,” she added, referring to her disinvite. “I was on your network, MSNBC, talking … on how we do need more debates, and the very next day got a message saying if I’m going to continue talking about that, that I shouldn’t go to the debate.”
Gabbard reiterated that the DNC chair is saying things that simply “aren’t true.”
The fight threatened to overshadow the Tuesday night debate that many in the press are expecting to be a humdrum affair.
“World agrees Democratic debate likely won’t be as much fun to watch as Republican debates,” New York magazine said in one headline.
U.S. News added separately, “Tonight’s Democratic debate may be boring — but that’s OK.”
Reason said Tuesday, “The Boring Debate Is Hours Away, Black Voters Aren’t Feeling the Bern, Larry Lessig Might Go Independent.”
There are five Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and former Govs. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Martin O’Malley of Maryland.
