National and state Democrats officially removed New Hampshire’s predominant television station, WMUR, from the Democratic debate next Saturday due to the station’s conflict with a labor union.
“[W]e will no longer include WMUR as a co-sponsor of the debate, and their talent will not be participating in any way,” the Democratic National Committee and the New Hampshire Democratic Party wrote in a joint statement. “The right for workers to form and organize a union is a key principle of the Democratic Party, and is key to ensuring the economic safety of the American people by protecting their rights and benefits.”
ABC News will still sponsor the debate, even though WMUR is no longer on the program. IBEW Local 1228 accused WMUR of attempting to take away the pensions of many of their workers because they decided to join the union. Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley had previously called upon WMUR to enter negotiations, and also called upon other presidential candidates to condemn the station and refrain from running advertisements on it.
The joint statement added, “We remain confident in our strong partnership with the ABC network and know that our Democratic candidates will have a robust debate, with a focus on the issues that matter most to hard working Americans across the country.”
