SEVERAL GROUPS SAY THE COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES IS PARTISAN AND UNDERMINES DEMOCRACY

Associated Press
Emily Fredix

Monday, August 23, 2004

Several groups say the Commission on Presidential Debates is partisan and undermines democracy.

Their report Monday criticized the commission for working with the major parties' candidates on how the debates should be run, including moderators and topics. It also objected to the exclusion of other candidates such as Ralph Nader from debate forums.

"The debates have been reduced to a series of glorified bipartisan news conferences, in which the Republican and Democratic candidates exchange memorized sound bites," the report said.

Issuing the report were 11 groups, including the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, Judicial Watch, and the National Voting Rights Institute.

The report said debates should be organized by an independent, nonpartisan entity and suggested one such group would be the Citizens' Debate Commission. That group includes former FEC General Counsel Larry Noble and Alan Keyes, a former ambassador and current Republican Senate candidate in Illinois.

Janet Brown, a spokeswoman for the commission on presidential debates says she had not read the report. Since the Citizens' Debate Commission was founded though, she said, "it has persisted in disseminating completely inaccurate information about the CPD."