Democrats Implement New Debate Rules That Will Leave Out Tulsi Gabbard
Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii wants the guys to let a girl into their club.
Gabbard, who has emerged as a thorn in the side of the Democratic National Committee, will not appear at the next presidential debate even though under rules in place a few days ago, she would have qualified.
The DNC has now decreed that to qualify, a candidate has to have won at least 20 percent of the delegates awarded by debate time, according to NBC News.
The previous rules only required candidates to secure one delegate, a threshold Gabbard surpassed on Super Tuesday in American Samoa, CBS News reported.
Gabbard, the only woman remaining in the race, fired off a Twitter salvo Friday urging former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to join with her to stop the DNC from muzzling her.
“To keep me off the stage, the DNC again arbitrarily changed the debate qualifications,” she tweeted. “I ask that you stand w/ me against the DNC’s transparent effort to exclude me from the debates.”
To keep me off the stage, the DNC again arbitrarily changed the debate qualifications. Previously they changed the qualifications in the OPPOSITE direction so Bloomberg could debate. I ask that you stand w/ me against the DNC’s transparent effort to exclude me from the debates.
— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) March 7, 2020
DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa had foreshadowed the change on Tuesday.
“We have two more debates — of course the threshold will go up. By the time we have the March debate, almost 2,000 delegates will be allocated,” Hinojosa tweeted.
“The threshold will reflect where we are in the race, as it always has.”
We have two more debates– of course the threshold will go up. By the time we have the March debate, almost 2,000 delegates will be allocated. The threshold will reflect where we are in the race, as it always has.
— Xochitl Hinojosa (@XochitlHinojosa) March 4, 2020
Many said the DNC was deliberately changing the rules and called for Gabbard to be allowed on the debate stage:
The fix is in. https://t.co/axiEiBxd6x
— Siraj Hashmi ? (@SirajAHashmi) March 6, 2020
Not at all surprising given the treatment of Tulsi Gabbard by the DNC and allies to this point: https://t.co/4EyNEdhEj9
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) March 6, 2020
The last time the DNC changed the debate requirements after votes were cast was in 2008, keeping Dennis Kucinich offstage.
Now they want to do it again to Tulsi Gabbard.
Both have one thing in common: they campaigned, unapologetically, to end regime-change wars. pic.twitter.com/QcBpbWYuae
— K. Rosef (@kayrosef) March 5, 2020
It now seems DNC will raise qualification threshold, now that @TulsiGabbard has a delegate, to keep her off the debate stage.
There’s only one word for this: rigged.https://t.co/0Hv01GZi8E
— Brad Polumbo (@brad_polumbo) March 4, 2020
Biden currently has 596 delegates while Sanders has 528, according to NBC’s tally.
NBC also noted that even if Gabbard managed to win every one of the 352 delegates up for grabs in this Tuesday’s round of primaries, when Michigan and five other states vote, she would still be behind Biden and Sanders.
Gabbard last month called upon DNC Chairman Tom Perez to step down, citing “the growing skepticism that I hear from Democrat voters that this primary will be carried out in a fair way where voters can get the information that they need to make the best choice in who should be our Democratic nominee, and ultimately who should be our next president and commander in chief,” according to the New York Post.
The next debate will is set to occur March 15 in Phoenix, Arizona.
It will be hosted by CNN and Univision in conjunction with CHC BOLD, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
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