Cementing its devolution into a quasi-fascist party beholden solely to Donald Trump, the Republican National Committee intends to vote to prohibit its candidates from participating in debates hosted by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). This move follows on debate and subsequent town hall performances by Donald Trump in 2020 almost universally derided as disastrous and widely seen as a factor derailing his bid to win re-election in 2020.
As reported by Adam Brewster for CBS News:
The Republican National Committee is preparing to change its rules at upcoming party meetings to ban future Republican presidential nominees from participating in debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel sent a letter Thursday to the co-chairs of the debate commission alleging that the committee has not thoroughly considered RNC-proposed reforms about the way presidential debates are conducted in general elections. The RNC outlined its concerns in a June letter to the commission and made recommendations for improving the debate process.
The CPD, an independent nonprofit corporation jointly sponsored by the Republican and Democratic Parties, has produced and sponsored the general election presidential debates since 1988. Funding for its operations is provided by private foundations, corporations, and fees from hosting institutions. Prior to 2020 the only significant “controversy” impacting the CPD had been its rule establishing certain threshold polling criteria for the participation of third parties. In 2020 Democrats complained about moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News’ seeming disinclination to stop repeated and incessant interruptions by Donald Trump. Republicans, for their part, complained about the tentative selection of C-Span’s Steve Scully — who had been a mail-room intern for Biden in 1978 while in college -- as moderator of the second debate (that debate never occurred for reasons having nothing to do with Scully, effectively mooting the GOP’s complaint).
The GOP nonetheless seized upon the Scully selection, among other things, in recommending a series of changes to the debates and their format in a way they believe would benefit the GOP candidate. These changes were proposed in such a way that would almost guarantee their rejection by the CPD; term limits for Board members, a promise to hold one debate prior to the commencement of any early voting, and permitting an “overseer” representative from each party to observe the group’s meetings, were all among the GOP’s demands. While some of these requests appear benign on their face, as the Commission noted in reply, they would all infringe on the organization’s ability to conduct itself independent of each party’s influence.
As reported by Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, the CPD has said it would consider the GOP’s unilateral demands but only insofar as they did not impede its neutrality.
“We take the R.N.C.’s observations and suggestions seriously and, as we have said previously, we will give them careful consideration,” the commission’s letter read. “In furtherance of our position as a nonpartisan, neutral body, which neither favors nor disfavors any party or candidate, we do not negotiate the terms or conditions of our operations with anyone.”
The CPD also emphasized that it negotiates directly with the candidates campaigns, not with the political party organizations they might represent.
“The C.P.D. deals directly with candidates for President and Vice President who qualify for participation,” the commission said in a statement. “The C.P.D.’s plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues.”
This was, of course, the exact response the RNC was looking for in justifying its pullout, which clearly was its intention from the start. The real problem Republicans have with debates has nothing to do with their format or timing, but with the reality that the GOP is now constantly on the grievously wrong (and unpopular) side of most “debatable” issues with the public, and (as a consequence) has devolved into a circular and insular feedback loop, wholly unwilling to brook any outside criticism. That is why GOP candidates and elected officials will — as a general rule — only grant interviews to Fox News, their official propaganda outlet.
The idea of a neutral arbiter asking questions about its policy positions is simply anathema to the GOP at this point, particularly given the proclivities of Donald Trump. Now more than ever the party that has tied itself firmly to Trump — and all the sordid baggage that comes with him — cannot possibly afford to allow an objective airing of its policies and positions. If there was ever any doubt about this, Trump’s recent agitated and abruptly terminated performance with NPR reporter Steve Inskeep made the problem the RNC faces abundantly obvious.
Accordingly, RNC Chairwoman’s response was predictable as it was pre-planned. As Haberman reports:
“So long as the C.P.D. appears intent on stonewalling the meaningful reforms necessary to restore its credibility with the Republican Party as a fair and nonpartisan actor, the R.N.C. will take every step to ensure that future Republican presidential nominees are given that opportunity elsewhere,” Ms. McDaniel wrote.
The RNC will formally “vote” on this change in its winter meeting, but the outcome of that vote is already pre-ordained. And while this will not end the tradition of presidential debates (the candidates’ campaigns will continue to negotiate with each other on their continued existence and format) it simply represents another instance of the GOP abandoning any pretense of legitimacy as anything but a conduit for Donald Trump’s irrational and unbalanced whims.