Perez defends debate thresholds ahead of smallest, whitest Dem debate yet

[brooklynite]

Politico

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Tuesday that his party has set a "remarkably inclusive" standard to qualify for its presidential debates, pushing back against criticism as White House hopefuls prepare to face off on the smallest, whitest stage yet later Tuesday night.

“We've set a remarkably inclusive and frankly low bar throughout the campaigns, John, and I'm proud of that and as a result of that we did have the most diverse field in American history and I'm proud of that,” Perez told CNN’s John Berman. “What we said every month was that the closer we got to Iowa we would do what we've always done, which is raise the bar.”

Perez had been under pressure for the last month after only one candidate of color, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, appeared in December’s debate following Sen. Kamala Harris's (D-Calif.) decision to suspend her campaign. The DNC rebuffed requests from candidates to loosen the criteria to qualify for 2019's final debate and Perez has repeatedly stood by the thresholds set by the party to appear on stage.

The party chairman argued that December’s debate stage, had "remarkable diversity," noting that had Harris not dropped out for financial reasons, it would have contained three women, two candidates of color and an openly gay candidate. Of the six candidates who have qualified for Tuesday's debate in Des Moines, Iowa, two are women and one is openly gay. All six candidates are white.

[TCJ70]

1. As long as the rules apply to everyone equally...

...it shouldn’t matter who makes it. They all had the same requirements. So here we are.

[padah513]

2. +1

[getagrip_already]

3. So is politico advocating a quota system?

Where people qualify solely based on their race, religion, or orientation?

Is that the ask?

[brooklynite]

8. I was under the impression that Politico was reporting political news...

[LakeArenal]

4. It's all about level of public support.

I’m sure I’d be bummed if Joe was out, too.
A 20 person field has proven deadly for many viable candidates. Not enough voters to go around.

[Raven123]

5. Seems like a lot od people complain, but don't offer alternatives

You have to whittle the field in some manner. For better or worse, early debates give candidates some relatively cheap exposure. Granted, there is a point of diminishing returns when there are a lot of early candidates, but i just don’t know the magic number.

[Happy Hoosier]

6. I am concerned about the lack of diversity, but...

.... with some exceptions, this is about the candidates the voters choose to support. For whatever reason, not even black voters were supporting black candidates.

[Hortensis]

7. AA are 13% of Americans, 12% of voters. If half supported AA

candidates at least one, maybe more by now, would be in the debate. FOUR of our candidates are AA, three of them with good qualifications, including two U.S. senators and one ex- governor.

Hispanics are far more numerous than AA even. Only one Hispanic candidate ran, but he also had a decent resume. If Hispanics chose to support a Hispanic candidate, Castro would be on the debate stage.

It's definitive: WE are doing well in moving toward equality, IT'S THE REPUBLICANS, STUPID.

Democrats have to defeat them before they gain more power to persecute minority citizens. And don't most minorities know it. Some are literally living RW persecution already.

[msongs]

9. gee if the POC people would just stop voluntarily quitting and choosing to drop out.... nt

[Renew Deal]

10. I don't know why people blame Perez, and not the voters or polls

The polls are giving the results they are giving. If you don't trust the polls, trust donations. They speak too.

[UniteFightBack]

13. +1000

[Blue_true]

11. The rules were laid out at the start.

It isn't the DNC's fault that some people could not generate support.

[UniteFightBack]

12. It's who the people chose..minorities included so I've had about enough of this. nt

[boomer_wv]

14. Why is anyone making this an issue?

The party has been TOO lenient on who it lets on the stage. In each debate we have had candidates taking up space who clearly had no path to the nomination and despite months of campaigning, couldn't build any momentum.

This isn't tee-ball where everybody gets to have an at bat and everybody wins. Each of them had their chances and didn't capitalize, so they got left behind. We are trying to pick somebody who could be the next President of the United States. Sorry, but the weak get eaten.