OPEN DEBATES
FILES FEC COMPLAINT AGAINST THE COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
Open Debates, National
Press Building, 529 14th St. NW, Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20045
Press Release
February 19, 2004
Contact:
Chris Shaw (202) 628-9195
Today, Open Debates filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission
(FEC) against the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). The complaint
contains previously unreleased, secret documents that reveal how the major
party candidates collude with the CPD to dictate the terms of the presidential
debates and exclude third-party and independent challengers.
“FEC regulations require presidential debate sponsors that accept corporate
contributions to be `nonpartisan' and to employ `pre-established objective'
candidate selection criteria. The CPD, which accepts millions of dollars
in corporate contributions, fails to stage the debates in accordance with
these FEC regulations,” said Open Debates' Executive Director George Farah.
The complaint alleges that presidential debates sponsored by the CPD are
controlled by the major parties in violation of FEC debate regulations.
The complaint further alleges that the CPD was created by the Republican
and Democratic parties, for the Republican and Democratic parties. The
CPD exists to secretly award control of the presidential debates to the
Republican and Democratic nominees. Questions concerning third-party participation
and debate formats are resolved behind closed doors, between negotiators
for the Republican and Democratic candidates. These negotiators draft
secret debate contracts called Memoranda of Understanding that dictate
precisely how the debates will be run -- from decreeing who can participate,
to prohibiting candidate-to-candidate questioning, to stipulating the
height of the podiums. Posing as an independent sponsor, the CPD implements
the directives of the Memoranda of Understanding, shielding the major
party candidates from public criticism. Many of these issues are documented
in the forthcoming book No Debate (Seven Stories Press) authored
by Open Debates' Executive Director George Farah.
The complaint requests that the FEC prohibit the CPD from staging future
corporate-sponsored presidential debates.
“The CPD has sold out the American people; vital issues which need to
be examined by the discerning voter have been suppressed,” said Paul Weyrich,
Chairman of the Free Congress Foundation.
“The major party candidates can openly hold exclusionary and stilted pseudo-debates
if they want to, but to do so under the rubric of nonpartisanship is an
unacceptable lie that gravely damages our democracy,” said Ambassador
Alan Keyes.
“Under the CPD's control, presidential debates have devolved into artificial
news conferences, where the major party candidates merely recite prepackaged
sound-bites and avoid discussing many important issues,” said Kert Davies,
research director of Greenpeace USA.
“A nonpartisan Citizens' Debate Commission should replace the CPD,” said
Rob Richie, executive director of the Center for Voting and Democracy.
Open Debates is a non-partisan organization that works to make the presidential
debates serve the American people first. Along with over fifty other civic
organizations it has established a non-partisan Citizens' Debate Commission,
led by 17 national civic leaders, to replace the CPD. The Citizens' Debate
Commission will sponsor real presidential debates that are rigorous, fair,
and inclusive of important issues and popular candidates.
FEC Complaint: http://www.opendebates.org/news/pressreleases/FEC.html
No Debate (book): http://www.sevenstories.com/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=58322100234970
Transcript of Alan Keyes' speech
at Open Debates press conference:
http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/speeches/04_02_19opendebates.htm
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