Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:42 pm
In a letter to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) laid out three ideas that he felt would improve the Democratic presidential debates.
In his letter, Sanders suggested earlier debates, “In recent weeks, as I have traveled around the country, I have been hearing concerns from voters about the need for vigorous candidate debate. The people of this country are tired of political gossip, personal attacks, and ugly 30-second ads. They want the candidates to engage in serious discussion about the very serious issues facing our country today. In my view, the candidates for President should engage in a series of debates beginning this summer.”
His second idea was inter-party debates, “I believe we should be open to a less traditional form of debating by welcoming the opportunity to debate not only amongst members of the Democratic Party but also having debates between Democratic and Republican candidates during the primary process. I believe that these inter-party debates would put in dramatic focus the shallow and at times ridiculous policies and proposals being advocated by the Republican candidates and by their party’s platform. It would also serve to engage large numbers of voters who typically do not pay attention to the process until much later when the general election begins to come into focus. By engaging these voters early and raising the stakes around the election, I believe we can get people to participate at higher levels which will undoubtedly benefit Democrats up and down the ticket.”
Sen. Sanders’ third idea was to hold debates all across the country, not just in early primary states, “I also think it is important for us to debate not only in the early states but also in many states which currently do not have much Democratic presidential campaign activity. While a number of these non-target states have not in the past had much-organized campaign presence, I believe it is critical for the Democratic Party and progressive forces in America to engage voters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. By expanding the scope geographically of
debates beyond the early calendar states we can begin to awaken activism at the grassroots level in those states and signal to Democrats and progressives in places like Texas, Mississippi, Utah, and Wyoming that their states are not forgotten by the Democratic Party.”
If two of the Sanders ideas were adopted, they would transform the Democratic debates. The idea of inter-party debates is bound to turn some people off. These same people probably also hate interleague play in Major League Baseball, but the idea of Democratic candidates being able to challenge the unpopular positions that the Republican Party has adopted is appealing.
Imagine an election where Democratic debates took place in Texas and Utah, and select Republicans were invited to participate. Hillary Clinton could debate Marco Rubio, and union buster Scott Walker would be challenged by Bernie Sanders. Having these candidates on the same stage would merge partisan political discourse in a virtually previously unseen way.
Sen. Sanders was talking about extending the reach of the Democratic Party in all 50 states. It is an amazing idea, and one that the Democrats should strongly consider before they agree to another round of primary debates.
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