Campaign Action
On Friday, Daily Kos delivered 120,000 of your signatures to the Democratic National Committee, urging it to abandon the ludicrous notion of rewarding Fox News with a Democratic presidential primary debate.
As Eric Boehlert pointed out, this is a terrible idea for countless (and obvious!) reasons. For example, “Can you imagine being Seth Rich's mother and father, knowing that Fox News dragged your son's name through the mud and toyed with his death for attempted partisan gain—your son who worked for the DNC!—and then watching Fox News being given the honor and privilege of hosting a DNC debate?”
This really should be a no-brainer. DNC Chair Tom Perez should’ve never told Fox host Brett Baier that “Absolutely we’re having discussions with Fox” about having a debate. (Baier was ecstatic, responding, “Happy to hear that.”) And once over a hundred thousand Democrats mobilized against the idea, there would have been no harm in the party saying, “Good point, and don’t worry, there are plenty of credible news outlets available to host debates. Fox won’t be one of them.”
Instead, it refuses to make any such commitment. I sent DNC Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa a series of questions about the Fox debate, and in response, she sent this bullshit of horseshit:
[DNC] CEO Seema Nanda received the petition and thanked the activists. We are talking to cable and broadcast networks, as well as a whole host of outlets, including digital outlets. A number of media outlets have submitted proposals, and we're reviewing these proposals.
As you can see, nothing in that statement precludes the possibility of Fox News hosting a debate. I followed up with a simple yes/no question: “So to be extra clear, the DNC is still considering letting Fox News host a debate, further validating them and their anti-Democratic agenda?” I got crickets as a response.
So the battle continues. And what a stupid battle! Rather than do the right thing, Tom Perez has decided they’d rather create unnecessary internal conflict in order to protect Fox News. It’s so ridiculous it boggles the mind!
If you haven’t already, sign the petition. This matter will certainly escalate, as we fight to keep our party from shooting itself in the foot.