Jamaica Plain man leads grassroots effort for more Democratic primary debates
While Republican presidential candidates prepare to take the debate stage again Wednesday evening, Ben Doernberg and hundreds of other protesters are planning to make a stand outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Doernberg, a 26-year-old Jamaica Plain resident, became incensed back in August after the DNC announced just six scheduled debates, which would be the fewest held in a presidential primary since 1980.
As a result, he founded Allow Debate, a group of Democratic and independent volunteers calling for DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to allow more Democratic primary debates.
Democratic presidential candidates won’t debate until October 13. In 2007, Democratic presidential candidates had already participated in 11 debates by mid-September (the same number of Republican debates scheduled this cycle). This cycle, only four debates are scheduled before voting begins in Iowa.
That’s because of a new rule this year implemented by Wasserman Schultz, which bans candidates from party debates if they participate in any debate unsanctioned by the DNC.
Ben Doernberg, 26, of Jamaica Plain
Doernberg calls the rule “an attack on the democratic process’’ and says more than 22,000 people have signed Allow Debate’s petition to the DNC chair to change the rule.
Last Friday, the Massachusetts Democratic Party vice chairwoman, Deb Kozikowski, told The Boston Globe that Wasserman Schultz had been “too busy establishing a full-fledged dictatorship at the DNC to recognize she’d gone over the top.’’
While the DNC sanctioned six debates in both 2004 and 2008, candidates were allowed to participate in events hosted by media outlets or universities, without repercussion. According to FiveThirtyEight, candidates ultimately attended 15 debates in 2004 and 25 in 2008.
The DNC has maintained that six debates “will give plenty of opportunity to see the candidates side by side’’ and that there will be “lots of other forums for the candidates to make their case to voters.’’
Doernberg says Wasserman Schultz’s new restrictions on the debate process are hurting her own party.
“Tens of millions of people are only seeing the Republican message, while we wait for the Democrats to debate,’’ he said.
Last week, two DNC vice chairs called for more debates and for the party to drop the rule penalizing candidates for attending unsanctioned debates, echoing calls from former DNC chair Howard Dean, as well as presidential candidates Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders.
Hillary Clinton has also said she’d be open to more debates.
“I debated a lot in 2008 and I would certainly be there with lots of enthusiasm and energy if (the DNC) decide to add more debates,’’ Clinton told reporters Sept. 5. “And I think that’s the message a lot of people are sending their way.’’
Wasserman Schultz has thus far been unmoved.
“We’re going to have six debates. Period,’’ she told reporters last Thursday.
Doernberg noted Wasserman Schultz was Clinton’s presidential campaign co-chair in 2008.
However, he says Allow Debate doesn’t take a stance on why the DNC chairwoman implemented the rule.
“Our group doesn’t take a position of why this is happening, but… I’ll leave it at that,’’ Doernberg said.
He hopes to deliver his 22,000 signatures to Wasserman Schultz during the protest Wednesday afternoon, moments before the second GOP debate begins.
“So much of the press coverage has been on the battles of the elites on the issues,’’ he said. “But the bigger issue is the grassroots movement of people against the DNC chair who is flat-out ignoring them.’’
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