The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Thursday unanimously voted to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, citing bias against the party’s nominees.
The commission was formed in 1987 in a partnership between the GOP and the Democratic Party to oversee presidential and vice presidential general election debates.
The RNC advised that it was not moving away from the traditional presidential debate format but simply objecting to the commission’s governance of the process.
In a release, the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) stated its full support of the RNC’s decision to withdraw from the commission.
ALGOP chairman John Wahl said that the party’s concerns were ignored by the commission and declared the RNC’s response to be the appropriate course of action.
“The RNC has done its due diligence in reaching out to the Commission, in hopes of resolving glaring issues with the entire presidential debate process,” advised Wahl. “Our complaints have fallen on deaf ears. The Republican Party is not going to be part of open bias against our nominee. Today’s vote was our only recourse.”
The RNC noted its objection to debates taking place while citizens were partaking in early voting, such as what occurred during the last presidential general election cycle. The party also took exception to the commission selecting debate moderators who had previously performed work for political campaigns.
Wahl asserted that the Republican Party stood ready to combat the national media’s “liberal biases.”
“While the Commission contends it is non-partisan, the last two election cycles proved that is hardly the case,” he declared. “From selecting debate moderators with obvious agendas, to scheduling debates after people had already gone to the polls in states with early voting, the most recent debates were not fair. Americans deserve fair and honest debates just like they deserve fair and honest elections. It is important for us to fight back against the liberal biases of the mainstream media.”
ALGOP’s national committee members Vicki Drummond and Paul Reynolds joined Wahl in supporting the measure at the RNC general session in Memphis.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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